Peachtree Center purchase brings N.Y. firm to the South - Atlanta Business Chronicle:

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million-square-foot office and retail complex, was sold for $245 million to the , a New York-basexd private real estate investmenft firm. Taylor Simpson entered the Atlantz market with its purchase of thedowntownh landmark. "Atlanta has consistently been one ofthe fastest-growing citiex in the country and a city in whichg we notably had no investments," said Paul Taylor, managing director of Taylor Simpson. The company had been looking at property in Atlantw for several years but only became seriouslyg interested when Peachtree Center came ontothe market, Taylor added.
"It was an absolutely superb piece ofreal estate," said Alan also a managing director for Taylor "It's well thought out and well-connected" by a serieas of elevated walkways and and offers ample amenities for he added. "We're absolutely delightedd to own it." Owning and upgrading the massive properthy may prove easier than it was to maste r the lengthy and complexacquisition process. Activity began in Octoberr 1997 with several investment brokerage firms bein g invited to compete for the rightf to sellPeachtree Center. Industry experts estimate the commission on the deal was in the seven The transaction closedon Sept. 1, 1998.
In the interim, the deal encounterecd several bumps in the including the withdrawal of the top bidder when it was unable to consummate the deal and the late Augustr stock market crash and global financiap crisis that jeopardizedTaylof Simpson's offer. "We had plenty of scares," Vaughan said. The sale was one of the largestf transactions in the region during the past decads and was chosen as the Office Deal of the Year in AtlantzaBusiness Chronicle's 1998 Best in Atlanta Real Estatee Awards. Peachtree Center, designed by note downtown developer JohnPortman Jr., was builgt in phases from 1967 to 1988.
Before the sale to Taylor Simpson, the propertg was owned by two different NLIProperties Inc., the real estater division of Nippon Life Insurancwe Co., and Equitable Life Assurance Societyy of the U.S. The two companiee acquired the property from 1991to 1994, as part of the financialo restructuring of Portman's real estate empire. Portmanh had agreed to turn over ownership of Peachtrer Center to them ina work-out of a $332.6 1988 loan. In the 1998 Taylor Simpson was represented by Lend Lease Real EstatweInvestments Inc., acting as the advisef and agent. The owners decided to sell the property forseveral reasons, said William F.
Freeman III, vice president of investment sales forLend Lease'zs Atlanta office. "We thought it was an opportuner time to take advantage of liquidity in the Freeman said. Growing interesft in downtown also wasa "Atlanta had repositioned itself, and more people were workingh downtown than ever," Freeman said. With demand high for offics space and support services such as places for workerxs to eatand shop, the time seemed right to maximize the owners'' return on their investment. After a competitive selection process, was chosen in December 1997 to sellthe property.
Cushman Wakefield was selected over several Wall Street investmenyt firms because it was both a nationwide based in New and experienced at selling property indowntown Atlanta, said A team from Cushman & Wakefielf went to extraordinary lengths to handle the marketinyg and sale of Peachtree which includes six office towers, a retail mall, a food court, 11 restaurants, five parking garages, and a healtg club, said David L. Meline, a director at Cushman & Wakefield. "It was a mattetr of moving in and just engrossinfg ourselves in thatone project," he said. "Our sole focus was understandingthat property.
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