Downtown Atlanta Trophy Asset Changes Hands

By Scott Baltic, Contributing Editor

100 Peachtree

Chicago-based Zeller Realty Group has purchased downtown Atlanta’s 100 Peachtree. CBRE represented the sellers, Five Mile Capital Partners, of Stamford, Conn., and Equitable Real Estate Partners. The purchase price was not disclosed.

The 33-story, 622,000-square-foot, Class A building was developed by Equitable Life Insurance Co. in 1969 as its Southeast headquarters. Designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, the tower is currently 82 percent leased to tenants that include Accenture, Koch Industries, Georgia’s Own Credit Union, law firm McGuireWoods and software maker CallRail.

An extensive renovation over the past five years reportedly encompassed a complete window replacement with LEED compliance, renovations to the lobby and plaza area, and major mechanical upgrades. 

Current rents at 100 Peachtree average $21.6 and the asking rent for available space is $24, according to information provided by Yardi Matrix.

CBRE’s Will Yowell, Jay O’Meara and Justin Parsonnet represented the sellers. Zeller Principal and Director of Acquisitions and Dispositions Bill Rogalla and Principal Mark Vollbrecht represented the buyer.

“Atlanta is a top investment market, with the second-highest percentage of job growth and a low cost of doing business, all reasons why investor interest in 100 Peachtree was strong,” Yowell, vice chairman at CBRE, said in a prepared statement. “Investors recognize the stability and growth opportunity in Atlanta, with the creation of 244,000 jobs and unemployment rate of below 5 percent over the last three years.”

Downtown Atlanta Class A office space has a total vacancy of 17.2 percent on an inventory of almost 15 million square feet. Vacancy saw a minor decline from 17.8 percent year-over-year, according to a first-quarter report from Colliers International.

The report suggests that the March 30 fire which collapsed a 100-foot, elevated section of Interstate 85 in Atlanta (the damage was repaired as of May 13) highlighted the importance of mass transit in the metro area and “provides even more fuel to the demand for office submarkets with MARTA rail stations.”

100 Peachtree is one block from the Peachtree Center MARTA station.