ATLANTA—The vacant Forty One Marietta for has a new owner. 41 Marietta Investments paid $4.7 million, or just over $36 per foot, for the vacant 1970s office building.
Jake Reid and Ricky Jones, both of Franklin Street’s Atlanta office, represented a private seller in the sale of the 13-story multifamily building. Forty One Marietta is located in the heart of Downtown Atlanta.
“The absence of off-street parking and desirable location make the property ideal for repositioning in a growing office market, or as a mixed-use redevelopment consisting of student housing or a hotel with ground floor retail,” Reid said. The building is within walking distance to Georgia State University, the Atlanta Streetcar, and the Five Points MARTA station.
“Given all of the recent activity in the often overlooked downtown submarket, the investor is considering multiple scenarios relating to their investment in the property,” says Reid. “With strong demand, limited supply, and rising rental rates in the downtown submarket, multifamily is an obvious play for the building. However, the investor will likely take into account rising construction costs in their immediate plans for the property.”
Georgia State University, The Atlanta Street Car, and the Atlanta Falcons Stadium are major catalysts to economic growth in Downtown Atlanta. Reid attributes strong demand in the market to the increased infill housing and office needs.
“While markets like Midtown and Buckhead have been the frontrunners for investment in Atlanta, investors, both regional and international, are just beginning to recognize the potential for the Downtown submarket,” Reid says. “With economists predicting more than 140,000 new jobs in Atlanta in 2015, employing mostly Millennials, the demand for urban living is at an all-time high.”
