Shorenstein Buys Atlanta Office Tower

July 25, 2024

This Class A asset changed hands in an all-cash deal.

Shorenstein Investment Advisers has acquired 14th & Spring, a 12-story, 324,000-square-foot office tower in Atlanta. The deal reportedly closed with all cash and without any financing.

Greenstone Properties and equity partner Goldman Sachs put the Class A asset up for sale in February. The property is subject to a 13-year unsubordinated net ground lease held by the Development Authority of Fulton County, expiring December 2032, according to information provided by CommercialEdge.

Greenstone broke ground on the project in 2019, financing its construction with an $84.7 million loan from U.S. Bank, the same source shows. HKS served as architect.

The office tower has been empty since its completion, in 2022. It features outdoor balcony spaces, collaboration hubs, an expansive lobby, coffee shop and fitness center.

Shorenstein will be undertaking a capital improvement plan involving enhanced common areas and a further expansion of amenities. To bring this project to fruition, the firm has engaged ASD | SKY to reposition the lobby, enhance the exterior, update the building entrance and expand amenity offerings. In addition, Murphy Meyers has been selected to design a full floor of speculative suites in various sizes, to be constructed as soon as possible.

CBRE’s leasing team is led by Jeff Keppen, Nicole Goldsmith and Kyle Kenyon, with new member Maddie Nagley.

The LEED Silver-certified property is at 1150 Spring St. in Midtown Atlanta, accessible to the Downtown Connector, and within walking distance of hotels, multifamily residences, and retail and dining attractions.

Quality, Southern style

Claude Esposito, vice president at Shorenstein, told Commercial Property Executive, “The flight-to-quality trend evident across the country is also prevalent in Atlanta. We believe tenants will be attracted to the modern features of the property and our planned improvements.”

Research from JLL indicates that Midtown office properties built since 2015 have seen more than 3.8 million square feet of net occupancy gains over the past three years, in contrast to their older counterparts, which saw more than 1.6 million square feet of net occupancy losses.

“Return to office has also been gaining momentum,” Esposito said.

According to a recent Cushman & Wakefield office utilization survey for Atlanta, approximately 85 percent of the 150 companies that responded require three or more days in the office.

In May, a joint venture of Shorenstein and Stiles opened 110 East, a 23-story, 370,000-square-foot Class A office building in Charlotte, N.C. The $186 million project received LEED Gold and WiredScore Platinum certifications.