#20 - Chris Eachus - Founding Partner of CP Group

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Hey guys, welcome back to Sun Belt Developers Podcast.
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I'm Tim Wright.
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I'm a broker at Cushman and Wakefield.
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Today I have Chris Ikos with CP Group here with us.
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Chris, I love the hoodie.
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I I love the it's by BAME Joiner.
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So he's part of this.
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That's perfect.
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He's part of the culture team here at the center.
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Um so we were huge fans and uh really think it's a big part of the real estate that we're creating here.
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Yeah.
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Um so I thought I'd wear it today.
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I thought it felt it felt appropriate.
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That's very, very appropriate.
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Um I just personally want to say thanks for letting us use the studio here and uh big shout out to CP Group and and the center.
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Come down and check it out.
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You all have it's like a couple weeks out.
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You're about to open up.
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Yeah, I mean, I think I think one, we're thrilled that you're here.
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Um as I mentioned earlier, you know, this building being rooted in media, yeah.
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It feels right to have our first tenant in the office here be a media company.
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Yeah.
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So really excited about what you guys are doing.
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Um, huge fan of the podcast.
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It's um it's cool.
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And I think it's really uh it's really on brand, right?
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Like I think in a media building with a with a Titan like Ted Turner at the helm, yeah, ushering this into the next generation.
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And and yes, in a few weeks, uh in a few weeks we'll be opening.
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And we're super excited.
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I think um it's been five years of work to get to this point.
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Uh and World Cup's coming, and like a deadline makes things happen.
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It does.
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It does, yeah, for everything, for all the projects.
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Of course.
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It's been been a good banner.
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Um okay, so you've got I think there's like a roster of restaurants.
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There's like seven or eight that announced, and it's under the the works kind of food hall.
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So kind of the anchor tenant downstairs right now, and I was just talking to Bobby.
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Um, so it's Center Food Works.
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Um, it's um it's got 11 different food concepts.
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We've got two Michelin star chefs opening up concepts in that food hall.
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Really cool.
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We've got the big center bar, which is the largest bar in the state of Georgia, or so I've been told.
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Yeah.
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Um we'll have to throw a picture up.
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There's gonna be you gotta, it's you guys see it every day when you walk in the building.
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Yeah, yeah, and it's coming to life very quickly.
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It is.
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And uh it's fun.
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I mean, it's if Bobby, who owns it, is down there at working every day with the team.
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Like I was just walked in before I came up here, and all the storefront is just starting to go up.
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Like, you know, all the magic happens in the last like 60 days, right?
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It's like uh I think you know, in our office, there's a saying that that well, Ryan, who you know says it's you know, it always looks looks worse before it looks better.
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And you start construction, you just rip everything apart, and then at the end it all comes together.
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And so, like, man, we're sliding into home here, and uh and we're gonna make it and it's gonna be awesome.
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And uh love for you guys all to be there as it as we you know open the open it all back up to the world.
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Yeah, yeah.
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Really excited.
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I we've been I guess y'all let us start using this space back in September.
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So when that was I mean, it was full demo back then, we'd be doing an episode and Jack Hammer's would be going on and it was uh Yeah, part part in our progress.
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Yeah, yeah.
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I was like, this is just a part of it.
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But um, but yeah, it's it's really incredible.
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Even just like like the last two months has been night and day of what what's been coming about, so so it's good.
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Um well man, I we can dive into a lot.
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I I think like I when I was researching this episode, I didn't realize your background.
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So you were an analyst with Crocker Partners back in like the early 2000s, yeah.
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And you have risen the ranks and started in the mail room.
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Yeah, that's kind of what it seems like.
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But and then 2019 you bought out some of the founding partners, and um now you you yourself are a founding partner, you rebrand.
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You've done some homework.
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I've tried to uh give give me like your perspective, like and then maybe we can go back like Crocker Partners.
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I know you all have been around since the 80s, and Boca Rutone's kind of home base.
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Yeah.
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Um yeah, like bring us up to um yeah.
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So I think just going back a little bit, uh I grew up in Florida, I grew up in St.
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Petersburg, Florida.
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Um, it was a great place to grow up, uh was in the ocean almost every day, and and decided to go to school to Emory um after high school, and that was kind of a spur of the moment decision.
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And uh my sister lived in Atlanta and I came up here and visited her and was just like, this is an incredible place.
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And uh my best friend in high school was deciding to go to Emory too, and why not?
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And so we went there and and had a great time, met a lot of really great people, really opened up my mind as to like what's out there in the world just not because I'd lived in the same place for 18 years, um.
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So I I started Emory in ninety seven.
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Okay.
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So I graduated So like on the the heels of the Olympics.
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Yeah, and I didn't get to go to the Olympics.
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Um so when I got here, that was already over with.
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Okay.
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Um but it was just it was a it was a great moment to kind of understand like the world's a big place.
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And from there, I was interested in business and finance and and decided to go to work in New York as I was like, if I'm gonna do finance, let's go to the the the you know the the main stage for that business and was fortunate enough to get a job at Bear Stearns, uh, which is no longer with us.
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And when I was there though, it was flourishing investment bank.
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And uh again, like just I'd never been to New York until I interviewed there.
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And the first time in New York is like one of those things where now as a real estate guy too, looking back on it, uh, you're just wow.
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Like you're just it's it's a lot to it's a lot, it's sensory overload from the second you set foot in the city.
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Uh and I really enjoyed being there.
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And I think working, you know, I got four years of experience in two years.
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And I was working the whole 80 to 100 hour a week thing.
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And one time, uh, one time I remember, and this is just you can't make this stuff up, I was riding with our deal team, so like the the bosses, right, like the managing directors in the bank, uh, to a pitch.
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And I was there to like carry stuff.
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And we're sit, we're in like a you know, the black town car, like the whole thing.
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And we f we go to our pitch, we do it, we leave, and they have another meeting, but it but we were like gonna be late because they had to drop me off at the office to go do more work before they went to the meeting.
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And so the guy looks at me and he's like, get out.
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And I'm like, What do you mean?
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He's like, You we don't have time to drop you off, you just need to get out.
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I'm like, We're in downtown, like our office is in midtown.
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That's a long, that's a long walk.
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Yeah.
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And uh and and I was like, that's welcome to New York.
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You know, that's investment banking.
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I mean, that's investment banking in New York.
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And they handed me all the books, and I had like two bags of like pitch books over my shoulders, and I walked, you know, 20 blocks back to the office, and that was that.
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So I think I think I say all that because it kind of led me to realize that I didn't want to be an investment banker in New York for the rest of my life.
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And um growing up in Florida, you know, on the beach, it wasn't it was a very different environment, but man, it's an awesome city and it was a great experience, and I met a lot of really interesting people.
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And and from there, I actually met my current business partner, Angelo.
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He interviewed me to bring me into at that time what was Coger Equity.
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And so Coger Equity was a public company.
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Um, it was a kind of a sleepy southeastern office street that my former business partner had been put in charge of as CEO to turn around.
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And as part of the turnaround, he relocated its headquarters from Jacksonville to Boca Ratone, where he had been a prolific developer for all of his life to that point.
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Um he brought in all these kind of finance and kind of New York-blooded kind of people to help change the culture of the company, which we did.
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And in four years, we turned around the business and sold it successfully and then started Crocker Partners, which is what you had asked me about.
