CTO Realty Growth Acquires Atlanta Mixed-Use for $96M

The Collection at Forsyth. Image courtesy of CTO Realty Growth

CTO Realty Growth Inc., of Winter Park, Fla., has acquired The Collection at Forsyth, a 560,000-square-foot lifestyle, mixed-use property in Atlanta’s Forsyth County submarket for $96 million. The seller was not disclosed.

Built in 2008, the 57-acre property is just over 80 percent leased and counts Academy Sports, AMC Theatres, Ted’s Montana Grill, DSW and Barnes & Noble among its retail tenants.

Matthew Partridge, CTO senior vice president, CFO & treasurer, told Commercial Property Executive that The Collection at Forsyth also includes complementary office tenants, such as Regus, as well as medical tenant Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Urgent Care Center.

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The acquisition was structured as a reverse like-kind exchange, to account for possible future dispositions of income properties by CTO.

The purchase price reportedly represents a going-in cap rate above the range of CTO’s current guidance for initial cash yields.

In a prepared statement, CTO President & CEO John Albright noted that the acquisition was priced meaningfully below replacement cost, where there is future upside by repositioning the property through targeted capital investment to improve the overall tenant mix and lease the existing vacancy. Part of the latter, he added, will consist of finding a new grocer to take a vacant outparcel formerly occupied by Earth Fare.

Nice neighborhood

CTO has emphasized that the location is in one of Atlanta’s most affluent submarkets, with Forsyth County projected to have an exceptional population growth rate over the next five years. The submarket already has the highest median income of any county in Georgia.

The company also highlighted that numerous significant development projects are planned for the area, including a large mixed-use project announced by Fuqua Development for a site directly across Ronald Reagan Boulevard from The Collection at Forsyth. The Fuqua project is slated to include retail and restaurant space, a hotel and a self storage facility.

In addition, just east of The Collection at Forsyth, Passport Experiences plans to develop Passport Springs & Spa, a 10-acre project with 25 thermal mineral pools, 19 spa rooms, private themed cabanas and a rooftop restaurant. The resort will also feature a cave network with snow, steam, sauna and salt rooms.