Developers to Bring $150M Office Project to Atlanta

By Keith Loria

Rendering of 8 West

Atlantic Capital Properties and Gateway Ventures have teamed up to build 8 West, a 175,000-square foot office development in Atlanta’s burgeoning West Midtown submarket. Preferred Apartment Communities closed on an aggregate loan investment of roughly $67.6 million.

The construction financing will allow the developers to proceed with the speculative project. As part of the deal, Preferred Office Properties, a division of Preferred Apartment Communities, was granted an option to acquire the office project following stabilization. BL Harbert International is serving as the contractor on the project.

A transformative neighborhood

Located on the corner of Howell Mill Street and 8th Street, the property will rise nearby some of the city’s finest restaurants, including Bocado and The Optimist. Next door, a 264-unit apartment tower is being built by Trammell Crow Residential, further adding to the neighborhood.

The West Midtown area is characterized mostly for its low-rise, brick buildings and popular spots like The Goat Farm and Northside Tavern. Over the past 10 years, the area has become more of a live-work-play environment, with numerous new developments going up. Among those are Brady Avenue and 11th, where Spaces signed a 56,121-square-foot lease, and The Interlock, where WeWork signed on recently.

According to Colliers’ Atlanta Second Quarter Office Report, the city’s total investment volume is shaping up to outpace 2017, while the West Midtown market is expected to continue to drive demand.

“Proximity to Georgia Tech, a top-tier developer team with deep experience including partnering on Centergy at Technology Square, and West Midtown’s evolution into one of Atlanta’s most vibrant ‘live-work-play’ districts all support our expectation of this investment’s performance,” Boone DuPree, Preferred Office Properties’ president & chief executive officer, said in prepared remarks.

Earlier this year, Preferred Office Properties acquired Armour Yards, a development containing four recently converted office buildings in Atlanta’s Buckhead submarket.

Image courtesy of Atlantic Capital Properties, Gateway Ventures