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And so when we started Crocker Partners, it was five partners originally, including myself.
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Uh, I was 28 years old, and uh they were like, we have no assets, we sold the whole company, and we started this new company, and it was 2005 when we sold the old one.
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We spent a year raising money to build a new one, and we went to New York and raised money and everything was great, and and then the world imploded.
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Right?
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The the GFC ensues, we had the first round close on our fund to thank goodness.
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And how much was that?
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$168 million.
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So not a whole lot, but it was enough.
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And and so the next several years were obviously really tough.
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We owned literally two assets, I think, um, but we had you know a full team of people from the prior company.
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So you're kind of you know, overhead ads up, those kinds of things.
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And sure.
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So you're kind of looking at like when when is this cycle gonna you know really kick back in the year?
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And man, it took a long time.
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And so, you know, as we work through that, we were patient and diligent and and you know, tried to make magic happen, and it was a hard time.
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And I think a lot of people, I'm 47, and so a lot of people who haven't weren't like in the working world per se at that time, I don't think necessarily have an appreciation for what it looks like when every industry, other than maybe like bankruptcy restructuring, is struggling.
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And so I watched a lot of our competitors go out of business.
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I saw lots of my friends lose their jobs.
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Um, it was a hard time.
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And and and so we persevered uh and we pushed through it and we saw the other side and things got better and yeah, I kind of carried on from there.
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Hey guys, before we jump back into the episode, I just want to thank one of our main partners, Sanji High Roads.
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David Sanji was actually a guest in season one and has been a strong supporter of the podcast ever since.
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Sanji High Roads is a commercial real estate development company responsible for nearly three billion dollars in development projects.
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If you're here in Atlanta, you've probably seen some of their work already, including the high-centric buckhead, that's the hotel right behind Linux, and the new Howell apartments right on Howl Mill.
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One of their most exciting projects right now is the expansion of the Savannah Convention Center.
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It's a$400 million development that's been years in the making.
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If you're interested in development opportunities or want to learn more about their work, visit SanjiHighroads.com.
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Now back to the conversation.
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I've heard like 2012, 2013, it was when I felt like the lights were coming back on.
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Yeah, we made um one of our best investments actually at the tail end of 2010.
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It was a project in Houston, um, Lakes on Post Oak.
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And and that was early.
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And then the rest of the projects really that we invested in were done in like 2012.
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Okay.
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And so I think um What was the thesis then?
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I was just thinking about it.
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Yeah, I mean, the thesis was it, you know, you can't go to zero, you can't go like beyond zero, right?
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Like I think values were so low and and sentiment was so bad that it felt like you know, not dissimilar in the last few years, maybe, but that it's kind of like the crash has happened.
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So at some point, but back then, a lot of people we started buying things very actively and and frankly had a lot of critics that were you know saying there was gonna be a double dip in the in the economy.
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They talked about a double dip recession all the time.
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And so I think people, you know, it was so bad previously that I think coming out of it, you had to be careful because you didn't want to get, you know, crushed again.
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Um but it was the right move.
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And we went uh as a partnership, we decided it was time to buy.
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And we did, and we bought a lot.
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And it was really fun.
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And in hindsight, it all looks like it was great and easy, but at the time it was nerve-wracking.
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Yeah.
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I mean, how many assets are we targeting?
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Yeah, I mean, we bought projects, we bought well prominence here in Buckhead.
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Um, we bought Regents Plaza here in Midtown, we bought um uh Citigroup Center down in Miami.
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We bought, I mean, just I think probably close to a billion dollars in total capitalization in like two or three years.
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And and it and the company scaled quickly.
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And all of a sudden, you know, you're looking in the rearview mirror, what was you know, a two-asset company with all this overhead, and now we're starting to, you know, find our way again and uh solid footing and and and just start building out the infrastructure, right?
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And and so that leads kind of to your next question or prior question, which was what did we uh like what happens next?
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And so we have this run from 2000, call it 12.
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Um we accumulated a lot of assets um and we started selling them off.
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And I think, you know, we're we're our our you know, backing up for a minute.
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So like CP group, like what we do is we're an operator, right?
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We're an operator of real estate and we make investments as a general partner along limited partners, uh, usually on a programmatic or one-off basis with these large private equity funds.
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And so our platform is built around being good at being local, um, property management, construction management.
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Uh we offer everything from um accounting to um all sorts of different services.
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We actually have a general contractor now.
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And and so, but our job is to be like the smart guys on the ground that know which side of the street you should buy on, that we can see value where others may not, um, and and leverage all that knowledge that we have of making all these mistakes for so long and and use it to our benefit, uh, which leads us to why we're sitting here.
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Cool.
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But um, but yeah, so we we we went through there and then as you point out in 2019, Angelo and I ended up buying out the remaining partners in the partnership, and we closed February of 2020.
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What great time to close it?
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I mean, you can't make it up.
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We buy an office building company a month before COVID starts.
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Oh my gosh.
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And um and so yeah, so I think uh looking back on it, it was one of those things where when it happened, you're like, is this really happening to me?
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And it ended up being like the best thing ever.
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And we committed to growing and figuring it out.
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And and it's amazing what you can accomplish when the rest of the world's sitting at home, you know, doing nothing.
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Yeah.
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Uh and you're in the office every day.
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That is a plug that is a plug to be in at work every day.
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We're office building guys.
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Yeah, yeah.
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And uh and we figured it out and we s and we and we grew and we thought it was a great opportunity uh to buy a lot of these assets, including the one we're sitting in, you know, here at the at the center.
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Yeah.
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And uh yeah, it was it was busy.
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And there's a lot of story between 2012 and and what we can do.
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Uh yeah, we're we're that I appreciate the the quick and skinny of it.
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I'm just curious, like what were we doing all of 2020?
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I mean, yeah.
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The world was out of it.
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I mean, a lot of people were just out of a job, but I had just bought business with Angelo.
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Yeah.
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And um, and you're looking at the world where everyone's saying office buildings may be irrelevant.
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Yeah.
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Because everyone's working from home on Zoom.
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And so we were, you know, stabilizing the patient, so to speak, at the beginning, making sure we understood what was going on, like really going through every asset, talking with every partner, and we worked out I think I worked every day for 45 days straight, just making sure everything was stable.
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And um, and we have such a great team.
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I mean, it our company today is about 300 people, and and back then it wasn't that big.
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But every single person was just digging in and working overtime to get it done.
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And that's what it takes.
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And I think we we looked at it and just said, this is a great opportunity to grow, you know, once the ghost is clear.
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And I think that was, you know, we had to let the dust settle, but it became clear, I think, to all of us, and I forget exactly when it was, but maybe it was a year into the whole thing or whatever, that that, you know, you all of a sudden people were back at restaurants and went on vacation and kind of the world was resuming, even though there was still this looming problem.
00:14:36.720 --> 00:14:36.879
Yeah.
00:14:37.039 --> 00:14:39.919
And we all kind of knew, okay, we're gonna get through this some way or another.
00:14:40.080 --> 00:14:44.639
Uh and then we were like, let's let's go let's go buy some stuff and make some make some investments.
00:14:45.519 --> 00:14:50.240
My favorite thing that I would say favorite, but most uh kind of memorable moment.
00:14:50.480 --> 00:14:56.480
The CEO of Delta came to a Kwanis Club meeting, kind of shared his story of what was going on in this.
