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AJC Hires AP's @Bluestein to Cover #@CRE

2012-05-21T14:40:36-04:00

ATLANTA (May 21, 2012) - Greg Bluestein, a newsman in The Associated Press' Atlanta bureau, has been hired to cover commercial real estate at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He also will cover economic development.

He starts May 30. Matt Kempner. daily business assignment editor, called to confirm the news, which has been circulating around the CRE industry for about 10 days.

The commercial real estate beat will mark a major change for Bluestein, who recently covered hearings in the case against George Zimmerman, who is charged with second-degree murder in the killing of Trayvon Martin. Bluestein also wrote a compelling first-person story about witnessing the execution of Troy Davis, who was convicted of killing a Savannah policeman.

Court cases aside, Bluestein has broken some major commercial real estate news and wrote about Atlanta's CRE market as an intern in 2003.

A University of Georgia graduate and former Red and Black editor, Bluestein started his career at The (Fulton County) Daily Report. He currently covers major trials at the AP. However, Bluestein recently broke the story about developer Dan O'Leary's plans to bring video gambling to a mixed-use project in Gwinnett County.

Bluestein is a former AJC intern. My wife Caroline Wilbert was his mentor during his 2003 summer intern at the paper. I got to work with Greg on the first commercial real estate stories he wrote that summer.

It was clear Bluestein had the smarts, curiosity, writing ability and personality to be a kick-ass reporter. It's great to see him taking the helm of the paper's most-important business beat. Atlanta is a commercial real estate towm, and Bluestein will do a great job reporting on the industry and its importance to the city.

Four on Friday: Peter Hartman

2012-05-18T13:51:23-04:00

This weekend marks the start of the retail real estate sector’s premier event: the International Council of Shopping Centers’ (ICSC) annual RECon trade show and conference in Las Vegas. Lots of our attorneys will be traveling to the show, and we’re especially looking forward to our party this Sunday night, May 20, at the House of Blues at the Mandalay Bay Hotel. Keep your eyes peeled for party photos and coverage of the show in the days ahead.

via hartmansimons.typepad.com

@Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Rock Atlanta's "Golden Corridor'

2012-04-30T11:46:40-04:00

ALPHARETTA, Ga. (April 30, 2012) - Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers delivered a rousing rock concert in this tony Atlanta suburb last night.

Petty let the packed house at Verizon Amphitheatre know he was glad to be in Georgia, where he traces some of his roots. "It's good to be back in Georgia, I tell you what."

Specifically, Petty played what once once dubbed Atlanta's "Golden Corridor" - the area along Ga. 400 where four-story spec office buildings popped up weekly during the late 1990s. Some of the luster is lost, but North Fulton will rise again. OK, enought real estate. Now back to rock 'n' roll.

Petty and his all-American rock 'n' roll band from Gainesville, Fla., played a 21-song setlist that included the hits ("I Won't Back Down," "Free Fallin,'" and "Refugee") and some deep cuts they haven't played live in a while ("Something Big" from Hard Promises and "Spike" from Southern Accents).

And while their encore of "Mary Jane's Last Dance" and "American Girl" kicked ass, the show's highlight might have been the lesser-known "I Should Have Known It" from Mojo or the bank's cover of J.J. Cale's "Travelin' Light." On both songs, the Heartbreakers - especially guitarist Mike Campbell - proved that - even 36 years in - they're one of the tightest rock bands around.

And for a night, quiet Alpharetta rocked.

Fair and full disclosure: The author of this post has seen Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers 49 times.

DeKalb Farmers Market Wants to Quadruple in Size

2012-04-13T15:52:13-04:00

ATLANTA (April 13, 2012) - Things must be going well at Your DeKalb Farmers Market.

The well-known and beloved purveyor or organic, fresh foods wants to add 518,000 square feet of retail space to its 140,000-square-foot spot at 3000 Ponce de Leon Ave. in Decatur. This, according to a Development of Regional Impact (DRI) filing that DeKalb County made with the state of Georgia.

In addition, DeKalb Farmers Market wants to add a new 718,367-square-foot warehouse and 2,637 new parking spaces. The new parking would increase the number of spaces at the location to 3,400.

DeKalb Farmers Market (pictured above in an ajc.com photo) opened June 2, 1977, with 7,500 square feet of space. The demand for and popularity of organic, fresh foods and farm-to-table restaurants has helped fuel fast-paces growth the farmers market. Today, DeKalb Farmers Market is a "140,000 sq. ft. true world market serving up to 100,000 people per week," accoridng to its website.

If all goes as planned, DeKalb Farmers Market will be a lot bigger and serve a lot more people when the expansion opens in October 2013.

5 Paces Inn to Open New Bar/Restaurant in Buckhead, @ToNeToAtlanta Reports

2012-04-06T14:04:20-04:00

ATLANTA (April 6, 2012) - The owners of 5 Paces Inn, a Buckhead institution, will take over the Shane's Rib Shack location on Roswell Road and turn it into a new bar and restaurant, according to Eli Zandman's Tomorrow's News Today- Atlanta.

