Harbert Management Corp./Simpson Organization JV Acquires Two-Building, in CBRE-Brokered Deal Following Amenity Improvements and Major Lease with Mercedes-Benz
Atlanta (August 20, 2015) – Rubenstein Partners, L.P. (including its affiliates, “Rubenstein”) announced the sale of the Sterling Pointe office complex in Atlanta’s Central Perimeter submarket to a joint venture of Harbert Management Corporation and The Simpson Organization, Inc. CBRE brokered the transaction.
Sterling Pointe consists of two adjacent buildings, Sterling Pointe I and Sterling Pointe II, comprising 351,345 square feet. Since acquiring the property Rubenstein has executed a business plan to add value by repositioning the asset through significant building renovations, stabilizing occupancy, and creating a mixed-use, amenity-rich environment – enhancing and improving upon what was previously a traditional suburban-style campus. On the leasing side the most significant accomplishment is the recent 89,910 square feet lease to Mercedes-Benz USA. To amenitize Sterling Pointe, Rubenstein facilitated the addition of adjacent hotel and retail uses by selling 3.5 acres of former parking lots as a new development site. A hotel is currently under construction, with completion expected in January 2016. Retail stores, including amenity retail in the form of a Corner Bakery Café and restaurants, will open this fall.
“Sterling Pointe, we firmly believe, is a great example of our ability to identify value-add office opportunities and execute successfully at the property level,” said David Canaday, Senior Vice President of Rubenstein Partners and regional director for Atlanta. “In terms of location, Sterling Pointe in our opinion offers everything that major tenants are looking for in metro Atlanta: a prominent and thriving submarket in the Central Perimeter, and easy access to all of Atlanta’s interstates, the airport and MARTA. What we had to do was invest wisely in improvements to lobbies, common areas, building amenities, parking and other strategies to make the asset more competitive in its submarket, and we believe we have done that through amenitization and successful leaseup.”
Mercedes-Benz USA recently selected Sterling Pointe II as the site of its temporary corporate headquarters. The luxury car maker signed a three-year lease for 89,910 square feet, with the potential for further expansion. The company is relocating from Montvale, N.J., to metro Atlanta and began moving employees into Sterling Pointe this summer. Overall, Mercedes-Benz USA’s move to metro Atlanta is expected to bring 800 to 1,000 jobs to the region.
“We consider the lease with Mercedes Benz USA a confirmation of the exceptional quality of the property and of the dedication of our asset management team. We also believe it exemplifies how Rubenstein Partners executes transactions with the speed, confidentiality, creativity and knowledge necessary to service major corporate real estate users,” added Eric Schiela, Chief Operating Officer of Rubenstein Partners.
William C. Yowell, Jay O’Meara, and Justin Parsonnet of CBRE marketed Sterling Pointe on behalf of Rubenstein, and represented Rubenstein in the transaction.
About Rubenstein Partners
Rubenstein Partners, L.P., founded in September 2005, is a private real estate investment management and advisory firm with operations throughout the Eastern U.S. The firm is led by its founder, David Rubenstein, and a group of senior real estate executives, and is focused on directing and managing value-added office real estate investments, primarily in the Eastern U.S. Rubenstein Partners’ predecessor company, The Rubenstein Company, LP and affiliates, founded in 1969, was one of the largest private owner operators of Class A office real estate in the Mid-Atlantic, owning and operating a portfolio of assets valued at approximately $1.2 billion at the time of its disposition in 2004. Since 2005, Rubenstein Partners has, on behalf of its investors and clients, invested in more than 10,000,000 square feet of office real estate assets throughout the Eastern U.S. For more information, visit www.rubensteinpartners.com.