00:14:56.559 --> 00:14:58.799
I think it was like early 23.
00:14:59.279 --> 00:15:05.039
And um he was like, by all accounts, our numbers are we're at two-thirds of what we've always been at.
00:15:05.120 --> 00:15:06.879
And he's like, That last third is business travel.
00:15:06.960 --> 00:15:10.879
So anytime I meet a CEO, I tell him, like, your people are out there, they're doing stuff.
00:15:11.120 --> 00:15:17.200
It's like if you're nervous to bring them back in the office, like they they'll you know, drag their feet, they don't want to they don't want to come back.
00:15:17.279 --> 00:15:19.200
But yeah, it's like they're out and about, they're doing stuff.
00:15:19.519 --> 00:15:19.919
That's right.
00:15:20.080 --> 00:15:20.240
Yeah.
00:15:20.639 --> 00:15:22.080
Still a pretty funny standoff.
00:15:22.159 --> 00:15:23.759
I mean, that things were pretty much back to normal with office.
00:15:24.159 --> 00:15:24.240
Right.
00:15:24.320 --> 00:15:24.559
Yeah, yeah.
00:15:24.720 --> 00:15:28.480
But it was but it was a weird and people ask me, you know, how do you get people back to the to the office?
00:15:28.559 --> 00:15:29.679
You know, what amenities do we need?
00:15:29.759 --> 00:15:32.320
I'm like, you don't need amenities, you need to tell them you want to back in the office.
00:15:32.639 --> 00:15:33.200
Right?
00:15:33.519 --> 00:15:33.759
Yeah.
00:15:34.080 --> 00:15:38.320
I mean, especially like now with I don't know how much you can actually attribute to AI.
00:15:38.480 --> 00:15:41.120
They they say AI is why all these jobs are getting cut.
00:15:41.279 --> 00:15:50.399
I think there's just a a real kind of reset of efficiencies of companies and people realizing like maybe we don't need this many people to operate at the same capacity.
00:15:50.480 --> 00:15:54.879
And um so yeah, yeah, a lot of a lot of like the leverage has flipped.
00:15:55.039 --> 00:15:58.480
I mean, over COVID, it was people changing jobs all the time and get demanding more and more.
00:15:59.200 --> 00:16:00.720
It's funny how quickly it moves.
00:16:00.799 --> 00:16:00.960
Yeah.
00:16:01.200 --> 00:16:05.759
And I think trying to understand what's going to happen five or ten years from now is very hard to do.
00:16:06.000 --> 00:16:13.279
Um you know, the ability, even you know, I think they say projecting the weather, it's like it's really easy to do for the next 24 hours, and it's like kind of easy to do for the next three days.
00:16:13.360 --> 00:16:16.480
But once you get to like five days and beyond, it's like a 20% chance or nothing.
00:16:17.279 --> 00:16:17.360
Yeah.
00:16:18.000 --> 00:16:22.879
So I think you know, investing in this market, it moves at light speed now if, you know, relative to how it used to, it feels like.
00:16:22.960 --> 00:16:26.320
And and so you know, you do we do the best we can every day with the new information we have, right?
00:16:26.399 --> 00:16:34.320
And I think but what I do know is that a lot of what we do in real estate is not just bricks and mortar, right?
00:16:34.480 --> 00:16:36.000
It's it's culture.
00:16:36.159 --> 00:16:38.799
It's it's creating emotional real estate, right?
00:16:38.879 --> 00:16:40.639
It's what how do you feel when you walk into a place?
00:16:40.799 --> 00:16:43.279
I had a really interesting experience a couple weeks ago.
00:16:43.519 --> 00:16:47.200
We um we had downtown day uh at the Capitol.
00:16:48.000 --> 00:16:48.799
Were you there?
00:16:49.360 --> 00:16:49.600
Okay.
00:16:49.759 --> 00:16:54.080
So they once a year they they I don't know who they are, but there's an event organized.
00:16:54.240 --> 00:17:04.640
And um and all the people who are doing projects in downtown are invited to come kind of do like a science fair, is what it feels like in the in like the atrium of the Capitol building.
00:17:04.960 --> 00:17:07.519
Which if you if you ever stood in the atrium of the Capitol building, it's pretty cool.
00:17:07.599 --> 00:17:08.400
It's an awesome experience.
00:17:08.559 --> 00:17:08.720
Yeah.
00:17:08.880 --> 00:17:16.559
And so uh when I walked in there, and we've done this twice now, and and it's it feels like you're just in the middle of everything.
00:17:16.640 --> 00:17:22.480
There's like field trips, there's legislators, there's business people, um, it's loud, it's this old building.
00:17:22.640 --> 00:17:24.880
It just feels it feels like a capital, right?
00:17:24.960 --> 00:17:26.240
It just feels appropriate.
00:17:26.480 --> 00:17:34.400
And um and so as you're as as you do all that, I was just like, man, this is like the way I felt standing in that room, right?
00:17:34.799 --> 00:17:36.640
I thought about it and I didn't think about it then.
00:17:36.720 --> 00:17:43.519
I thought about it at the end of the day because after I left there, I bumped into John Birdsong uh at the event and and I asked him how their project was doing.
00:17:43.680 --> 00:17:45.599
It's just like incredible what those guys were doing.
00:17:45.680 --> 00:17:45.839
Yeah.
00:17:46.000 --> 00:17:48.400
And I asked him, I said, can I just come walk your project?
00:17:48.559 --> 00:17:50.240
You have time, I'd love to see it today if you have a minute.
00:17:50.400 --> 00:17:51.200
He's like, absolutely.
00:17:51.599 --> 00:17:56.400
And so we left there and he told me it was a five-minute walk to their project, which it is.
00:17:56.960 --> 00:17:58.799
And we went through the whole thing.
00:17:58.960 --> 00:18:05.920
And and the way I felt walking through his project was completely different than how I felt standing in the state capitol, right?
00:18:06.079 --> 00:18:08.400
We're not very far, or five minutes away walking distance, right?
00:18:08.480 --> 00:18:10.319
But these are two very distinctly different places.
00:18:10.480 --> 00:18:10.799
Yeah.
00:18:11.359 --> 00:18:16.640
And then after that, um, which by the way, like just hats off to what they're doing there.
00:18:16.799 --> 00:18:18.559
Like, and it's moving at light speed.
00:18:18.720 --> 00:18:22.720
I had no appreciation for how much, just like kind of when you walk in here and you see all the people working.
00:18:22.880 --> 00:18:26.400
I didn't, I mean, there was over a hundred people working in the street down there, we're restoring everything perfectly.
00:18:26.640 --> 00:18:26.880
Oh, yeah.
00:18:26.960 --> 00:18:29.920
Uh as a real estate guy, you can kind of geek out on that and it's super exciting.
00:18:30.240 --> 00:18:33.039
It's not, I mean, I don't know if you saw we did like a little documentary on that.
00:18:33.200 --> 00:18:37.599
We walked all the buildings and the project managers and I saw you guys had a couple different things with them.
00:18:37.759 --> 00:18:39.680
I didn't watch the entire thing, but I kind of clicked through the phone.
00:18:39.759 --> 00:18:40.559
It was way longer than we.
00:18:40.720 --> 00:18:41.920
Well, I've done I've done the tour too.
00:18:42.000 --> 00:18:44.480
So but I think it's um but but I just think so.
