Two Acworth shopping centers are demonstrating a return of investor demand. (The holidays are sooner than you think.)
We spoke with Colliers International's
Tony D'Ambrosio, who says investor appetite for Atlanta retail has product "
flying off the shelf." Tony and Colliers'
Joseph Montgomery recently sold both Acworth Crossing and Acworth Avenue Shops, and Tony says the two demonstrate
polar opposites of what investors want in Atlanta retail: Acworth Crossing, a
119k SF power center anchored by Best Buy, sold for
$12.5M to Atlanta-based Monarch Investments as a
value-add play since it's only 83% leased. Acworth Avenue Shops is
only 16k SF but fully leased and sold for
$3.6M as a stabilized asset.
"I think the
spigot has opened for capital markets in retail," Tony says. "The buyers are
off the sidelines" in the Southeast. This year, Tony has closed more than 12 shopping center sales and has
five under contract. Investors want either stabilized assets or ones with wiggle room for value enhancement, he tells us. But as the Acworth property demonstrates, investors also are
not completely focused on
CBD properties as well.
