CTO Realty Growth Announces Acquisition Of The Collection At Forsyth In Atlanta, Georgia For US$96.0 Million
CTO Realty Growth, Inc. has announced it has acquired The Collection at Forsyth, a 560,000 square foot lifestyle, mixed-use property in the Forsyth County submarket of Atlanta, Georgia (the “Property”) for a purchase price of US$96.0 million. The purchase price represents a going-in cap rate above the range of the Company’s current guidance for initial cash yields.
“Our acquisition of The Collection at Forsyth is an exciting opportunity to invest in a high-quality asset meaningfully below replacement cost where we believe there is future upside by repositioning the property through targeted capital investment, improving the overall tenant mix, and leasing the existing vacancy,” said President and Chief Executive Officer of CTO Realty Growth, John P. Albright. “We’ll be engaging our leasing team at Ashford Lane, which is just 20 miles down the road from The Collection at Forsyth, to drive tenant synergies between the two properties as we look to replicate our success at this new repositioning opportunity. Terrific demographic trends, intensive development surrounding the Property, and the potential to lease the vacant former Earth Fare outparcel building to a new grocer are all demand-driving tailwinds as we look to position The Collection at Forsyth as the go-to retail destination in this growing Atlanta submarket.”
The Collection at Forsyth sits on more than 57 acres in one of Atlanta’s most affluent submarkets in Forsyth County. Forsyth County is projected to have one of the highest population growth rates in all of Georgia over the next five years and currently has the highest median incomes of any county in Georgia. Built in 2008, the Property acts as the area’s town center, providing a mix of national and local tenants, including Academy Sports, AMC Theatres, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Ted’s Montana Grill, DSW and Barnes & Noble, and is set to further benefit from a number of significant development projects planned for the surrounding area. The Property is just over 80 per cent leased and serves an expansive trade area with highly desirable demographics, including a 5-mile population over 146,000 people with 5-mile average household incomes of more than US$172,000.
The Property was purchased using proceeds from the Company’s recent equity offering, available unrestricted cash, and draws from the Company’s unsecured revolving credit facility. The acquisition was structured as a reverse like-kind exchange in order to account for possible future dispositions of income properties by the Company.
