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Rent-to-own retailer Aaron’s plans to sell its headquarters tower in Buckhead, an aging building that could be attractive to developers in the hot Buckhead Village area, the company said Wednesday.
The tower at 309 East Paces Ferry Road is across the street from the glitzy Buckhead Atlanta development, and development is ramping up in the area.
In a statement, Aaron’s said the company plans to stay in the Buckhead area, “within a few miles of our current headquarters.”
“We anticipate a high level of interest in our existing building and look forward to our search for new space that will fit our needs,” Aaron’s said.
The Buckhead Village area, once the beating heart of Atlanta's nightclub scene, has been converted into a posh retail, dining and high-rise residential and office district. In September, development powerhouse OliverMcMillan opened Buckhead Atlanta, the revived version of a multi-block project that had been stalled by the recession.
That development, with 370 high-end residences, the corporate headquarters of shapewear company Spanx and retailers such as Hermès and Christian Louboutin, stands where some of the city's rowdiest clubs once stood.
A sale of the Aaron’s building could be timely given plans for hundreds of high-rise residences on nearby blocks. OliverMcMillan officials have previously told the AJC they are designing a second phase on land the company controls adjacent to the Aaron’s building, and the company is considering other land acquisitions.
Development groups including South Carolina investor and developer Edens have gobbled up land nearby.
Aaron's, a leader in the rent-to-own industry, has struggled in the past few years with sagging sales and a near-mutiny in 2014 of some of its franchisees. One of its largest shareholders also attempted an unsolicited $2.3 billion takeover last year.
Since then CEO Ron Allen, a former Delta Air Lines CEO, left the company and Aaron's has moved to improve its finances though its purchase of online lender Progressive Finance. The company will report fourth quarter and full-year 2014 earnings Friday.
There are more than 2,100 company or franchise-operated Aaron’s stores in the U.S. and Canada. The company was founded in 1955 by Charlie Loudermilk, whose family still holds a sizeable stake in the company and also controls property in the Village area.
Staff writer Leon Stafford contributed to this report.
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