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Atlantan Takes Over as Chairman of Key #CRE Trade Association

ATLANTA - A well-known, well-like Atlantan just grabbed the national reins of North America's most-influential commercial real estate trade association.

Steve Martin, managing principal of SDM Partners, took over as national chairman of NAIOP, the Commercial Real Estate Development Association formerly known as the National Association of Industrial and Office Parks (and later Properties). 

A 31-year veteran of the CRE industry, Martin has been member of NAIOP for 22 years. He resides in Atlanta's Brookwood Hills neighborhood, which likely has more real estate professionals per capita than any other in the metro area.

Martin says that while he's "Atlanta-focused," he's been successful in commercial real estate by investing the time to form relationships across the country.

"Commercial real estate's a lot like putting a puzzle together. I mean, you could buy the same building or do the same deal five times and it would be different each time, and that's what I enjoy about it," Martin says in the above video from NAIOP. "People do business with people they know, like and trust. And the only way you do that is through spending time with them face-to-face.

"You get out of it what you put in."

Here's NAIOP's description and misson (taken from its website.)

Since 1967, NAIOP, the Commercial Real Estate Development Association, has become the leading organization for developers, owners and investors of office, industrial, retail and mixed-use real estate. NAIOP comprises 15,000+ members and provides strong advocacy, education and business opportunities through a powerful North American network.

History

NAIOP, the Commercial Real Estate Development Association, began in 1967 and has retained through all these years its core group of developer members. The association began as a small group of owners and developers of industrial parks in the eastern U.S. who formed the National Association of Industrial Parks (NAIP) to facilitate a forum for the open exchange of information on development. They also had a need for standardized covenants and restrictions, building requirements, and beneficial legislation and taxation. Nine individuals first met on September 12, 1967, in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania. 

Reflecting changes in membership, NAIP became NAIOP (National Association for Industrial and Office Parks) in 1976. In 2009 NAIOP dropped the words behind its acronym, which no longer reflected its current membership composition. Over the years, NAIOP has attracted members who are committed to excellence, entrepreneurial in spirit, and want to reach new heights in building excellence.

NAIOP is a leading commercial real estate industry provider of unparalleled networking opportunities, educational programs, research on trends and innovations and strong legislative representation. 

NAIOP's sister organization, the NAIOP Research Foundation, is one of the industry's leading think tanks dedicated to conducting research assessing the trends, economic viability and needs of the built environment.

Mission

NAIOP represents commercial real estate developers, owners and investors of office, industrial, retail and mixed-use properties. It provides strong advocacy, education and business opportunities, and connects its members through a powerful North American network.

Vision Statement

Advancing responsible commercial real estate development, investment and ownership.

 

Buckhead Institution #OKCafe Expected to Reopen When?!?!...

August 1st? Click here for the latest...

UPDATE (Feb. 23, 2015) - The day regulars and fans of OK Cafe are looking for now appears to be Monday, June 1. That's the day the popular Buckhead restaurant plans to reopen after a fire late last year did extensive damage.

Staff will return to work in mid-May to prepare OK Cafe for its reopening. Come back for future updates.

ATLANTA (Dec. 22, 2014) - Looks like OK Cafe regulars will have to way until May to get a table at their favorite Buckhead breakfast (and more) spot.

OK Cafe workers were told this morning that the restaurant, closed since a fire caused extensive damage on Dec. 7, isn't expected to reopen until May. Restaurant managers and owners let employees know their jobs will be waiting for them, even if they pick up some temporary work. (Photo courtesy of ajc.com.)

This rainy Monday wasn't totally dreary for the staff, though. They received a payment from the Christmas Fund for OK Cafe Staff set up by Cousins Properties EVP John McColl and his son John McColl Jr.

This morning, John Jr. sent this messages to those who gave to the fund via crowdrise.

"All-
This morning we successfully distributed the donated funds, along with a personal thank you card to OK Cafe management. Without your generous donations this would not have been possible so thank you. The overwhelming success of the fund will help each employee be able to celebrate Christmas the right way. Again thank you for your contributions.

As employees arrived at OK Cafe to pick up their portion of the fund, several hugged in the parking lot and talked about the day the restaurant at West Paces Ferry Road and Northside Parkway reopens.

