North American Properties, the developer behind Avalon in Alpharetta and key player in a turnaround at Atlantic Station, is in final talks to acquire the well-known Colony Square complex near the Woodruff Arts Center, a person with knowledge of the situation told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The office and retail center, which includes two office towers, was among the first major mixed-used developments in the South.
It was listed for sale by a joint venture including New York real estate giant Tishman Speyer and Rialto Capital. The deal is expected to close before the end of the year, the person said.
Mark Toro, partner in North American’s Atlanta office, said Friday he could not comment.
The project would become the latest turnaround effort for the company, which along with CBRE Global Investors recently sold the retail core of Atlantic Station for nearly $200 million.
North American’s plans for Colony Square weren’t immediately clear.
Commercial Real Estate Direct, which first reported the sale, said Colony Square is expected to fetch about $170 million. The sale involves two office towers and about 140,000 square feet of retail space, the real estate publication said.
Noted Atlanta developer Jim Cushman developed Colony Square, a mix of shops, restaurants, a hotel, residential and office towers in a project that was decades ahead of its time by Atlanta’s standards. Today, mixed-use is on everyone’s development radar, but in the 1960s, it was a rarity.
The acquisition could be well-timed. The Midtown office market is tightening as companies seek digs near Georgia Tech and the MARTA spine and the Colony Square campus is located at a the prime corner of 14th and Peachtree streets. Local assets include the Woodruff Arts Center, the Four Seasons hotel and the W Hotel Midtown next door (which is not part of the sale).
Though the NAP’s plans aren’t immediately known, given its track record at Atlantic Station in Midtown, North American would likely refurbish the buildings and attempt to fill vacant retail and restaurant locations with high-touch retailers and chef-driven restaurants.
The company has also taken on a more luxury hotel-like mentality for customer service, touting what it calls “experiential retail.”
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