Colony Square put up for sale

Colony Square, one of Atlanta's landmark intown office properties, is on the market and could fetch $175 million.

New York-based Tishman Speyer, the owner of Rockefeller Center and the Chrysler Building, quietly put Colony Square up for sale two weeks ago. Typically, Tishman Speyer does not put out a price, but markets a property to see what it might bring. Tishman Speyer spokesman Rick Matthews said the company would not comment.

A $175 million price tag would be considered fair for the 850,000-square-foot property, according to a person with knowledge of the Atlanta market and the property. Colony Square consists of two office buildings and retail space. The recently opened W Atlanta Midtown next to Colony Square is not part of the deal.

Tishman Speyer acquired Colony Square and several other Atlanta properties in 2006 when it bought Trizec Properties' portfolio.

Colony Square dates to the 1970s. Today, the area around Peachtree and 14th streets is busy with construction cranes. Daniel Corp. is developing the $2 billion 12th & Midtown mixed-use project across from Colony Square.

TRANSACTIONS

Wilwat Properties of Atlanta bought 40 acres in Newnan for a future 500-unit apartment community called Trees of Newnan.

Wilwat owns apartment communities whose names begin with tree or trees, such as the Trees of Avalon project under construction in McDonough.

Wilwat paid Vista Realty Partners $8 million for the land, according to Databank. The apartments will go up on the future Greison Trail Connector near the Newnan Crossing Bypass. Construction is expected to begin next spring and Trees of Newnan is scheduled to open in 2010.

Kim Watkins, president of Wilwat, said construction will cost approximately $37.5 million.

> Roberts Realty Investors is selling the 403-unit Addison Place apartment community in Johns Creek for $60 million.

The property is under contract, and the sale is expected to close June 30. Roberts Realty Investors would not disclose the prospective buyer.

The company has owned the apartments for seven years. The sales price equals $148,883 per unit, or $102 a square foot, and will result in net cash proceeds of approximately $29 million, Roberts Realty Investors said in a release. Addison Place consists of 118 townhomes and 285 garden apartments.

IN THE WORKS

Construction is expected to begin this fall on The Mix, a five-story brick-and-glass building in Virginia-Highland that will have shops, restaurants and residences.

The $15 million project at 841 N. Highland Ave. is projected to be finished in early 2010, said Tonya Marlatt, managing partner of Land'ago Real Estate Advisors.

The Mix will have 25,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space, 12 condominiums on the top floors and a parking deck behind the building with 218 spaces. The condos will range in size from 941 square feet to 2,652 square feet and will be priced from $299,000 to $875,000, Marlatt said.

ON THE MARKET

A small Buckhead office building is on the market for almost $5 million.

The 12-year-old Tuxedo Atrium has 28,172 square feet and parking. The building is at 3833 Roswell Road, just north of Powers Ferry Road.

It's 85 percent leased with 14 tenants, according to owner Stephen Foster.

MOVING IN

Professional services company Post, Buckley, Schuh & Jernigan has agreed to lease 73,717 square feet at RiverEdge Summit in northwest Atlanta, bringing the building's occupancy to 97 percent, according to Transwestern Atlanta, which is in charge of leasing.

PBS&J is relocating from Powers Point and will occupy its new space Dec. 1, Transwestern said.

Kristie Abney, vice president with Transwestern's agency leasing group in Atlanta, represented building owner iStar Financial. Chris Butler of Staubach's Tampa office represented PBS&J.

RiverEdge Summit is a 443,086-square-foot Class A office building just outside I-285 and northeast of Cumberland Mall.

COMING UP

CoreNet Global, the Atlanta-based professional association for corporate real estate and workplace executives, is sponsoring a forum called "Move to Mobility," a look at how the workplace is changing as business is conducted online.

CoreNet Global will discuss research into this phenomenon and provide analysts' views during a "webinar" Tuesday from 1 to 2:30 p.m. To register for this online program go to online.krm.com/iebms/coe/coe_p1_all.aspx?oc=10&cc=0244628

TODAY'S BIG NUMBER

$5.6

in millions. What Forsyth County spent on 25.1 acres for a new elementary school at Brookwood Road and Peachtree Parkway.

Source: Databank

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