Armada Hoffler Invests $215M in Atlanta Mixed-Use Project

The Interlock. Image courtesy of CommercialEdge

Armada Hoffler has expanded its presence in the Atlanta area. In an off-market transaction, the company paid $215 million for the office and retail components of The Interlock’s Phase One, a 9-acre, mixed-use development in West Midtown, to SJC Ventures.

Expected to close during the second quarter of 2023, the deal involved $100 million in fixed-rate financing and the conversion of Armada Hoffler’s existing mezzanine loan into equity, as well as the issuance of limited partnership interest units to the sponsor developer.

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The Interlock acquisition resembles another Armada Hoffler purchase. In December 2021, the company paid $246 million for the majority stake in a 23-story mixed-use property in Baltimore. The company’s investment in the Exelon building was in line with its strategy of focusing on acquiring prime mixed-use real estate assets.

An Atlanta mixed-use development

The first phase of The Interlock came online in 2021 at 1115 Howell Mill Road NW, with Armada Hoffler serving as its general contractor. The $750 million project comprises 311,000 square feet of office and retail space and a 835-space garage, as well as residential space and a hotel. The property also features a 38,000-square-foot rooftop area that’s home to a full-service restaurant, indoor bar, outdoor bar, event pavilion and a 1,200-square-foot resort-style pool.

The commercial space was 89 percent leased at the time of sale, with another six percent under lease. The roster includes Georgia Tech and WeWork, but also the nation’s first Puttshack, among others.

SJC is still working on the project’s 275,000-square-foot Phase Two, slated to encompass 186,000 square feet of office space, 92,000 square feet of retail space (including a 42,000-square-foot Publix grocery store) and a 682-bed student housing tower. Completion is expected next year.

For Armada Hoffler, The Interlock acquisition significantly expands its Atlanta-area footprint. The firm’s local portfolio also includes the 223-unit Gainesville Apartments and Southern Post, a 4.3-acre mixed-use development transforming the former site of Roswell Plaza into a live-work-play destination.