Daniel Corp. Teams Up with MetLife in Atlanta on Office Leasing

Daniel Corp. is expanding its reach in the Atlanta office market and its relationship with MetLife as it takes on management and leasing duties for 890,000 square feet in three MetLife-owned office properties in the Atlanta region. Beginning in July, Daniel Corp. will run and lease TownPark Commons, Midtown Heights and Georgia 400 Center for MetLife. The two companies have worked together for 25 years, including several development projects in Atlanta. “Although we only accept limited third-party assignments, given the scope of the development activity we have with MetLife and the success of those projects, it made sense for both parties to further expand our relationship,” Steve Baile, senior vice president of Birmingham, Ala.-based Daniel Corp., said today in a release. TownPark Commons is comprised of four Class A buildings each with about 85,000 square feet of space in north Cobb County on Chastain Road. The two Midtown Heights buildings are located at 1330 and 1350 Spring streets and contain about 137,000 square feet. The Georgia 400 Center is an 81-acre complex located in the north Fulton County community of Alpharetta that is master-planned for 800,000 square feet of Class A office space. Daniel Corp. will manage and lease the 2300, 2325 and 2400 buildings with a total of 428,000 square feet. The new arrangement with MetLife gives Daniel Corp. about 2.2 million square feet of space in the Atlanta market that it is leasing and/or managing. Over the past 30 years, Daniel Corp. has developed or acquired more than 10 million square feet of office space, more than 10,000 multi-family residences and over 10,000 acres of land for office parks and master-planned communities, mostly in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic regions. In late March, Daniel Corp. bought the 103-acre Birmingham corporate campus and headquarters of HealthSouth Corp. for $43.5 million in cash and a 40 percent residual interest in a 13-story building on the campus known as the “Digital Hospital.” Much of Daniel Corp.’s recent activity, particularly with insurance giant MetLife, has been in Atlanta. CPN reported May 1, 2007, that Daniel, MetLife, Selig Enterprises and the Canyon-Johnson Urban Funds L.L.C. were teaming up on a $1.1 billion luxury mixed-used project spanning three blocks near Peachtree and 12 streets known as the 12th and Midtown project. The partners have also worked on Plaza Midtown, a mixed-use development with 418 condos ranging in price from $160,000 to $450,000 in two towers and 70,000 square feet of retail. With all the activity centered in Atlanta, Daniel Corp. said today it was beefing up its senior real estate team in the Georgia city. John Zintak has been named vice president of commercial leasing and development and will oversee the entire Atlanta commercial leasing division. Also joining Daniel Corp. is Rick Amon, a Certified Property Manager who will be a regional director in Atlanta at Daniel Realty Services, the management and leasing subsidiary.