00:18:44.559 --> 00:18:47.359
My point is like, so in the morning I'm in the Capitol building, feels one way, right?
00:18:47.440 --> 00:18:47.519
Yeah.
00:18:47.680 --> 00:18:49.440
And then I'm in their project, feels one way.
00:18:49.519 --> 00:18:56.480
And then I came back to Buckhead, my office is in prominence, um, and went to lunch in Buckhead, and then I was in a restaurant, and it felt completely different, right?
00:18:56.559 --> 00:18:56.720
Yeah.
00:18:56.880 --> 00:19:01.680
And when I went home that day, um, I told my wife, I was like, I just an interesting day today.
00:19:01.839 --> 00:19:12.000
And and I said, you know, I stood in the state capitol, then I went toward a historic part of downtown being restored, and then I went to like a new modern restaurant in Buckhead for lunch or whatever afternoon lunch.
00:19:12.160 --> 00:19:17.119
And and I'm like, it just tells you how real estate, it it's so emotional, right?
00:19:17.200 --> 00:19:20.400
Like there's where you are, it's more than just the building.
00:19:20.480 --> 00:19:24.880
It's the people, it's the context, it's the neighborhood, it's the programming, it's how it all comes together.
00:19:25.039 --> 00:19:39.359
And I think, I think as we think about projects now, and we as we're doing bigger and bigger projects, um, like the center, like Bank of America, uh like Boca Raton Innovation Campus, just a lot of these things, Piedmont Center, um, you really have to think about how someone feels and what is it?
00:19:39.440 --> 00:19:49.599
Because you can design something that's beautiful or really well thought out, but if it's not activated or programmed the right way, it kind of just becomes a museum.
00:19:49.920 --> 00:19:54.000
And and I and I think that's something that it's taken me a long time to realize.
00:19:54.079 --> 00:19:56.160
And there's other guys who do this really, really well in the world.
00:19:56.240 --> 00:20:06.079
And I think there's a lot we could learn in office building business from the hospitality people, um, which we talk about a lot, kind of the hospital hospitalityization, if that's a word, of of real estate.
00:20:06.400 --> 00:20:09.519
Any any of the nice office buildings, like your lobby is a it's a hotel.
00:20:09.759 --> 00:20:10.240
It's a hotel.
00:20:10.400 --> 00:20:24.480
And and so I think, but I just I I guess I say all that because I just think as you think about real estate and what it is, and like especially in the the fabric of like this city and being in downtown right now and all these moments we're having um around Atlanta, which is just incredible to see the flywheel spinning right now.
00:20:24.640 --> 00:20:32.880
Uh I just think it's really important not to just focus on the physical, but focus on the emotional connection, the programming of the spaces.
00:20:33.200 --> 00:20:33.440
Yeah.
00:20:33.759 --> 00:20:42.400
And another shout out to John and the team that's out downtown like Smorgesborg and all the tours that they've done and like is as far as the activation of that space.
00:20:42.480 --> 00:20:43.920
And it just has such a different life.
00:20:44.319 --> 00:20:44.880
Incredible job.
00:20:45.039 --> 00:20:45.279
Yeah.
00:20:45.359 --> 00:20:45.599
Yeah.
00:20:45.759 --> 00:20:46.319
It's great.
00:20:46.559 --> 00:20:47.599
So that's good.
00:20:47.759 --> 00:20:54.079
I you have just a really valuable perspective having your hands really in every major submarket.
00:20:54.319 --> 00:20:56.000
I mean, you'll you're all over the city.
00:20:56.079 --> 00:21:00.480
So hey guys, before we get back to the episode, I want to thank one of our partners, the Beck Group.
00:21:00.640 --> 00:21:07.599
Beck is a collaborative team of designers, builders, and technology experts that cover a multitude of disciplines all under one roof.
00:21:07.839 --> 00:21:11.119
Typically in a project, you have a designer and a GC, but Beck is different.
00:21:11.200 --> 00:21:15.039
Both of these disciplines are combined under one roof, so nothing falls through the cracks.
00:21:15.200 --> 00:21:19.599
This approach helps organizations rethink the way they plan, design, and build their spaces.
00:21:19.759 --> 00:21:22.960
To learn more about their work and services, visit Beckgroup.com.
00:21:23.039 --> 00:21:23.680
Now back to the show.
00:21:23.920 --> 00:21:26.160
I'd love to just kind of get the update on Piedmont Center.
00:21:26.240 --> 00:21:28.880
That seems to be the active conversation in Buckhead.
00:21:28.960 --> 00:21:31.519
And it's uh I was that's a big chunk of space.
00:21:31.680 --> 00:21:33.039
I mean 2.2 million.
00:21:34.079 --> 00:21:39.920
2.2 million square feet, 46 acres, 6,000 parking spaces, 14 buildings.
00:21:40.480 --> 00:21:40.720
Right.
00:21:40.880 --> 00:21:47.279
And and it's in a lot of beachfront real estate along Piedmont Road, kind of connecting the neighborhood district of Buckhead to the commercial district.
00:21:47.599 --> 00:21:47.920
Yeah.
00:21:48.160 --> 00:21:52.240
So I think as we look at that, um what a what a canvas, right?
00:21:52.319 --> 00:21:58.720
I think as I look at it, uh one, sitting in Buckhead at that at that kind of passageway is such an interesting point.
00:21:58.799 --> 00:22:02.240
I drive by it every Day on my way to work and every day on my way home.
00:22:02.480 --> 00:22:06.799
And for years, I mean decades, I've I've passed that project, I've been in that project.
00:22:07.200 --> 00:22:14.640
When we had the opportunity to make an investment there, uh, we really sat back and just thought, like, okay, you're not going to knock all this down.
00:22:14.720 --> 00:22:15.759
They were never doing that.
00:22:15.920 --> 00:22:16.960
This is a cool project.
00:22:17.039 --> 00:22:18.559
It was, it was well conceived.
00:22:18.799 --> 00:22:21.759
It's a little confusing at times when you pull in there trying to find your way around.
00:22:21.839 --> 00:22:24.559
And I think we're doing everything to fix that right now, which we can do.
00:22:24.720 --> 00:22:28.000
Uh, but what it needed was was activation.
00:22:28.160 --> 00:22:37.039
It it you know, it was built in a period where car dominance and suburban setting in an urban kind of um center was the thing.
00:22:37.279 --> 00:22:40.799
And now we've kind of matured out of that stage of real estate.
00:22:41.039 --> 00:22:47.920
And I think what we need to do is is do the proper adjustments to that park to really make it what people want today.
00:22:48.079 --> 00:22:54.559
And so, like we're saying, we're gonna be building um, you know, half a dozen stand-up, standalone restaurants up along Piedmont Road.
00:22:54.640 --> 00:22:55.440
Where there's so much land there.
00:22:55.519 --> 00:22:57.759
I don't think anybody even knows how much land is there.
00:22:57.920 --> 00:22:59.519
And when we walk it, it's incredible.
00:22:59.680 --> 00:23:03.920
And so we're gonna be activating that with a whole new street frontage concept.
00:23:04.079 --> 00:23:11.599
We're gonna be converting, we are we've already started buildings nine through twelve into um a medical center, Buckhead Medical Center.
00:23:11.839 --> 00:23:14.799
Uh it's already been really successful.
00:23:14.960 --> 00:23:17.279
We have had a ton of interests.
