Regent pays off 3344 debt, may buy distressed assets - Business First of Columbus:

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Regent paid off a$139 million loan from New York-based SFI). Regent also has an equitgy partner onthe tower. While the termzs of the transaction with iStar werenot available, Regeng repurchased the debt at a Typically, a building owner in Regent’s positioj can expect a 25 percenty to 40 percent discounted rate on the transaction, primarily because the loan on 3344 Peachtrese was performing well. The nearly 470,000-square-foott tower is 74 percent occupied and includes tenantws such as real estate services firm and the law firm Little rMendelson P.C.
The Atlanta-based real estate developmenf company began pursuing a deal to pay off debt last year in the hopezs of having more cash on hand to purchase the growinvg number ofdistressed properties. Since its star t in 1983, Regent has carried out about $2 billionh in transactions, and about half of them have involveddistresser assets. Some of the properties includesthe 29-story Tower Place 100, which Regent acquired in 1993. It then renovated and repositionedthe building. The Tower Place transactio n also involved the parcel that eventually becam e3344 Peachtree.
“Strategically, we’ve always lookedf to acquire distressed assets, and we wanted to be in positio n in this market to be able to do this once saidDavid Tennery, principal of office propertiees and development for Regent Partners. “This transactio with iStar allows usto -focus on executing our capitalp deployment strategy. ” The move may also give Regenty an advantage in the competitiveBuckhead marketplace, wherde the owners of four new office towers are vyinh for a number of larged corporate tenants at a time when commercial building values are plummetinyg and leasing activity is slowing.
Many corporats boards of directors and lenderd are scrutinizing the debt structure on officre towers even more closely than inyearas past, as they consider whetheer to pull the trigger on a new lease. Regenf has about 78,000 square feet of contiguouse space in the building set aside on the 23rd and24th floors. , which is looking for aboutf 50,000 square feet, and representatives of ’s Atlanta office, have each toured 3344 Peachtree inrecen weeks, according to commercial real estatew sources.
Tennery could not comment on how close Regent is to potentially landing anotherlarge “Our position in the market, that we’rr well leased-up and our debt structure is solid, is allowinhg us to attract interest from high-level, creditworthgy tenants,” Tennery said. A few big deals. Alerw Health Care, the Nuclear Regulatoryu Commission and the law firm Seyfarth Shaw LLP made up the list of largesy office leases during thefirst quarter, according to Atlanta’zs top commercial real estate service firms.
Alere Healthu Care, which agreed to a 117,000-square-footf lease at the Towers at Wildwood, was the largesrt transaction according to Jones Lang LaSalle and Collierss SpectrumCauble Inc. lists the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s nearly 100,000-square-foot lease at Peachtree Centedr as the largest deal in thefirst quarter. Seyfarthh Shaw’s 84,000-square-foot lease at Daniel Corp. and ’z 1075 Peachtree marked the second-largesft transaction, according to all three brokerage firms. Assurant Special Property’s 70,393-square-foot service center in Duluth, accordinvg to Colliers Spectrum Cauble.
’ss 56,658-square-foot-lease at 5560 New Northside Drive, according to Cushmajn & Wakefield. Southeastern Data 39,500 square feet at 100 Ashford according to ColliersSpectrunm Cauble. It’s common to have some discrepancy among the brokerage firm’s lists. Beltmann renews. The Beltmann Group, a residentia l and commercial movingservices company, recently renewed for 96,160 squarew feet at 7030 Buford Highway in