Can't wait for that day this spring.

Connecticut Alternative Investment Firm Acquires Former Equitable Building in Atlanta

ATLANTA (Dec. 17, 2014) - A New England alternative investment and asset management firm is making a decent-sized bet on downtown Atlanta. Five Mile Capital Partners LLC of Stamford, Connecticut, just acquired 100 Peachtree. the iconic downtown Atlanta office tower formerly known as The Equitable Building.

Five Mile Capital bought the black 32-officer tower across from Woodruff Park from America's Capital Realty. ACP of South Florida, which bought the building in 2012 and completed a major overhaul of it, announced the sale late yesterday. 

“As with all our acquisitions, basis was a major factor,” Jude Williams, ACP’s president, told Commercial Property Executive. “We paid only $19 million for a 622,000-square-foot building and three large parking decks. We also saw where the two owners before us failed due to their inability to reposition the property and at our low basis had the ability to justify a $17 million comprehensive renovation program.”

A Five Mile Capital subsidiary - Cayman Hotel Holdings Ltd. - owns one of my favorite properties - The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman, on Seven Mile Beach. It's pictured above.

In February, Five Mile Capital Managing Member James D. Glasgow Jr., will be a speaker at the Cayman Alternative Invesment Summit (CAIS), which will be held at the Ritz-Carlton. Dart Enterprises is a key sponsor of CAIS, which features several of the top minds in alternative investments and finance.

- Tony Wilbert

Atlanta's #CRE Community Steps Up for OK Cafe Workers

ATLANTA (Dec. 9, 2014) - Atlanta's commercial real estate and finance communities are taking the lead in helping to raise money for OK Cafe staffers who temporarily are out of work because of the fire that damaged the Buckhead institution on Sunday.

John McColl Jr. and his father, Cousins EVP John McColl, have set up a Christmas Fund for OK Cafe Staff on the crowdrise crowdfunding metwork. They hope to raise $25,000 for employees who rely on the tips and wages they earn at OK Cafe. Click here to see the page and donate.

OK Cafe is a critical part of Atlanta's real estate and business communities, serving as a meeting place for leaders and newcomers. In a front page story in today's AJC, several regulars talk about why OK Cafe is much more than a nice diner-style restaurant. Here's the story, courtesy of the AJC.

OK Cafe fire short-circuits power breakfasts

Posted: 7:38 p.m. Monday, Dec. 8, 2014

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By David Markiewicz - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

 

When the deal is everything, the OK Cafe is often where it gets done.

“Many a transaction has been done in that place,” noted Cousins Properties executive VP John McColl, one of many movers and shakers who’ve settled into a booth at the north Atlanta eatery.

For a while, at least, people like McColl will have to do their morning moving and shaking somewhere else.

The iconic restaurant at the corner of West Paces Ferry Road and Northside Parkway caught fire and burned early Sunday morning. Fire officials blamed a faulty water heater. One firefighter was injured, but not seriously, in a fall during the cleanup.

Plans are to repair and reopen, but when isn’t certain.

Regulars were buzzing about the closure on Monday. They say there’s no shortage of other places they can nosh, but none is quite like the OK.

“You’d say the OK must have the heaviest of the heavies,” said Sam Massell, president of the Buckhead Coalition and former mayor of Atlanta.

Ricky Steele, whose job involved connecting entrepreneurs with investors, remembers arriving at 6:15 one morning during the dot com boom — and not leaving until 3:30 that afternoon. He sat through back-to-back-to-back-to-back confabs, plowing through breakfast, brunch and lunch in the process.

“It’s still the power breakfast place in Atlanta,” said Steele, chief development officer at Hunter Technical Resources, a recruiting firm.

Atlanta PR exec Tony Wilbert recalled that as he planned to launch his firm, he “camped out” at the OK each morning and had multiple breakfast meetings to run his idea past business people he respected.

While working on the Kasim Reed for Mayor campaign, he introduced the candidate to the Buckhead business community there. Before this week he still ate at the OK several times a week, having what he calls a “spec” breakfast.

“I sit at the counter and grab people I need to catch up with as they walk by,” he explained, adding, “I hope the place re-opens very soon.”

