Real estate vets aim to ‘reinvent’ properties

Forum Development Group co-founder Ron Pfohl and The Griffin Cos. President Kirk Demetrops are launching their new firm, MidCity Real Estate Partners Inc. The partnership was forged as Atlanta building owners face pressure to restructure debt on many of their properties as the job market slows leasing and rents and values continue to fall. The situation is creating opportunities for firms like MidCity Real Estate Partners to buy buildings and developments that are struggling to lease up in the current market. Originally Published in the Atlanta Business Chronicle. Read More...

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Shipping firm forwards city $20M gift: Its Headquarters

JAS Forwarding Worldwide has purchased a 6.34-acre site on Barfield Road in Sandy Springs from The Griffin Co. for the relocation of its North American and worldwide headquarters from College Park south of Atlanta. The site, which is part of the former Cosmopolitan North office complex, includes three buildings at 6165, 6195 and 6205 Barfield Road that will be renovated — including new exteriors, building systems and interiors — for the freight-forwarding company’s 90,000-square-foot headquarters. Griffin Construction Services Inc., which along with its parent, The Griffin Co., is based at 800 Mount Vernon Highway in Sandy Springs, will be the general contractor of the more than $20 million state-of-art JAS corporate campus project, which will include the three two-story buildings, a walking and jogging trail, and lodging for some business travelers. Construction is scheduled to begin in the first quarter of this year… Originally Published in the Sandy Springs Reporter Read More...

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Griffin plans City Centre development

Sandy Springs native Joel Griffin’s development company, The Griffin Company, plans to build MainStreet Sandy Springs, the first major mixed-use residential/retail/office project on Roswell Road, in the heart of the area city officials have designated as the city’s Town Centre. The $75 million project, on a 5.24 –acre site in the 6000 block of Roswell Road that includes the Bank of America building, will include 75,000 square feet of professional office space, 50,000 square feet of retail shop space and 280 luxury residences. Griffin said the plaza along the drive in from Roswell Road will be a focal point of the development… Originally Published in the Sandy Springs Reporter Read More...

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Developers, users cozy up to condominiums

The benefits of owning their own buildings, combined with a lack of single-user facilities for sale, is driving demand for office, office/warehouse and (to a limited extent) retail condominiums among Atlanta-area businesses. Developers, meanwhile, often find working this niche of the property market more profitable in submarkets where, although occupancy is healthy, rents may be low… Farther north, The Griffin Co. sold out its 11,600-square-foot 50 Old Ivy office development in Buckhead upon completion last summer. Meanwhile, half of the 90,000 square feet of office on tap for its planned Centennial Walk mixed-use development in Roswell will be of the for-sale variety, according to Griffin Senior Vice President Kirk Demetrops… Originally Published in the Atlanta Business Chronicle. Read More...

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Pole Position

A recent run of good-sized deals and an improving vacancy picture have breathed new life into the once-moribund Central Perimeter office market. As a result, there’s more than one developer waiting for the right moment to start a new project — not necessarily wanting to build without an anchor tenant, but also not wanting to miss the boat altogether. The Griffin Co. Senior Vice President Kirk Demetrops said there is a lot of excitement about the Central Perimeter, which has 26 million square feet of office space… Originally Published in the Atlanta Business Chronicle. Read More...

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