Westmount Realty Capital, LLC, together with Quilvest Private Equity, is pleased to announce the purchase of Gwinnett Corporate Center located at 1700-1865 Corporate Drive and 4145-4165 Shackleford Road in Norcross, Gwinnett County, Georgia. The 115-acre property is one of the premier master-planned business parks in the I-85 northeast corridor and encompasses 1.2 million square feet in 17 Class A buildings and an additional six-acre, pad-ready site for future development.
With access to three I-85 interchanges, the attractive, single-story, brick-exterior complex was developed in eight phase, and was owned and managed, by the Dexter Companies for more than 30 years. Light industrial, rear-load, multi-tenant buildings make up most of the Corporate Drive properties, ranging in age from 1984 to 2000, with typical clear heights of 20-23 feet. The Shackleford Road properties are office buildings and were built between 2000 and 2002.
Westmount acquired the Gwinnett property in a joint venture with Quilvest Private Equity. Westmount is the managing member and will provide property management services as well. The partnership was drawn to the asset’s institutional quality buildings located adjacent to I-85 in one of the most desirable and land-constrained industrial submarkets in the country. Westmount plans to immediately perform speculative tenant improvements in both the industrial and office buildings in order to enhance the project’s appeal and ability to accommodate near-term occupancy requirements. Following the renovation, Westmount will then rebrand the property as Gwinnett Commons and reintroduce the project to the brokerage community. The newly appointed leasing agent, Reliant Real Estate Partners, will be conducting an aggressive leasing campaign to bring new energy and attention to the project’s unsurpassed market location, refreshed image and modern features.
Clifford Booth, President of Westmount, commented, “We believe that our focused approach will turn this project around and bring leasing rates up to levels they should be realizing. The industrial buildings are currently at 79 percent leased in a 93 percent occupancy market, and the office buildings are even more under-performing at 48 percent in a market with 81 percent occupancy.”
Barry Hammerman, Partner of Quilvest said, “Quilvest has been strategically targeting industrial business parks globally, and we are excited to expand this portfolio within the United States. We believe our investors will be well-served by our investment in Gwinnett Commons and, considering Westmount’s successful track record in strategically acquiring, repositioning, managing and leasing similar properties, we are confident the property can build upon its strong international tenant mix and reputation as the premier business park in the region.”
Brady Scott, Managing Director of Westmount, noted, “Westmount’s time-tested, turnaround strategies can quickly increase value in assets like Gwinnett Commons and we are actively looking to acquire more in primary markets across the U. S.”Westmount Realty Capital, LLC (“WRC”) is a time-tested, privately held, Dallas-based commercial real estate company that has achieved exceptional performance, with a core team in place, for more than 30 years. Westmount is seen as an innovator and leading edge company in the industry and is a trusted partner of numerous U.S. and foreign institutional and private capital sources. The company is active nationally, specializing in value add and opportunistic investments, and has navigated successfully through multiple market cycles. For additional information, contact www.westmountrc.com.
About Quilvest Private Equity
Quilvest Private Equity is the private equity and real estate investment arm of the Quilvest Group, a leading, global, independent wealth manager and private equity investor, with approximately $36 billion in assets under management and a presence in Europe, the Americas, Asia and the Middle East. Since 1972, Quilvest Private Equity invests in and accompanies private small and medium sized companies and real estate operators in their strategic development over the long term. With a team of nearly 100 professionals investing both directly into companies, real estate properties, private equity funds, and strategic partnerships and a global footprint (in Luxembourg, Paris, New York, London, Hong Kong and Dubai), Quilvest Private Equity manages approximately $5 billion of assets. Quilvest Private Equity offers investment opportunities to its private and institutional investors on a large range of direct investments, private equity and private real estate funds, and through strategic partnerships, with a total alignment of interests.
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