Dewberry Group Lands $186M Loan for Midtown Atlanta Building

By Gail Kalinoski

Campanile. Rendering of the renovated building courtesy of H.I.G. Realty partners

The Dewberry Group, longtime owner of the Campanile Building in Atlanta’s Midtown submarket, is financing a renovation and expansion of the office and retail asset with a $186 million loan co-originated by H.I.G. Realty Partners and Square Mile Capital Management LLC.

The comprehensive renovation will expand the existing 21-story building from 445,000 square feet to 626,000 square feet and add new ground-floor retail. Upgrades to the building at the intersection of 14^th and Peachtree streets will include high-quality finishes, a renovated marble lobby and a new, modern façade. Local media reports state the new addition will be a six-story podium around the base of the tower. It will align with the existing building to create 45,000-square-foot floorplates. Terraces will be added on the fourth and sixth floors to provide tenants with views and outdoor amenity spaces.

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The tower was built in 1987 as the headquarters for Bell South. Atlanta-based Dewberry Group acquired the building in 2010 and completed a cosmetic renovation in 2012. The building has a 38.6 percent vacancy rate, according to Yardi Matrix data. Current tenants include Pandora Media with 47,714 square feet of space and SunTrust Banks, which leases more than 97,000 square feet, Yardi Matrix reports.

Michael Mestel, H.I.G. managing director, said in a prepared statement the Dewberry Group will turn the Campanile Building into a best-in-class property. Noting that the Midtown submarket has seen a strong migration of high-quality tenants, he said the renovations and expansion will deliver office space and amenities that are attractive to companies seeking Class A space in Midtown.

Square Mile Capital Principal Eric Cohen said in prepared remarks the renovations will transform the building into one of Midtown’s most desirable places to work. Located at 1144 Peachtree St. NE, the building is situated in a growing retail area with numerous walkable amenities. It is a 10-minute walk to both the Midtown and Arts Center MARTA Transit stops with access to the Gold and Red lines. The property is also easily accessible by car via I-85, Peachtree Street, Piedmont Avenue and 14^th Street NW.

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H.I.G. Realty Partners is the real estate platform of H.I.G. Capital, a global private equity and alternative assets investment firm, and targets both equity and debt investments across all property types. In November, H.I.G. provided a $110 million loan to Boardwalk Investments Group to acquire two Class A properties and refinance other high-street assets in a 12-property retail portfolio in several Orange County towns including Newport Beach and Laguna Beach, Calif., and Yountville, Calif., in Napa County. Also in 2019, H.I.G. lent developer Vibrant Cities $31.3 million to build Pivot, a mixed-use building in Seattle’s Capitol Hill Neighborhood that includes 71 residential units, 11,000 square feet of office space and ground-floor retail.

Square Mile Capital Management’s commercial real estate debt platform provides capital solutions for CRE owners and developers throughout the United States. In February of last year, Square Mile Capital provided a $54.6 million acquisition loan to SteelWave LLC and Rialto Capital Management to buy and reposition 930 15^th Street, a 230,000-square-foot office and data center property in Denver, into a state-of-the-art office property.