00:23:17.359 --> 00:23:20.559
Uh, we're close to getting a first yield signed, uh a big one.
00:23:20.799 --> 00:23:22.480
So it's it's really exciting.
00:23:22.640 --> 00:23:25.440
Like I think I think all the pieces there, renovations, food, all that.
00:23:26.319 --> 00:23:27.680
Like a hundred thousand feet or something.
00:23:28.000 --> 00:23:28.480
I can't.
00:23:28.559 --> 00:23:31.279
I don't even want to I don't even want to throw that into the atmosphere.
00:23:31.359 --> 00:23:32.640
But it's I'm pulling it up so you can.
00:23:32.880 --> 00:23:33.039
Yeah.
00:23:33.200 --> 00:23:46.079
I mean, if you look at all those trees, um, which we intend to keep a lot of them, I think we're gonna create sort of a network of a roadway that passes through the front of the project and then is really it's just it's neighborhood appropriate, right?
00:23:46.240 --> 00:23:53.359
It'll be a place you want to bring um your family or you want to meet a business colleague for for dinner, um, kind of appropriate for all that.
00:23:53.440 --> 00:24:00.400
And I think, you know, we look around Atlanta and you see a couple places that have had uh a huge amount of success doing things like that, like like over at uh North Creek.
00:24:00.960 --> 00:24:04.799
And and they've just I mean I mean it's just incredible, right?
00:24:04.960 --> 00:24:05.279
Yeah, yeah.
00:24:05.519 --> 00:24:07.039
And so I think put a little ray here.
00:24:07.359 --> 00:24:08.160
Just put a little ray there.
00:24:08.240 --> 00:24:09.359
And the line will be out the door.
00:24:09.599 --> 00:24:10.319
And the line's out the door.
00:24:10.640 --> 00:24:17.599
And so I think we're like, look, there's a huge pent-up demand, um, especially coming out of all these neighborhoods over by Chastain Park and all these great neighborhoods.
00:24:17.759 --> 00:24:33.039
You know, you have this really dense residential area and it's really flanked by Roswell Road on one side, um, and and ultimately over to Northside on the other, and got some thoroughfares on the way through, but there's not a lot of you can't really have any commercial other than you know the Chastain, which just sits right by Chastain Park, which is fantastic.
00:24:33.200 --> 00:24:35.359
Um, but these places get overwhelmed with demand.
00:24:35.519 --> 00:24:45.039
And so as we look at our project, we're like, man, we can serve both the community and the office users, which it really takes to get the right kinds of uh restaurant tenants in here, is they want to be able to have that built-in base.
00:24:45.119 --> 00:24:50.000
And so I think as we looked at it, um, super bullish on that, and then I think making improvements to the project itself.
00:24:50.079 --> 00:25:03.599
So we're doing you know some common air renovations, we're putting in um food operators inside each of the buildings that'll be really you know fresh, healthy, good, quick, moderately priced options for a daily office user that just needs to grab something and get back to their desk.
00:25:03.839 --> 00:25:13.599
The medical piece is gonna what we're doing at Buckethead Medical Center, I think, is gonna set a standard for what new multi-tenant medical will look like because frankly, these medical guys have had it too easy for too long.
00:25:13.759 --> 00:25:20.640
Um there's so much demand that they didn't have to, they didn't have to kind of do all the crazy things us office guys had to do to get people to want to come in from an amenity perspective.
00:25:20.880 --> 00:25:21.039
Yeah.
00:25:21.200 --> 00:25:21.599
Yeah.
00:25:21.920 --> 00:25:28.640
So, you know, we'll have doctors' lounges and giant cafes and restaurants and transportation lounges and all sorts of stuff.
00:25:28.799 --> 00:25:29.839
I mean, just all sorts of stuff.
00:25:30.000 --> 00:25:31.519
And um, it's been really well received.
00:25:31.680 --> 00:25:41.759
So I think when you're talking about a half a million foot part of the project, you know, that gives you a large enough um asset base that you can spread those dollars over efficiently and really deliver something that stands out.
00:25:42.000 --> 00:25:42.319
Yeah.
00:25:42.640 --> 00:25:46.640
What do you do with like the normal office users in those buildings?
00:25:46.960 --> 00:25:47.039
Yeah.
00:25:47.119 --> 00:25:50.000
So I mean, a lot of those office users we're already in conversations with.
00:25:50.160 --> 00:25:53.119
First of all, like like it's four separate buildings, right?
00:25:53.279 --> 00:25:53.519
Yeah.
00:25:53.680 --> 00:25:57.759
So if you want to be an office user in one of those buildings, we can figure that out.
00:25:57.839 --> 00:26:01.839
If you want to take a whole building for yourself, it's your isolated, you know, I shouldn't say isolated.
00:26:01.920 --> 00:26:06.720
You're you're you can mitigate if you don't want to have interaction with clinical um medical work, that's fine.
00:26:06.880 --> 00:26:08.480
Um, there's multiple parking structures.
00:26:08.559 --> 00:26:15.839
Like it actually lays out really, really well to do either all medical, mostly medical, if some office wants to be there, that's fine too.
00:26:16.000 --> 00:26:18.240
But and then if people want to relocate within the park, that's great.
00:26:18.319 --> 00:26:21.119
A lot of those tenants' leases come up and they want new space and all that, all that.
00:26:21.200 --> 00:26:22.240
And I think we can offer that.
00:26:22.319 --> 00:26:26.720
We have 10 other buildings in the park with plenty of vacancy that we can move them into.
00:26:26.799 --> 00:26:29.440
So I think for us, you know, we bought this asset unlevered.
00:26:29.680 --> 00:26:34.799
Um, we bought it with the right program, capital, you know, kind of capex plan.
00:26:35.119 --> 00:26:39.519
Um we're just really excited because that that asset is incredible.
00:26:39.680 --> 00:26:45.119
Like from where it sits, the market around it, what it offers, like the buildings themselves are really well built.
00:26:45.279 --> 00:26:53.119
Like I think every time I walk through it, I'm always uh pleasantly surprised at like, you know, how the prior owners and and the prior developer of it just they built it right.
00:26:53.440 --> 00:26:55.519
And so um, we just need to shine it up a little bit.
00:26:55.599 --> 00:26:57.599
And I think that's that's kind of what we do.
00:26:58.000 --> 00:27:00.160
Was there anything notable about the acquisition?
00:27:00.319 --> 00:27:09.680
I I know there's a couple other groups that were trying to get their hands on it, but I don't know, from you I so you're unlevered, so y'all you put 100% equity.
00:27:09.920 --> 00:27:12.559
And I mean the other partners I don't I I don't know.
00:27:12.640 --> 00:27:13.359
I'm not an acquisition.
00:27:13.759 --> 00:27:20.480
Yeah, no, RLP, I mean, I mean, yeah, without uh RLP and the deal um wanted to own it unlevered.
00:27:20.720 --> 00:27:23.359
And um and so we thought that was a great idea.
00:27:23.440 --> 00:27:23.599
Yeah.
00:27:23.759 --> 00:27:25.440
And so we came into the to the deal with them.
00:27:25.519 --> 00:27:27.680
And I think, you know, you look at other projects we've done.
00:27:27.839 --> 00:27:30.319
I mean, look, the the building next door prominence.
00:27:30.480 --> 00:27:32.400
So I bought that building in 2012.
