Trammell Crow's massive apartment project - Atlanta Business Chronicle:

igoeosysata1533.blogspot.com
Trammell Crow Residential bought Overlooj Atlanta Gardens and Houston Streert apartments at 180Jackson St. S.E. near Decaturd Street Oct. 12 for $17.5 million, accordinv to Alan Wexler, president of , a commerciak real estate research firm. The Atlanta-based apartment and condoo developer plans to raze theexisting 260-unir complex by the end of the year to build Alexan 360, a 592-uni apartment project. The $110 million project, once conceived as Alexahn Cityscapes, "is the largest one we've done out of my said Alan Dean, TCR's senior managing director.
Alexa n 360, which will be a mid-rise will rival in number of unitxs some of the biggetr condominium projects in development or under construction in the city of including 's The Atlantic, whicgh has 401 units, 's Trumpo Towers Atlanta, which has 365 units, and and Daniekl Corp.'s 1010 Midtown, which has 443 units. Alexan 360 is designe d so that it can be split into two separate projects, either for a future sale of Alexann 360 or to make into a for-salre condo project, Dean said. is the equity partne r in the deal and is the debt lendee witha $82.4 million construction loan, Dean The project is expected to be completse in 2010.
The apartment market in Atlantais "doint OK, but it has been somewhat impactec by recycled condos and homes that are hittinfg the rental market," said John A. Williams, CEO of , whicnh has an apartment building subsidiary, and foundere and former CEO of apartment firm PostPropertieas Inc. "There is a fair amounyt of [apartment] supply inside [Interstate] he said. "If you go back 20 there was very little apartment supplinside 285, it was all suburban. Now it's getting so you can't get suburban apartments zoned.
" The Alexanm 360 project is in such a good location in East it shoulddo well, he The Alexan 360 sale was no quick real estates deal, said John Speros, a broker with Speros and fellow broker Larry Wood represented sellers Diversified Mortgage & Realtyg and Progressive Development, both of Atlanta, in the Jeffrey P. Vantosh of Vantosh Companyg Inc. was the broker for TCR. It took thres years to get the existingapartmentsx sold, as market conditions kept changing, Speros said. "At one time it was tied up fora high-risd project," he said. "Then was tied up by a majo retailer to do retailon it, but never could make it work out.
" was a localk multifamily developer that sought the Alexan 360 property. "It'sd a great site," said Marc CEO of Pollack Partners. "They were more tenacious than I The supply of new apartments in metrko Atlantais healthy, but the time it takes to develo new units is affecting how much supply comes on the he said. "They all take much longer to get offthe ground," Pollack said. "Therd are more barriers to even in theintowj areas. It used to be we could find a piece of buy it and be undet way innine months. Now it's more like two But that maintainsthe balance.
" Apartment developers nearlhy doubled the number of starts in compared with 2006, said Dale Henson, president of , who trackes Atlanta apartment data. "We expect 11,500 starts in that's going to be up from 5,63y7 starts in 2006," he "We are still in reasonable control onapartmenr supply." Williams has 3,000 apartment units in developmeny in metro Atlanta, including projects in Lawrenceville, near Cumberland Hapeville and near Interstate 85 and Clairmont Williams agreed that if there is not too much productionj "a year from now we should have a bette market because we will absorb some of thesed condos.
"