Raymond King has been eating at the OK Cafe for at least 15 years — it opened in 1987 — typically a few times a week. The president and CEO of Zoo Atlanta said he goes there “to tell our story” and cultivate support for the zoo.

At the OK Cafe, he said, it’s not necessarily about deals, though. It’s about building relationships, he said, making a point echoed by other frequent patrons.

Business people who eat there often say there’s a lot to like about the OK Cafe, from the location off I-75 to the long time employees who make you feel at home.

The food is regarded as good, but even those who don’t eat show up.

Steve Hennessy, a co-owner of the Hennessy Automobile Companies, has had plenty of business meetings at the OK Cafe, but often he goes by himself, gets just an iced tea and reads the newspapers.

“It’s how I start my morning,” he said.

Tradition is a big part of the restaurant, right down to the seating. Some regulars have — unofficially — their own booths, in fact. Not that they’ve been assigned. But everyone know that’s so-and-so’s spot.

“We pay respect to each other,” King said.

An open table might be unavailable until, say 8 o’clock, for example, because of that customer. But if it’s not taken by the usual time, King laughed,”It’s fair game.”

There’s some literary history of a sort, too. On the wall is a signed note from Harper Lee, wishing “many great meals” to come at the OK Cafe to its customers. The restaurant was named in honor of the OK Cafe in Lee’s “To Kill A Mockingbird.”​

BGC Acquires Huge Atlanta-Based Multifamily Brokerage Outfit in Deal that Stirs Market

ATLANTA (Dec. 1, 2014) - ARA, the Atlanta-based monster of the multifamily investment advisory (brokerage) business, is about to be absorbed by the ever-growing BGC Partners.

BGC, owner of Newmark Grubb Knight Frank brokerage, has agreed to acquire Apartment Realty Advisors (ARA) for $110 million, according to this breaking alert from Ralph Bivins of RealtyNewsReport.com. Official word came from James "Jimmy" Kuhn, the cool-looking guy pictured to the left.

ARA, which touts itself as "the largest privately held, full­service investment advisory firm in the nation that focuses exclusively on the brokerage, financing and capital sourcing of multihousing properties," has called Atlanta home for a long time, or at least since I covered commercial real estate in the city. Atlanta is home to ARA's National Office and C-level executives including COO Lisa Robinson.

The Wilbert Group represents MHA, the Southeast's premier multifamily investment brokerage and a competitor to ARA. MHA ranked No. 10 on Atlanta Business Chronicle's 2014 Top 25 Commercial Real Rstate Brokerages List. ARA placed 17th.

Here's the official word from ARA: “We are delighted to announce this agreement with BGC and to join with Newmark Grubb Knight Frank as we work together across the capital markets spectrum. The combined resources will prove of great benefit to our business, our employees and, most importantly, to our clients,” said Blake Okland, Chairman of the Executive Committee of ARA and Principal of ARA’s Carolinas member.

Okland's counterpart in Atlanta is John Weber, a great guy who is a dominant player in multifamily sales here. He's pictured to the right.

Of special interest on the national level is the growing influence of Jimmy Kuhn in the Southeast. I met Jimmy when Newmark worked hard to lure away some key Julien J. Studley execs to open Newmark's first Atlanta commercial brokerage business. 

Kuhn's presence grew big time with the recent DTZ acquisition of Cassidy Turley and now is even bigger. Erika Morphy of GlobeSt.com tells it this way:

ARA's acquisition is another sign that the commercial real estate brokerage community views consolidation as a key growth strategy. In this case, bringing ARA under BGC's corporate umbrella will give Newmark Grubb Knight Frank a sizeable leg up in the market. BGC acquired NGKF in 2011.

It's cool to see Kuhn emerge as a national figure. He's a real estate reporter's dream - he tells you what you want to know, and he uses colorful language. See for yourself in this snippet from an interview I had with him in 2002 while at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

BYLINE:    TONY WILBERT; Staff 
DATE: April 2, 2002 
PUBLICATION: Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The (GA) 

Newmark & Co. came to town Monday and opened an office with 20 workers from competitor Julien J. Studley.

