Medical Professional School Headed To West End: The Atlanta Deal Sheet
A school focused on training medical professionals has secured its first branch in Georgia within the Lee + White adaptive reuse project.
Concorde Career Colleges inked a 47K SF lease at the 929 Building at Lee + White on Atlanta’s West End.
Concorde, a division of Universal Technical Institute Inc., specializes in training programs for healthcare workers and healthcare administrators, according to an Ackerman & Co. press release. The Atlanta campus will welcome up to 700 students.
Cushman & Wakefield’s April Parrish brokered the deal for Concorde, while Partners Real Estate’s Porter Henritze and Melanie Wolfe represented the landlords, MDH Partners and Ackerman.
“Atlanta’s vibrant economy, world-class healthcare and ongoing demand for skilled healthcare and dental professionals make it an ideal location for a Concorde campus,” Kevin Prehn, president of Concorde, said in the release.
Lee + White is also home to the Ogle School cosmetology institute as well as the headquarters for Carbice and JTEC.
Concorde plans to open in 2027.
LEASES
Cancer research firm City of Hope opened a consulting location off Howell Mill Road.
The firm leased 2,600 SF at Paces Pavilion, a 102K SF medical office building just east of Northside Parkway. This is the City of Hope’s second Atlanta location, and it will conduct advanced cancer research there.
City of Hope also operates a center for cancer surgeries and treatments in Newnan.
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PNC Bank is leasing and remodeling a 4K SF building that was formerly home to The Original Pancake House in Cheshire Square.
The square is a 98K SF retail center anchored by Publix Super Markets and the iconic Tara Theatre, owned by Halpern Enterprises.
Franklin Street’s Monetha Cobb brokered the deal for PNC.
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Engineering firm WSP renewed its 30K SF lease at 1075 Big Shanty Road, a 73K SF building owned by The Atlantic Cos. near the city of Kennesaw, Atlanta Business Chronicle reported.
Lincoln Property Co.’s Maia Perri, Michael Howell and Hunter Henritze brokered the lease for the landlord. The trio also brokered The Emory Clinic’s 20K SF lease and FEI Group’s 15K SF lease to completely fill up the facility, the report said.
Thai tapas restaurant Khao Thai Isan leased 5K SF of retail space of The Mitchell within the $5B Centennial Yards mixed-use development in Downtown Atlanta. The restaurant will be operated by Taiwanese natives Niki and Tanya Pattharakositkul, who also operate 26 Thai, Pink Lotus and Blackjack Bar Tapas in Atlanta.
The eatery is set to open before the 2026 World Cup.
FINANCING
Columbia Residential obtained financing to cover development of the planned $65M The Square at NoDA, a mixed-income project in Downtown Athens.
The project is part of a multiphase development across 12 acres on the site of the former Bethel Midtown Village and College & Hoyt senior community.
Columbia, in partnership with Jonathan Rose Cos. and the Athens Housing Authority, received a $43.8M construction loan and $42.6M tax credit equity financing from U.S. Bank, $34.7M in tax-exempt cash collateralized bonds and a $3.5M permanent construction loan from the housing authority, and a $15.2M permanent loan from KeyBank National Association.
The Square at NoDA will feature 146 units priced between affordable and workforce housing rents. It is the second phase of the project.
The first phase, The View at NoDA, a 120-unit mixed-income project, delivered and opened in December 2024.
The new development, set to break ground in the fall of 2027, will feature a community room, a gym and computer center and is located at 101 Madison Ave., just a quarter-mile from the University of Georgia campus.
PERSONNEL
Michael Watson has joined Avison Young in Atlanta as senior vice president, focused on net lease investments. He previously worked at Northmarq, where he completed more than $2B in transactions of retail, industrial, medical office and multitenant buildings.
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Portman Holdings hired Jimmy Warren as vice president of industrial development, leading new projects ranging from 100K SF to 1M SF in the Southeast.
The real estate veteran was a development partner at Huntington Industrial Partners and was previously assistant vice president at Walker & Dunlop, focusing on debt and equity placement in the Sun Belt. Warren has helped deploy some $1.5B in capital in his career.
DEVELOPMENT
Transwestern Development Co., in a joint venture with Transwestern Investment Group, plans to develop two warehouses totaling more than 528K SF at the North Gate Industrial Park in Savannah. The partnership acquired more than 30 acres in Effingham County for the project at the intersection of Georgia State Route 21 and Old Augusta Road, just 10 miles from the Port of Savannah.
Transwestern is breaking ground this month and will deliver by the end of 2026.