5 Paces Inn long has been a favorite among Buckhead businessmen (and some women), frat boys and people who want to retain their coolness well beyond their college years. The bar often is hot and crowded, and there was no bar food to found.

The cramped conditions were improved when One Pace Over opened next door and provided some relief, but it also served no food. 5 Paces Inn will fix that problem when its owners convert the Shane's site into The Village Tap, according to Tomorrow's News Today. (Photo couresy of Tomorrow's News Today as well.)

Zandman's sources tell him The Village tap will serve "southern influenced cuisine in a cozy atmosphere," and of course, lots of beer and drinks.

This should be a good addition to the Buckhead bar scene that's never truly rebounded from the loss of the group of bars that one day should become "Buckhead Atlanta."

MetLife Looks to Refinance Georgia-Pacific HQ

2012-03-23T14:55:48-04:00

ATLANTA (March 23, 2012) - MetLife and Georgia-Pacific are close to picking one of three banks to refinance the partners' $112 loan on Georgia-Pacific Center, Commercial Mortgage Alert says. Cushman & Wakefield is advising the MetLife-Georgia-Pacific team. The 1.1 million-square-foot pink-granite tower is 88 percent occupied with G-P taking up three-quarters of the space, CMA says.

Source: Uploaded by user via Tony on Pinterest

Investor Acquires Landmark Atlanta Apartment

2012-03-01T09:49:45-05:00

Source: Uploaded by user via Tony on Pinterest

Project RoadRunner Latest Name in Georgia #EcDev Lore

2012-02-17T16:04:08-05:00

ATLANTA (Feb. 17, 2012) - The large Caterpillar deal that Georgia Ga. Nathan Deal announced at the state Capitol this morning will go down in econmic lore as "Project RoadRunner."

Every big economic development deal has a cool "Project" name designed to protect the identity of the company scouting a new headqaurters or site for a large manufacturing plant such as the one Caterpillar will build outside Athens, Ga., in Oconee County.

In papers filed with the state this morning, the secret Caterpillar name is revealed as "Project RoadRunner." Other recent projects that attracted media attention incluce Project Einstein (Asurion), Project Spirit (RIM data center in north Fulton), Project Red (still secret) and Project Baja Spirit ( another that's still a secret.)

Other projects that are part of Georgia lore are Project Brown Thrasher (GE Power/now GE Energy's corporate relocation fron New York to Cobb County and Project Cypress, (a failed attempt in 1999 to get thousands of Chase jobs in metro Atlanta).

Because economic developers are running out of cool names and at times resurrecting old ones, I recommend instituting an alphabetical system used in the naming of hurricanes in the Western Hemisphere.

Read it for Yourself: Bank of America Plaza Foreclosure Notice

2012-02-07T11:51:43-05:00

ATLANTA (Feb. 7, 2012) - What is the Bank of America Plaza foreclosure, anyway? What will be read on the Fulton County Courthouse steps this afternoon when the "auction" takes place?

Read the official notice here.

Lender Takes Back Bank of America Plaza (w/photos)

2012-02-07T09:36:27-05:00

4 p.m. UPDATE: In the end, the Bank of America Plaza event proved somewhat anti-climatic. There was full-blown bidding war, and no one had to break out $250 million in cashier's checks.

The lender, a consortium of investors, took back the trophy tower - using its own interest in the 55-sty tower as legal tender. Next step: Look for the group to market the tower for sale.

Nevertheless, the scene at the courthouse was dramatic. News outlets from across the country convered on the court administrator as he read the legal notice. And, yes, things got sideways when Occupy Atlanta joined the fray. (See photo for proof.)

Now, the real bidding war starts.

ATLANTA (Feb. 7, 2012) - Today is the biggest news day ever in Atlanta commercial real estate.

Bank of America Plaza, the tallest office tower ever to be foreclosed on, likely will be auctioned on the Fulton County Courthouse steps. It won't be an auction with an auctioneer quickly soliciting bids, but several potential buyers could quietly compete for the 55-story tower at 600 Peachtree St. (Thanks, Wikipedia for the photo.)

If it auction occurs, the winner will need to produce cashier's checks for millions of dollars. The winning bidder will walk inside the courthouse, hand over the checks and get title immediately.

Press from across the country and around the world are expected to cover the event. Even Al Jazeera's English network has called, seeking information about the auction. Mix in the potential that Occupy Atlanta will show up to heckle Bank of America (now a much-smaller tenant in its namesake building), and the auction will be quite a spectacle.

The lender likely will attempt to buy back its loan. Insiders also say they won't be surprised if Cousins Properties, the tower's original developer, make a bid. Today will be incredibly interesting in the world of CRE news.