00:27:32.880 --> 00:27:35.920
Uh that was one of the assets we purchased coming out of the GFC.
00:27:36.400 --> 00:27:43.920
And you know, I don't know if you remember what Prominence looked like before it had all the development around it, but it was an island and it was an island.
00:27:44.799 --> 00:27:49.039
Yeah, it was it was five acres of grass surrounding the base of that building.
00:27:49.119 --> 00:27:49.359
Yeah.
00:27:49.519 --> 00:27:59.599
And so when I bought that, you know, it's funny, you just when I bought that building in 2012, our partner at that time um, you know, came down to look at the building.
00:27:59.759 --> 00:28:02.160
And it was actually backing up even further.
00:28:02.319 --> 00:28:06.960
The reason we own that building is because we didn't end up buying Promenade uh two.
00:28:07.519 --> 00:28:09.359
So the cousins ended up buying it.
00:28:09.599 --> 00:28:13.119
And and we bit on it and I lost it by a half a million dollars.
00:28:13.279 --> 00:28:20.319
And my partner, our LP, looked at me, and I've just one of my favorite people in the business, been a mentor for me.
00:28:20.400 --> 00:28:23.200
Uh, and he said, Don't ever do that to me again.
00:28:23.440 --> 00:28:24.319
And I was like, What?
00:28:24.480 --> 00:28:27.359
And he's like, You inched me along, and then we lost.
00:28:27.519 --> 00:28:29.599
And I was just emotionally invested the whole time.
00:28:29.680 --> 00:28:33.920
And then we lose a hundred and I think they paid like a, I'm gonna get this wrong, but I think it was like$137 million.
00:28:34.400 --> 00:28:37.359
And we, and we had we lost the whole bit by like a half a million dollars.
00:28:37.519 --> 00:28:39.440
And so, so he said, Don't do that to me again.
00:28:39.519 --> 00:28:45.440
I thought, okay, so prominence comes for sale shortly thereafter, and and he's like, I want to own this.
00:28:45.680 --> 00:28:49.359
And and he's like, This is a good asset and it's got a great business plan.
00:28:49.519 --> 00:28:51.200
And he said, get it done.
00:28:51.839 --> 00:28:55.200
And so when we went through it, I was like, okay, like I can't make this mistake twice.
00:28:55.279 --> 00:28:57.839
This is a guy who's you know willing to bet on us coming out of the GFC.
00:28:57.920 --> 00:29:01.599
And they we bought some other assets together and just really thoughtful, smart guys.
00:29:01.759 --> 00:29:10.400
And um, and so we ended up buying it, and he came down to look at it with me and you know from New York, and we're walking out the out in front of the building on the land.
00:29:10.480 --> 00:29:16.559
And now it was all grass, and there's there was there's some wooded areas, there's like a so all that land was a part of it.
00:29:16.799 --> 00:29:31.440
Well, yeah, so it was it was it was technically two different transactions, but it was the ownership was was um uh TIA Cref owned the the building with Blackstone as a minority owner or EOP because they had acquired EOP at that point.
00:29:31.599 --> 00:29:36.720
And then the land um was owned completely by uh EOP or Blackstone.
00:29:36.799 --> 00:29:40.480
Yeah, and so but but it made you weren't gonna buy the building and not buy the land.
00:29:40.559 --> 00:29:42.160
It was it was the front door of the building.
00:29:42.240 --> 00:29:42.480
Right.
00:29:42.640 --> 00:29:44.240
And so he came down and we we walked in.
00:29:44.400 --> 00:29:45.599
He's like, let's just go walk around the site.
00:29:45.680 --> 00:29:47.680
And I was like, well, if it's right there, and he's like, No, no, no, no.
00:29:47.759 --> 00:29:48.799
He's like, let's walk the site.
00:29:48.880 --> 00:29:54.720
And I'm like, we're like sitting here in like, you know, dress clothes and shoes, and it's like muddy everywhere.
00:29:54.799 --> 00:29:56.720
And he's like, if we're gonna buy this, I need to walk this.
00:29:57.039 --> 00:30:02.319
So we just walked down into the woods and uh spent about 10 minutes, you know, stepping over things and seeing stuff.
00:30:02.480 --> 00:30:05.440
And then we walk out of it and he looks at me and he goes, buy it.
00:30:05.920 --> 00:30:07.119
And I was like, okay.
00:30:07.279 --> 00:30:11.359
So we figured it out and uh I started the rezoning project immediately.
00:30:11.599 --> 00:30:16.480
I spent a year standing in the living rooms of everybody uh next door at all the townhomes explaining what it was gonna look like.
00:30:16.559 --> 00:30:24.160
We had renderings done from everyone's like vantage point uh of this wasn't gonna be something bad for them, but it was gonna be good and it was gonna add restaurants and things.
00:30:24.400 --> 00:30:25.599
And uh and everybody agreed.
00:30:25.759 --> 00:30:28.640
And we got to the point, it was there were everyone was great to work with.
00:30:28.799 --> 00:30:32.559
Um and and yeah, and it ended up becoming what it is now.
00:30:32.640 --> 00:30:43.039
And I spent a couple years after that master planning it and really figuring out what we wanted it to be, uh, keeping the scale appropriate, uh, the apartments out front, adding a hotel to the site.
00:30:43.200 --> 00:30:48.240
But the most important part for us was to get these restaurants because I think to your point earlier, it was on an island.
00:30:48.640 --> 00:30:54.480
And and so we we really put into the development plan you had to build, I think it's 20,000 feet of restaurants there.
00:30:54.559 --> 00:30:54.640
Yeah.
00:30:54.799 --> 00:30:56.240
And um and it's worked beautifully.
00:30:56.480 --> 00:30:56.720
Yeah.
00:30:57.599 --> 00:30:59.039
I keep hearing about the pizza spot.
00:30:59.279 --> 00:30:59.599
It's awesome.
00:30:59.680 --> 00:31:00.240
I was there yesterday.
00:31:00.319 --> 00:31:00.400
Yeah.
00:31:00.559 --> 00:31:00.720
Mr.
00:31:00.880 --> 00:31:01.119
O1.
00:31:01.680 --> 00:31:02.240
Yeah, that's it.
00:31:02.400 --> 00:31:04.079
Uh I can't eat cheese, so uh Okay.
00:31:04.240 --> 00:31:04.480
Yeah.
00:31:04.559 --> 00:31:05.680
Um maybe I'll I don't know.
00:31:06.000 --> 00:31:06.640
They have a great salad.
00:31:06.880 --> 00:31:06.960
Okay.
00:31:08.160 --> 00:31:10.400
But yeah, yeah, CT Reforma and Zik Zakia.
00:31:10.880 --> 00:31:12.319
Yeah, and and yeah, Zakia's there.
00:31:12.400 --> 00:31:14.559
There, I I mean I eat at each of those places every week.
00:31:14.640 --> 00:31:21.359
So I yeah, do our part, but they're busy and and you know, and we always go to Chipotle, which is not in our project, but it's across the street.
00:31:22.000 --> 00:31:22.559
That's a staple.
00:31:22.880 --> 00:31:23.200
Yeah.
00:31:23.440 --> 00:31:24.799
Well, uh good work.
00:31:25.039 --> 00:31:27.359
I mean, that's that's quite I mean it's right right over here.
