Popular Beltline hub including Krog Street Market sells to Atlanta firm
The Krog District, a real estate development that helped spark growth along the Atlanta Beltline’s Eastside Trail and inspired a wave of similar projects across the city, has sold in a landmark retail deal.
Atlanta real estate investment firm 26th Street Partners has acquired the district that includes food hall Krog Street Market, a spokesperson confirmed Thursday.
The portfolio also spans Atlanta Stove Works, SPX Alley, the Butler building and Gravel building. The transaction closed Sept. 25, but the sale is not yet reflected in Fulton County property records.
It’s not immediately clear what 26th Street Partners may plan for Krog District. Typically, when a new owner acquires a property, little changes for tenants beyond them having a new landlord. But longer term, the firm could look to bring in new tenants as leases expire.
Krog District has become a destination along the Eastside Trail, featuring more than 40 tenants such as Chef Ford Fry’s Superica, Ticonderoga Club, The Little Tart Bakeshop and Patagonia.
“It shows the value of the right combination of an old building and great old neighborhood that is well designed and filled with really good, local operators,” said George Banks, founder of Atlanta retail consulting firm Revel and one of the original developers of Krog Street Market.
“It’s sort of the heart and soul of what everyone calls placemaking,” he said.
Atlanta Business Chronicle was first to report the deal. The seller is Charlotte-based Asana Partners, a prominent Atlanta landlord.
Seth Black, partner with Asana Partners, said in a statement that 26th Street Partners is “a strong owner that understands Krog’s legacy and cultural significance in Atlanta.”
Asana Partners in 2018 spent almost $46 million to acquire Krog Street Market and Atlanta Stove Works, according to property records. The firm in 2019 paid $19 million for SPX Alley, according to media reports.
Asana Partners said in 2023 it completed “an extensive redevelopment” of the portfolio. That included adding two mixed-use buildings and a new parking garage, along with expanding outdoor dining and open space.
The three partners who run 26th Street Partners are former executives with Jamestown, the Atlanta-based developer of Ponce City Market, also known for its food hall.
Earlier this year, 26th Street Partners acquired from Asana Partners two other intown Atlanta shopping centers: Plaza on Ponce, home of the Majestic Diner and Plaza Theatre, and Morningside Village.
In a statement, 26th Street Partners said they are “longtime Atlanta residents with decades of experience investing in this market and across the country.”
Krog Street Market first opened in 2014 as the Southeast’s first food hall, said Banks. Food courts, of course, had been staples in enclosed U.S. malls for decades.
But food halls offered something novel, often combining independent restaurateurs and local shops under one roof. Typically excluded were the fast-food chains clustered in the center of malls.
“I can’t tell you how many investors said, ‘What’s a food hall?’ … We had to explain it time and again,” Banks said.
In the years after the debut of Krog Street Market and Ponce City Market, developers across the metro area sought to replicate their success, sparking a food hall building spree that expanded to the suburbs.
Some of them have not stood the test of time, such as the Citizens Culinary Market at Phipps Plaza, which shut down this summer.
Eastdil Secured represented Asana Partners in the transaction, which included the properties at 73 Krog St. NE, 99 Krog St. NE (Krog Street Market), 112 Krog St. NE, 124 Krog St. NE, and 661 Auburn Ave. NE.
- Staff writer Savannah Sicurella contributed to this report.
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