 Newmark Southern Region, part of the New York-based commercial real estate firm, will be led by Bert Sanders and Patrick Duffy, both of whom resigned last week from Studley's Atlanta office. They were joined at Newmark by several other former Studley brokers -- James Cate, Kay Davis, Marty Pinover, Ed Kercher, David Todd and Monty Harris.

However, Newmark had to open the office without the former Studley executive it wanted most: Neal Golden. It was his resignation that prompted the others to quit Studley's Atlanta office last week.

Newmark President Jimmy Kuhn said he still is pursuing Golden and hopes he will lead Newmark's national expansion.

"We're going after him with as much gusto as [New York Yankees owner] George Steinbrenner pursues free agents," Kuhn said in at interview.

 

Charlotte Ups Ante in Battle with Atlanta for New Jobs

CHARLOTTE (Nov. 18, 2014) - I wouldn't be surprised if Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed places a congratulatory call to Bill Cronin today, though the mayor wouldn't be wishing him good luck in much success in Cronin's new venture.

That's because former Invest Atlanta VP Cronin - who played a key role in the city of Atlanta's economic development efforts under Reed - yesterday was named head of economic development in Charlotte. Cronin will leave his position as executive director of the American Red Cross' outpost in Columbia, South Carolina, and head a little bit north next month. In photo above, Cronin (right) celebrates the expansion and opening of a new headquarters of gaming company Thrust Interactive with Mayor Reed and Thrust CEO Jesse Lindsley.)

During his tenure in Atlanta, The Wilbert Group served as Invest Atlanta's public relations agency of record. I saw firsthand and got a behind-the-scenes look as Cronin helped woo major companies to the city of Atlanta - both from outside the metro area (PulteGroup) and inside (athenahealth). He used knowledge gained during economic development stints in South Carolina and Florida to best position Atlanta when the city competed with those states for new jobs.

We suspect the savvy Cronin will do the same and leverage what he knows about Atlanta and how the city and state incentive plans work to help Charlotte. Cronin discusses this overall strategy at this in an article in the Charlotte Observer.

“Having been a competitor to Charlotte in my previous roles, I understand the city’s strengths and challenges.

“I love Charlotte,” said Cronin, in a statement. “I am very excited about working with the business community.”

As for the Atlanta mayor, he's made it perfectly and publicy clear on several occasions that Charlotte is a second-tier city striving to be an Atlanta when it grows up. It will be interesting to watch things play out when Charlotte and Atlanta compete for the same headquarters relocation or new job-creating tech endeavor.

 

 

Atlanta Loses Business Icon with Passing of Herman Russell

ATLANTA (Nov. 15, 2014) - Atlanta lost one of its iconic businessmen today when Herman Russell died earlier today.

Russell, 83, founded H.J. Russell & Co., a construction firm that built or or teamed with other firms to build several landmark projects in Atlanta, including Centennial Olympic Park, the Georgia Dome, the Atlanta Federal Center and Georgia-Pacific Plaza. A trailblazer who knocked down several racial barriers, Russell's legacy lives on through sons Michael Russell (CEO) and Jerome Russell (president) and daughter.

News of Russell's passing has been reported by Scott Trubey of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Trubey, with a contribution from City Hall Reporter Katie Leslie, cited Mayor Kasim Reed and others who confirmed the death. By Friday, several people in Atlanta's real estate community were saying prayers for Russell, whom they had heard was near death.

“He is one of the best men our city has ever produced,” Reed tells the AJC. “I can’t express how much we will miss him.”

During his unparalleled career, Herman Russell won every major civic and commercial real estate award and recognition in Atlanta. In 2004, ULI Atlanta bestowed upon Russell its prestigious Frank Carter Community Achievement Award named for the  founder of Carter.

 

Atlanta, Southeast Commercial Real Estate Markets Ready to Roll

ATLANTA - Public relations is a leading indicator of the health of the commercial real estate industry. Developers and owners often slash PR and marketing budgets when they sense a slowdown. On the flipside, they start to ramp up spending when they foresee an upswing on the horizon.

So, based on the recent rise in inquiries we've received at The Wilbert Group and major announcements we've handled, Atlanta, the Southeast and beyond are poised for a grand real estate run.