00:31:27.920 --> 00:31:35.279
Yeah, so really so yeah, as we talk about promise, I think you look at the density there, and that was all I mean the only building that was there when we bought it was the office building in the back.
00:31:35.440 --> 00:31:43.200
And and we kind of master planned, we rezoned, master planned, and then selected developers to come in and do each piece kind of in conjunction with the plan.
00:31:43.440 --> 00:31:46.240
I think they were Mill Creek ended up doing both the multifamily phases.
00:31:46.319 --> 00:31:48.240
It wasn't originally that wasn't originally the plan.
00:31:48.319 --> 00:31:50.079
Um, it worked out that way.
00:31:50.240 --> 00:31:58.000
Uh and then and then Pete Patel, uh Rev Parr at the time, yeah, uh built a hotel as an element and it worked out really well.
00:31:58.240 --> 00:32:02.720
And so I think all of it, you know, the retail along the base you see there at the corner.
00:32:02.880 --> 00:32:06.480
But as we looked at this, you look at Piedmont Center, we're like, why not us, right?
00:32:06.640 --> 00:32:14.000
I think I think our view is you can extend this experience, which would be really great for Buckhead, um, more towards the residential side.
00:32:14.400 --> 00:32:17.359
And so adding retail there works from a market perspective.
00:32:17.519 --> 00:32:18.799
It works from an office building.
00:32:18.880 --> 00:32:22.720
Um, it's a creative to the office experience, it's a creative to the community experience.
00:32:22.799 --> 00:32:23.839
Um, it's what people want.
00:32:24.000 --> 00:32:31.519
We do surveys every year of our entire portfolio, and we have um almost 22 million feet of space around the country, and that's all office space with some you know small retail components to it.
00:32:31.680 --> 00:32:31.920
Yeah.
00:32:32.000 --> 00:32:40.160
Uh but but we do surveys, and every year it's 95% of people are like walkable food is the most important thing that I want.
00:32:40.400 --> 00:32:43.599
And then it's like 4% conference room and 1% everything else.
00:32:43.839 --> 00:32:49.200
I mean, I mean, I'm exaggerating a little bit, but I think the point is like food is incredibly important.
00:32:49.359 --> 00:32:49.519
Yeah.
00:32:49.759 --> 00:32:52.559
And so I think as we look at a lot of these projects now, and which makes sense.
00:32:52.640 --> 00:32:54.160
I mean, all of us want to eat.
00:32:54.240 --> 00:32:57.359
I mean, at the end of the day, if you you go to work, you might not go to the gym, but you're gonna eat.
00:32:57.519 --> 00:32:57.680
Yeah.
00:32:57.839 --> 00:32:58.000
Right?
00:32:58.160 --> 00:32:58.319
Yeah.
00:32:58.559 --> 00:33:03.359
So and having a good cafe and a couple options and reasonably priced.
00:33:03.680 --> 00:33:12.240
It's a very real component when we tour with with clients like tenants, what what kind of building you want to be in, what what restaurants are there, and um fit checkster boxes.
00:33:12.480 --> 00:33:13.279
Yeah, for sure.
00:33:13.519 --> 00:33:15.839
Well, uh yeah, thanks for doing this.
00:33:16.000 --> 00:33:18.319
It's uh it's a really it's a prime corner.
00:33:18.400 --> 00:33:18.880
It's nuts.
00:33:18.960 --> 00:33:22.799
It was just like a grassy bachelor.
00:33:23.519 --> 00:33:28.960
Um okay, so we're thinking just extend this kind of energy just further along.
00:33:29.279 --> 00:33:29.920
That's exactly right.
00:33:30.079 --> 00:33:32.319
That's exactly just like it's it's that easy, right?
00:33:32.880 --> 00:33:33.279
Just like that.
00:33:33.599 --> 00:33:35.839
Just ask just ask your Gemini to render it, and there it is.
00:33:36.079 --> 00:33:36.319
Okay.
00:33:36.559 --> 00:33:38.880
So um well, it's exciting.
00:33:39.039 --> 00:33:43.200
Hey guys, before we continue, I just want to thank one of our partners, Corporate Environments.
00:33:43.359 --> 00:33:48.079
They're Georgia's leading full service commercial furniture and workplace solutions providers.
00:33:48.240 --> 00:34:00.400
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00:34:00.559 --> 00:34:07.039
They've got locations in Atlanta, Birmingham, and Savannah, and they're helping businesses across Georgia create spaces that leave a lasting impression.
00:34:07.279 --> 00:34:09.199
You can learn more at corporateenvironments.com.
00:34:09.360 --> 00:34:10.000
Now back to the show.
00:34:10.159 --> 00:34:12.880
Are y'all going to put an observation deck on top of Bank of America?
00:34:13.119 --> 00:34:14.239
I mean, we're working on it.
00:34:14.400 --> 00:34:14.480
Okay.
00:34:14.719 --> 00:34:17.519
Yeah, we are absolutely very focused on getting that done.
00:34:17.679 --> 00:34:23.360
And um uh yeah, I think it's the one of the worst kept secrets that we're working on, right?
00:34:23.519 --> 00:34:28.880
As I think we keep socializing it, and and frankly, we've been working on it for a few years now, and it's getting to a point where it's getting really interesting.
00:34:29.039 --> 00:34:36.159
And so uh no, you know, I'm not I'm not here to say it's absolutely happening, but I'll tell you that there are a lot of hands, a lot of heads in the huddle trying to figure this out right now.
00:34:36.239 --> 00:34:36.480
Yeah.
00:34:36.639 --> 00:34:38.239
Um and and it should happen.
00:34:38.320 --> 00:34:39.119
I I want it to happen.
00:34:39.199 --> 00:34:41.119
Like I think it's I think it's a good thing for our city.
00:34:41.199 --> 00:34:43.039
I think it's a great thing for our building.
00:34:43.280 --> 00:34:47.679
It's weird to me that there's not an observation deck really anywhere in the southeastern United States.
00:34:47.920 --> 00:34:49.920
I mean, uh New York has five of them.
00:34:50.079 --> 00:34:50.239
Yeah.
00:34:50.400 --> 00:34:50.639
Right?
00:34:51.039 --> 00:34:54.239
Well, because the numbers came out about how much they print money up there.
00:34:54.559 --> 00:34:55.280
Did you hear about that?
00:34:55.519 --> 00:34:58.960
The whole like uh I it was Empire State Building became public.
00:34:59.199 --> 00:34:59.360
Yeah.
00:34:59.679 --> 00:35:02.960
And there was some little note that it was printing like$140 million a year.
00:35:03.360 --> 00:35:06.480
It's there's I've seen the numbers on all these different projects around the world.
00:35:06.559 --> 00:35:09.599
Um we've hired consultants to work with to kind of pull this all together.
00:35:09.760 --> 00:35:11.840
Uh and they're it's a great margin business.
00:35:12.000 --> 00:35:12.079
Yeah.
00:35:12.320 --> 00:35:15.679
But but it it's interesting because there's a large moat around it, right?
00:35:15.840 --> 00:35:19.199
You gotta have a tall building, a very tall building.
00:35:19.360 --> 00:35:19.440
Yeah.
00:35:19.599 --> 00:35:28.000
Um, it has to be in a city that has the the demand, the drivers, the visitors, the tourism to support it.
00:35:28.159 --> 00:35:28.320
Yeah.
