By Doug Sams, April 13, 2017: Barely over a year since buying Interstate North Office Park, Rubenstein Partners L.P. is launching a $15 million renovation of the 11-building development next to the Braves’ SunTrust Park and Battery Atlanta.
Rubenstein will rename the nearly 1-million-square-foot office project Pennant Park. Construction is expected to be completed by early 2018. ASD|SKY is the architect.
The nearly 70-acre Interstate North office development, which was built in Cobb County years ago, stands in the shadow of SunTrust Park and The Battery Atlanta, the Braves’ new ballpark and $1 billion mixed-use development. That massive project has been a catalyst for the biggest wave of economic development Cumberland has experienced in decades.
HD Supply, Synovus Financial Corp. and RaceTrac are each anchoring new Cumberland area office buildings. Rubenstein Partners is hoping it could land its own large office tenant. It could put together blocks of office space up to 250,000 square feet, its brokers say.
Cushman & Wakefield is handling Pennant Park leasing.
Rubenstein’s capital improvement plan will cover the entire complex, aiming to make it a more walkable development. It will create an outdoor collaborative workspace, renovate interiors, and offer a new bike share program for office tenants.
Pennant Park would also connect using walking and biking trails to the Braves’ ballpark and mixed-use project, The Battery Atlanta.
That connection would link the office park to a Battery Atlanta amenity base that includes an Omni Hotel, first-to-market restaurants including Wahlburgers — the burger joint from actors Mark and Donnie Wahlberg — and local favorites such as Antico Pizza. The proximity could be a strong selling point to potential tenants, said Rubenstein’s Taylor Smith.
The update could should also make it more competitive when Rubenstein seeks to land companies looking for large headquarters and regional offices, Smith said. Metro Atlanta continues to have chances to woo big economic development projects. For example, Atlanta has been competing with Dallas for a 500,000-square-foot office consolidation proposed by insurance giant AIG.
Rubenstein also believes it’s one of the only Cumberland office landlords with an office project enhancing its connection to the Battery and SunTrust Park, Smith said.
The real estate company acquired Interstate North Office Park last April for $87 million. Interstate North is about 60 percent leased.
If the renovation is successful in spurring leasing activity and repositioning the park, Rubinstein would likely start putting those buildings on the market. Consider that last month California-based Brookhill Corp. bought 150 Interstate North Parkway, a 61,000-square-foot building within the office park. Brookhill paid almost $11 million.