November 11, 2021 – A Philadelphia-based fund manager bought a mid-rise office building in north Fulton for $48 million, showing confidence in the suburban office market.
Rubenstein Partners purchased 5405 Windward Parkway, a four-story, 247,000 square foot office building in Alpharetta. Rubenstein paid $194 per square foot, according to Fulton County property deeds. Raleigh, N.C.-based Highwoods Properties was the seller.
The all-cash deal closed October 29. Fulton County values the property at $27 million, according to county records.
They said it: The sale of 5405 Windward “is right in line with the submarket average, and the pricing is similar to what other late 1990s-era properties have traded for in recent quarters,” said David Kahn, director of market analytics for commercial real estate research firm CoStar Group’s Southeast division.
Big picture: The sale price is the third highest for an office property in the north Fulton market this year, according to CoStar. The $56 million sale of Continuum Alpharetta in January and the $48.9 million sale of 1130 Sanctuary Park in February are the only sales that were higher in value. Sanctuary Park involved a three-property, $135 million deal between Rubenstein Partners and Starwood Capital.
Adding to the portfolio: Rubenstein Partners still owns a portion of nearby Sanctuary Park. It sees the purchase of 5405 Windward Parkway as a complement to other buildings in its metro Atlanta portfolio, which also includes properties in Buckhead and northwest Atlanta. Rubenstein Senior Vice President of Asset Management Mahesh Mani said 5405 is “a high quality suburban asset.”
‘We are confident:’ The property is 93% leased, with 16,000 square feet available on the third floor, Mani said. The building’s two existing tenants are Avanos Medical and Andritz Group. The companies have several years remaining on their leases. “We are confident those tenants will stay with us, and if not, we have a ton of time to solve those matters,” Mani said.
The basics: Richard Reid and Ralph Smalley with Jones Lang LaSalle brokered the sale of 5405 Windward. Built on 18 acres, it was once the headquarters of Nortel Networks.