Lender takes back Campanile Building

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By Gertha Coffee

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The Campanile Building in Midtown, the former headquarters of BellSouth, has been returned to the lender by the owner, Chicago-based Transwestern Investment, according to people with knowledge of the transaction.

CoStar Group The Campanile, at 1155 Peachtree St., was scheduled for foreclosure on March 2.

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Lender Wells Fargo was owed $98.35 million, according to Databank Atlanta, a real estate research firm. The 20-story tower, built in 1987, is just over 20 percent leased.

The Campanile, at 1155 Peachtree St., was scheduled for foreclosure on March 2. The 450,000-square-foot building currently has two tenants, Georgia’s Own Credit Union and employment and labor law firm Jackson Lewis.

Transwestern did not return calls for comment.

Andy Feinour, senior vice president of Atlanta-based Carter, which developed the building with BellSouth, said when a borrower can no longer pay on a loan, giving the building back to the lender is a way to avoid the foreclosure process.

"Generally, the borrower and builder are cooperative with each other," he said. "If the borrower agrees to give the building back to the lender, it is generally in exchange for the lender waiving the right to come after the borrower for ... any further financial obligations."

Grubb & Ellis has replaced Transwestern Commercial Services as the leasing and management agent for the Campanile.

Grubb & Ellis was awarded the contract by the Special Situations Group of Wachovia Bank, which was recently acquired by Wells Fargo.