Land Honorable Mention

By STEVE FALL
The Atlanta Business Chronicle: Best in Atlanta Real Estate
Published on: 03/03/06

Given the success of the Centergy One/Technology Square development in Midtown, it is no surprise that developers want to expand it.

With that vision in mind, Beau King of Kim King Associates Inc. and Bob Voyles of Seven Oaks Company LLC purchased land in a joint venture called Centergy North Management.

The pair plan a mixed-use development north of the Centergy One building at 75 Fifth St., a deal that received honorable mention in the land category in Atlanta Business Chronicle’s Best in Atlanta Real Estate Awards.

“It has the same things that make all good real estate deals work, which are a great location, visibility, access and good partners,” said Voyles, the principal and CEO of Seven Oaks.

Voyles and King plan to develop two towers with up to 1.2 million square feet of office space on 7.15 acres at Eighth and Spring streets.

One building may be as high as 30 stories, giving it outstanding visibility from the Downtown Connector.

The project also calls for more than 900 condominiums, 50,000 square feet of upscale street-level retail and a pedestrian plaza. The dealmakers see the project adding to the popularity of Technology Square and Centergy One.

Kim King Associates developed Centergy One, which combines office and retail space with a new section of the Georgia Tech campus.

“One of the advantages it offers over the rest of the office market is the proximity to Georgia Tech, and the research cluster that’s being developed here,” said King, president of Kim King Associates. “Georgia Tech is a big tenant and a big part of our success in Centergy One, and we hope to continue that on the balance of the property.”

Voyles said the development will reinforce the success of Georgia Tech and Century One along Fifth Street.

Beau King’s father, Kim, a former Georgia Tech quarterback, had the original idea for this development. Kim King died in October 2004 after a long battle with cancer.

His son can now turn his vision into reality.

“It’s just a tremendous opportunity for us to develop this site that my father originally put together,” King said.

By extending their development two blocks north of the Centergy One building, Voyles and King will continue to transform a previously run-down section of Midtown. They plan to add more restaurants, retail and public parking spaces on Spring Street.

Along with all the neighborhood’s other changes, which include a new Publix supermarket, King believes Centergy North this will give this part of Midtown even more of a community feel.

“It’s a pedestrian-friendly environment, it has a good feeling to it, there’s street energy,” he said. “So we’ll just continue to build on all that. It’s an exciting area.”

King said they hope to break ground on the next office tower, Centergy Two, in late fall.

They expect to complete construction in the first quarter of 2009.