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Two well-known Metro Atlanta retail investors have joined forces to buy a prominent Sandy Springs upscale shopping center.
Connolly and Coro Realty Advisors paid $40.5M for Sandy Springs Gateway, a 121K SF, Sprouts Farmers Market-anchored retail center at the corner of Roswell and West Wieuca roads. Core Property Capital closed on its sale of the property on Valentine's Day.
The new owners aim to position the project, which was developed by Core Property in 2015, as a gathering hub for the surrounding community and patrons of the popular outdoor music and performance venue Chastain Park a little over a mile away.
“Sandy Springs Gateway is a supremely located asset on the Roswell Road retail corridor at the junction of Atlanta’s most affluent communities,” Connolly CEO J.R. Connolly said in a press release. “This is not just another vehicle-oriented strip center. This asset has a pedestrian-friendly site plan with street-front retail and a strong merchandising mix that appeals to the surrounding neighborhoods.”
Sandy Springs Gateway is Connolly and Coro's third joint venture together, after the partnership developed the mixed-use Parkview on Peachtree in Chamblee and redeveloped and then sold the Arbor Square shopping center in Douglasville.
A longtime suburban neighborhood shopping center developer, Connolly pivoted toward retail acquisitions last year, acquiring Towne Lake Plaza, a 28K SF strip center in Downtown Woodstock in September.
Much like its plan for Gateway, Connolly said the partners are repositioning Towne Lake Plaza as a gathering hub for the Downtown Woodstock community. The city is undergoing a downtown revitalization that includes a roundabout and new sidewalks around the strip center.
Sandy Springs Gateway is 82% leased with tenants such as Big B's Fish Joint, Taka Sushi and Passion, Chipotle, Kale Me Crazy, Corks & Caps, CVS and Blast Fitness Studio. Eastdil Secured Director Conor Lalor and Managing Director Eric Zimmermann brokered the deal.
The property also has 28K SF of boutique office and is adjacent to two luxury apartment communities with a combined 630 units: The Collection and The Gateway Chastain.
“The property has huge potential to become the number one high-energy, 18-hour destination in the neighborhood,” Coro Realty President Robert Fransen said in a statement. “Our goal is to elevate the overall visitor experience no matter the duration of their stay. We are currently evaluating capital improvement plans that will enhance the consumer experience.”
CORRECTION, FEB. 16, 2:30 P.M. ET: A previous version of this story misidentified the developer of Sandy Springs Gateway. The story has been updated.
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