Cousins Properties said Thursday it has signed a deal to acquire a remaining 80 percent stake in a Buckhead tower. The Atlanta-based developer also said it is acquiring a Houston office complex.
The Buckhead tower is Terminus 200, a 25-story, 564,000-square-foot building with office, retail and restaurant space at the intersection of Peachtree and Piedmont roads. It neighbors Cousins’ Terminus 100 tower, a 656,000-square-foot, 27-story building.
Atlanta-based Cousins is purchasing the remaining stake in Terminus 200 from a fund managed by Morgan Stanley Real Estate Investing. The commercial real estate company will form a 50-50 joint venture with institutional investors advised by J.P. Morgan Asset Management that will include both Terminus 100 and Terminus 200.
Larry Gellerstedt, president and chief executive officer of Cousins, said the transactions involving the Terminus towers show Cousins’ confidence in the “steadily improving” Buckhead commercial real estate market. Cousins values Terminus 100 at $209.2 million, or $320 per square foot, and Terminus 200 at $164 million, or $290 per square foot.
Cousins is also acquiring Post Oak Central, an office complex in Houston’s Galleria area, from institutional investors advised by J.P. Morgan Asset Management. The complex comprises three towers covering a total of 1.3 million square feet.
“The Post Oak Central transaction is an outstanding fit with our ongoing strategy of acquiring quality urban office towers in the best Sun Belt submarkets at valuations below replacement cost,” Gellerstedt said in a statement.
Cousins said its net investment in the deals is expected to be about $206 million after it secures a non-recourse mortgage for Terminus 200. Cousins said it funded the acquisitions with proceeds from recent asset sales.
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