Midtown's Crowne Plaza Sells For Over $35M: The Atlanta Deal Sheet

A pair of investment firms purchased a major Midtown hotel with plans to switch its brand to a Marriott flag.

Monomoy Property Ventures and Axonic Capital purchased the Crowne Plaza Atlanta - Midtown, a 462-room hotel that also shares a brand with Staybridge Suites Atlanta - Midtown, the companies announced earlier this month. Both brands are run by Atlanta-based IHG Hotels & Resorts.

FO Peachtree Property LLC sold the property for $35.5M, according to records filed with the Georgia Superior Court Clerks' Cooperative Authority database. 

The new owners plan to reflag the hotel under the Marriott Bonvoy Hotels umbrella after renovating the property, according to the press release. The renovation is set to commence in 2026, with a reopening date in late 2027. 

SALES

New York-based ShopOne Centers REIT Inc., Pantheon and an unidentified global institutional investor bought the Publix-anchored Stockbridge Lakes shopping center in Henry County for an undisclosed sum from Marietta-based Retail Planning Corp., the Atlanta Business Chronicle reported.

In 2018, Retail Planning acquired the 79K SF shopping center for $6.3M, according to the ABC.

LEASES

Chef Demetrius Brown has leased 3K SF for his Heritage Supper Club restaurant at 63 Georgia Ave. in Downtown Atlanta’s Summerhill neighborhood, according to a press release. This will be the first permanent restaurant for Heritage since Brown founded it as a pop-up in 2021. 

Brown’s Bellevue Hospitality, co-owned by restaurateur Brandon Blanchard, also operates Bread & Butterfly bistro in Inman Park. 

Gene Kansas Commercial Real Estate brokered the deal.

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Giggle Town, an interactive children’s play concept, leased 7,100 SF at The Collection at Forsyth, a mixed-use destination in Cumming. JLL Vice President Sherri Wilson brokered the deal on behalf of the landlord, CTO Realty Growth Inc.

The 565K SF project at the intersection of Georgia 400 and Peachtree Parkway includes Academy Sports, Barnes & Noble, AMC and a recently opened Build-A-Bear Workshop among its tenant base.

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Mercedes-Benz inked a 60K SF lease at Buildings 200 and 300 at 384 Northyards Blvd. at the southern edge of Midtown for a new research and technology center, the luxury automaker announced earlier this week. 

The carmaker will renovate the space with plans to open its R&D center in summer 2026. Will Porter and Aileen Almassy of Partners Real Estate brokered the deal for the landlord, MetLife.

DEVELOPMENT

The Atlantic Cos. is developing the Hillrose Market in conjunction with the city of Roswell. The mixed-use project is set to consist of a six-building, 75K SF retail village, an office building, 143 luxury rental flats and 16 for-sale brownstones, according to a press release.

Atlantic also plans to redevelop the former Roswell Police Department building into a mixed-use hub. The building in Downtown Roswell will have ground-floor retail and second-floor workspaces, according to the release. 

The project is expected to begin next year, with the first phase delivering in 2027.

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Florida-based Southern Ventures has been tapped by the city of Woodstock to develop a 130-room hotel across from the Northside Hospital-Cherokee Amphitheater in the city’s downtown, the Atlanta Business Chronicle reported.

Southern Ventures is in discussions with a major hotel company to brand the project, which will include a spa, food and beverage venues, ground-floor retail and a 5K SF meeting and event space. Cobb County-based Valor Hospitality Partners will manage the hotel.

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Atlanta-based developer Connolly broke ground on Woodstock Mill District, a 118K SF Publix-anchored shopping center off Towne Lake Parkway in Downtown Woodstock, according to a press release. Aside from the 47K SF grocery store, the project will include six freestanding one- and two-story retail and commercial buildings. It will encompass the existing 28K SF Towne Lake Plaza, which Connolly purchased in 2021.

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Developers Matthews Southwest Hospitality and Atlanta-based Songy Highroads broke ground on Signia by Hilton Savannah, a 444-room, full-service hotel that will also act as the headquarters for the Savannah Convention Center. 

The project is owned by the Savannah-Georgia Convention Center Authority along with the Georgia World Congress Center Authority and is expected to open in 2028. The hotel will connect directly to the convention center and include 38K SF of meeting space and a 13K SF ballroom.

Songy obtained a $390M municipal bond last month through Morgan Stanley to help finance the project, according to a press release.

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Edged Energy is moving forward on a third and final data center facility at Tilford Yard. The company filed an application with the city of Atlanta to build out a 218K SF data center for $217M, Bisnow reported.

PERSONNEL

Christa Huffstickler, the founder and CEO of the residential brokerage firm Engel & Völkers, sold a majority shareholder stake in her North Georgia Mountains luxury home brokerage house to LH Group, a North Georgia-based real estate firm that focuses on mountain homes and lakefront properties.

Huffstickler will remain a shareholder in the newly merged firm. LH Group’s real estate team of Linda Baker and Heather Foresman are the majority shareholders of North Georgia Mountains.

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Ridgeline Property Group tapped Will Lombard as a partner, directing its Atlanta operations and overseeing speculative and build-to-suit industrial developments and value-add acquisitions. Lombard, an 18-year CRE veteran, most recently served as senior vice president for Trammell Crow in Atlanta and has spearheaded 15M SF of industrial development in his career.

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Atlanta apartment giant RangeWater Real Estate named Wendy Tucker as managing director of its property management division, overseeing the firm’s operations in coastal Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and the mid-Atlantic states. 

The 25-year apartment veteran was most recently vice president of operations for CLS Living.

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Lindsay Monge joined Peachtree Group as its executive vice president of asset management, overseeing the firm’s hospitality and real estate assets. Monge came from Seaview Investors, where he led asset management and daily operations for eight Marriott and Hilton-branded upscale hotels in California. 

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Boutique retail brokerage firm Katz & Associates is expanding into the Metro Atlanta market, tapping industry vet Julie Solomon as senior vice president and Claire Crawford as director. Both Solomon and Crawford joined Katz from The Trilogy Group.

The duo have handled leasing representation for such retailers as Best Buy, Kohl’s, Andretti Indoor Karting, Outback Steakhouse and Chicken Salad Chick.

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JLL hired Donna West as senior vice president for project and development services out of Atlanta. West, with more than 20 years of experience in CRE, is tasked with launching new initiatives across Atlanta. Most recently, West led the renovation project for the law firm Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton at its 1100 Peachtree offices in Midtown, according to JLL. 

She previously worked with Cushman & Wakefield in Atlanta. 

FINANCING

MDH Partners obtained a $111.5M loan from Truist to finance a nearly 800K SF portfolio of commercial buildings across the U.S., including 3970 Johns Creek Court, a 131K SF warehouse in Suwanee. 

In June, MDH purchased the flex industrial building from an LLC tied to Pennsylvania-based Somerset Properties for $22.7M, according to Forsyth County property records.

Truist provided a five-year, nonrecourse loan for the portfolio, which also includes commercial properties in Ontario, California, and Las Vegas.

MDH Director Matthew Ludwig secured the financing, and Truist’s Mark Hancock originated the loan.