A super-regional shopping center in Conyers has traded for nearly $176 per SF, another piece of evidence that shows investors are hungry to buy Metro Atlanta retail.

New York-based Serota Properties purchased Conyers Crossroads from Hendon Properties and Harbert Management Corp. for $82M. The fully leased, 466K SF open-air shopping center — anchored by Kohl's, Belk, AMC, T.J. Maxx, Best Buy, HomeGoods, Michaels, Old Navy, Five Below and Shoe Carnival — is located 26 miles east of Atlanta off Interstate 20 in Rockdale County.

JLL Senior Managing Director Jim Hamilton, Managing Director Brad Buchanan and associate Taylor Callaway brokered the transaction.

Its position in Conyers makes it one of the largest shopping centers in the area, with a customer draw of 100 miles and more than 3.7 million annual shoppers, according to JLL. Since its second phase of construction was completed in 2005, Conyers Crossroads' occupancy has averaged 97%.

According to a recent Marcus & Millichap report, out-of-town investors have been eagerly buying Metro Atlanta retail in their chase for yield, especially given the metro retail economy has largely recovered from the depths of the pandemic.

SALES

Baltimore-based Continental Realty Corp. has purchased Banks Crossing, a 255K SF regional shopping center in Fayetteville, for $24.35M. The property, anchored by Kroger and JCPenney, is 91% leased. Continental didn't reveal a buyer in the press release, but according to Fayette County tax assessor's data, the last listed owner was an LLC with an address tied to New York-based Nightingale Properties, which purchased the property in 2012 for nearly $19.5M.

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Northland has picked up The Maven, a 276-unit garden-style apartment complex in Suwanee, from an LLC listed to PGIM Real Estate. The property, which includes five apartment buildings and 12,700 SF of retail, is located in the affluent community in Gwinnett County, some 30 miles north of Atlanta. The property is fully leased.

Northland didn't disclose a purchase price. The property had a total assessed value of $24.1M this year, according to Gwinnett County Tax Assessor's Office data.

REZONING

Urban Oasis Development has filed an application with the city of Atlanta to rezone 554 University Ave. in the Pittsburgh neighborhood from industrial to mixed-use to prepare for a “context-sensitive infill development” that will have a mix of market-rate and workforce housing units and commercial uses, according to the application.

“The proposed development seeks to support the goals of the city of Atlanta by providing a model for creative neighborhood-scale housing through providing more affordable housing types and community amenities,” Kronberg Urbanists + Architects principal Eric Kronberg wrote in the application.

A hearing with the city's zoning review board is scheduled for July 7.

LEASES

Paces Properties has snagged leases with two new eatery concepts for its Atlanta Dairies redevelopment on Memorial Drive. Neapolitan pizzeria Spina Pizza — created by the son of O4W Pizza creator Anthony Spina Sr. — and Small Fry, a fast-casual concept from Skip Engelbrecht of Paris on Ponce and La Maison Rouge and Nhan Le of Octopus Bar and 8Arm are taking two restaurant spaces at the project, according to a press release.

PERSONNEL

The founder of the popular Lawrenceville community theater has been tapped by the nonprofit HUB404 Conservancy Inc. to lead its charge to build a park over Georgia Highway 400 in Buckhead.

Anthony Rodriguez, the CEO of the Aurora Theatre in Downtown Lawrenceville, some 30 miles north of Buckhead, has been named as HUB404's first executive director and will help the organization raise the funding and plan for the highway-capping park. Upon establishing the Aurora Theatre in 2021, Rodriguez, who also serves on the boards of the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce and the Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, has grown the professional venue from one employee and a $50K annual budget to one with 30 employees and a $4.2M annual budget.

The park would connect to Buckhead's PATH400 pedestrian trail and is expected to cost more than $200M.