KKR Buys Atlanta Tower in $205M Deal

Salesforce Tower

Global investment firm KKR has acquired a majority stake of Salesforce Tower in Atlanta, a 631,808-square-foot Class A office property in the city’s Buckhead submarket. The company purchased the controlling interest in the office tower from Banyan Street Capital, which purchased the building in 2016 from CBRE Global Investors.

KKR made the acquisition through its Real Estate Partners Americas Fund II. CBRE has been tapped to lease the tower, while Banyan Street Capital will manage the building. KKR and Banyan Street Capital plan to invest $5 million in capital improvements at the office property, including improvements to the fitness center, retail concourse, outdoor plaza, elevator landings and corridors.

A CBRE team of Justin Parsonnet, Will Yowell, Jay O’Meara and Ryan Reethof led the marketing of Salesforce Tower on behalf of the seller. A CBRE Debt & Structured Finance team of Jonathan Rice, Tom Traynor and C.J. Kelly arranged the financing for the buyer.

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Built in 1986, the 34-story office property—also known as Atlanta Plaza—recently underwent $14 million in upgrades and renovations. The tenant roster at the building includes software firm Salesforce as well as RentPath and Rubicon Global. Located at 950 East Paces Ferry Road NE, the property offers easy access to the Lenox Transit Station of the MARTA line, the T. Harvey Mathis Parkway and Interstate 85.

Atlanta’s office market has experienced steady growth over the last several months, fueled by companies looking to relocate or expand, according to a recent Yardi Matrix report. As of April 1, around 6 million square feet of office space was underway in the Georgia capital, with more than a third expected to deliver by the end of the year. In April, Columbia Property Trust sold a 700,000-square-foot office asset in the Atlanta area to Starwood Property Trust in a $227.5 million deal.