The past three weeks have been monumentally unprecedented. Wilbert worked with North American Properties to promote and secured media coverage of the opening of NAP's landmark mixed-use project Avalon in Alpharetta. We also hosted an international client in Atlanta seeking to expand a major mixed-use project in the Caribbean. And just this week we helped Crown Holdings announce a $500 million mixed-use development it would like to develop in Roswell. Add to that a request for a proposal to rebrand and reposition one of the Southeast's top development firms, and it's been a hell of a 21-day stretch.

For Avalon's grand opening, Wilbert's Suong Nguyen secured coverage in or on every single major media outlet in the city, including the AJC, which used the term "milestone". Even the intown-focused Creative Loafing ran a column by Conor Sen that prompted an interesting blog war.

At the end of the 21-day stretch, Wilbert spread the word about a proposed ecologically driven mixed-use development proposed for the southeast quadrant of Ga. 400 and Holcolmb Bridge Road in Roswell. The AJC's headline on its front-page story said it all: "$500 Million Project Signals Metro Resurgence."

The Wilbert Group is here and ready to help real estate owners, developers, brokers and financiers join in the renaissance. 

Downtown Atlanta Will Be Center of Real Estate World This Week

ATLANTA (Nov. 3, 2014) - By mid-week, downtown Atlanta will become the center of the REIT industry, with an unprecedented number of real estate CEOs gathering in the city that never stops building.

The National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts, or NAREIT, kicks off REIT World - its "Annual Convention of All Things REIT" - on Tuesday evening at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis. The convention runs through Friday morning.

That Atlanta is playing host to this influential conference that attracts top investors, money managers, bankers, and of course, developers, brokers and real estate press, is impressive. Atlanta has a greast tradition of entrepreneurs creating REITs, including John Williams (Post Properties), Tom Cousins (Cousins Properties) and Ray Weeks and his dad (Weeks Corp./Duke-Weeks). In fact, Atlanta used to be a key player in the retail REIT industry with JDN Realty (defunct), and IRT Property Co.; and in the mortgage REIT industry that dried up during recent downcycles. 

The list of REIT CEOs who heading to Atlanta this week for REIT World is impressive: David Neithercut, presdent and CEO, Equity Residential; Sandeep Mathrani, CEO, General Growth Propertties; Timothy Naughton, CEO, AvalonBay Communities; Jon Bortz, chairman;  Art Coppola, chairman and CEO, Macerich; Donald Wood, president and CEO, Federal Realty Investment Trust; and CEO, Pebblebrook Hotel Trust, which made a splash when it acquired the InterContinental Buckhead Hotel in 2010.

REIT World also marks the first appearance at a major event by PulteGroup President, Chairman and CEO Richard Dugas, who moved his company and himself to Atlanta earlier this year. Dugas (in photo) is a panelist on Wednesday's Session Two, "Gimme Shelter - Housing America."

We're sure Cousins and Post will be well represented as well. 

 

Halloween Retail Merger Renders EDENS Major Player in Buckhead

ATLANTA (Nov. 1) - Houston-based AmREIT took the opportunity late last night to announce that the retail REIT has agreed to be aquired by EDENS in an all-cash transaction valued at $763 million (or $26.55 per share). The impact on Atlanta's retail market, which AmREIT entered in 2011, should be interesting.

In fact, the acquisition likely will position EDENS as the leading owner of upscale strip centers in Buckhead, where Simon Property Group dominates the mall scene. EDENS (not sure why they do name in all CAPS) owns Lenox Marketplace and Buckhead Market Place, anchored by the very busy Whole Foods on West Paces Ferry Road, and will add a couple more through the acquisition.

Just before the Halloween night announcement, AmREIT had been cranking up its Atlanta portfolio. Only two months ago, the REIT expanded its Atlanta presence with the acquisition of Tuxedo Festival Shopping Center in Buckhead. AmREIT execs evern hinted at the possibility of scraping Tuxedo Village and replacing it with a mixed-use development.

Closer to home, the transaction means EDENS would come to Brookwood Hills, where South Georgia native and former star college QB Nate Hybl just opened gusto! Wood Fire Grill at the "Irreplaceable Corner" of Peachtree and Brighton roads (see photo).