00:35:28.559 --> 00:35:30.400
Because they're incredibly expensive to build.
00:35:30.639 --> 00:35:32.960
Um separate access, everything.
00:35:33.199 --> 00:35:33.360
Yeah.
00:35:33.440 --> 00:35:39.920
Our project and and and you know, Ryan has been architecting this with a team of people.
00:35:40.320 --> 00:35:43.760
And I think when you come through it and look at it, it's completely separate.
00:35:44.000 --> 00:35:48.800
Access points, elevators, the whole experience will never intersect with the office.
00:35:49.440 --> 00:35:51.920
Um and it's a lot to figure out.
00:35:52.800 --> 00:35:55.360
But as you point out, I think there's a few things.
00:35:55.519 --> 00:35:59.119
Yes, it's it's financially it works, otherwise nobody would even consider it.
00:35:59.280 --> 00:35:59.440
Right.
00:35:59.679 --> 00:36:05.599
Um but I think from a standpoint of like just what it represents, it's so exciting.
00:36:05.760 --> 00:36:16.559
And and Atlanta, you know, when we bought this project, the center, I sp I didn't I I can't say I truly understood how strong our tourism business was here.
00:36:16.719 --> 00:36:20.639
Um downtown is the economic engine of this city.
00:36:20.880 --> 00:36:21.039
Yeah.
00:36:21.280 --> 00:36:23.599
I mean, f over 50 million visitors a year.
00:36:23.679 --> 00:36:28.239
It's and and I say this all the time, but it's the fourth most of any city in the United States.
00:36:28.320 --> 00:36:33.440
So you have, I believe it's Orlando, New York, Chicago, Atlanta.
00:36:34.159 --> 00:36:36.400
And that's a lot of people.
00:36:36.559 --> 00:36:39.440
And so I kept thinking, you know, when people come here, what do they do?
00:36:39.519 --> 00:36:39.920
You know?
00:36:40.239 --> 00:36:41.840
Maybe they go to Pond City Market.
00:36:42.000 --> 00:36:43.280
Well, they definitely go to the airport.
00:36:43.440 --> 00:36:48.000
And um and and then you have a handful of things that you can do when you're here, uh, but we can add to that.
00:36:48.079 --> 00:37:00.239
And I think for any city that has that many tourists coming here, and in the in the in the name in the the makeup of that 50 million is definitely different than the 50 million that shows up in Las Vegas or the 40 million, whatever it is, yeah, or Disney World.
00:37:00.480 --> 00:37:04.480
But but it's business travelers, it's regional visitors, it's people coming to see their families.
00:37:04.639 --> 00:37:06.159
Um, it's incredible.
00:37:06.400 --> 00:37:08.559
And they all are looking for things to do.
00:37:08.800 --> 00:37:09.920
Yes, that's exactly right.
00:37:10.079 --> 00:37:10.239
Yeah.
00:37:10.480 --> 00:37:14.320
We've had Kevin Duvall, William Pate, we've had, you know, the the kind of roster.
00:37:14.400 --> 00:37:18.239
And I didn't realize until we started setting up the studio here.
00:37:18.400 --> 00:37:24.559
We'd go get lunch over the Omni, and it was like one day there'd be like the Safari conservationists of Dallas.
00:37:24.719 --> 00:37:24.960
Yeah.
00:37:25.199 --> 00:37:34.159
Just some like bunch of guys with cowboy hats on, and then like the next week it would be the cheerleading competition, and it's just nuts how many conventions come through here.
00:37:34.400 --> 00:37:48.079
I had a day a couple years ago, um, it might have been two or three years ago, when I brought uh I have two boys, and I brought my wife, my two kids here, and there was it was um oh my goodness, what's the name of the conference?
00:37:48.159 --> 00:37:50.079
It's it's the one, it's kind of the gamer conference.
00:37:50.400 --> 00:37:56.800
And and um and when we came down here, there was there was a NCAA basketball game being played in State Farm Arena.
00:37:56.880 --> 00:37:56.960
Yeah.
00:37:57.119 --> 00:38:00.159
It was a big like a marquee matchup, I think it was like UNC Kentucky or something.
00:38:00.320 --> 00:38:06.960
And then there was uh I think it was the high school football championship being played at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
00:38:07.519 --> 00:38:10.320
And then there was this convention going on at the convention center.
00:38:10.559 --> 00:38:18.159
And if you didn't go downtown that day, you had no idea that there were like 70,000 people hanging out right here.
00:38:18.239 --> 00:38:18.400
Yeah.
00:38:18.559 --> 00:38:20.239
But but like that happens all the time.
00:38:20.400 --> 00:38:20.559
Yeah.
00:38:20.719 --> 00:38:26.159
And I think that was one thing to me that until we really made the investment down here, I didn't have an appreciation for.
00:38:26.239 --> 00:38:28.400
And that is an incredible economic engine.
00:38:28.480 --> 00:38:35.119
And the the gentleman you mentioned earlier, you know, William Pate and Kevin Duvall, I mean, these guys are killing it.
00:38:35.280 --> 00:38:38.159
I mean, they're what wonderful leaders for us to have.
00:38:38.239 --> 00:38:42.480
Um, and the effort down here in the Atlanta Convention Visitors Bureau and the Georgia World Congress Center.
00:38:42.559 --> 00:38:45.519
I mean, these are these are just and I don't I just think most people in Atlanta don't.
00:38:45.599 --> 00:38:47.840
There's like different ecosystems in the city because it's so big.
00:38:47.920 --> 00:38:53.119
And you just have like the downtown one and the conventions and the arenas and the park, the center.
00:38:53.360 --> 00:38:59.280
Um, and and then a lot of people just don't see it unless they're at the Hawks game, which shout out to the Hawks for winning last night.
00:38:59.360 --> 00:39:00.000
That was exciting.
00:39:00.079 --> 00:39:00.400
Yeah.
00:39:00.559 --> 00:39:02.320
Um, but I think that's gonna change.
00:39:02.400 --> 00:39:16.639
And I and I and and I think as you sit down here now, and I know you're you know this better than anyone, but the energy of Centennial Yards, South Downtown, the center, what they're doing at the convention center, like all these arenas and events and things, like it's real.
00:39:16.719 --> 00:39:20.880
And what's interesting to me is it's all gonna come online at about the same time.
00:39:21.119 --> 00:39:21.440
Right?
00:39:21.599 --> 00:39:23.119
I mean, and it's because of the World Cup.
00:39:23.280 --> 00:39:24.320
And yeah, six weeks.
00:39:24.480 --> 00:39:27.920
You're gonna host the whole world here at the same time, the downtown like reopening all these things.
00:39:28.159 --> 00:39:31.519
Yeah, and we have the city repaving everything and up and pressure washing.
00:39:31.920 --> 00:39:33.360
Yeah, we're putting up a bunch of art outside.
00:39:33.440 --> 00:39:35.039
I I just really happy about that.
00:39:35.199 --> 00:39:36.880
I think great paint job on the building.
00:39:37.280 --> 00:39:37.679
Is that clean?
00:39:37.840 --> 00:39:38.480
Well, yeah, we cleaned it.
00:39:38.559 --> 00:39:39.840
We cleaned it, we painted it, it looks amazing.
00:39:39.920 --> 00:39:40.320
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:39:40.400 --> 00:39:44.000
But I mean, just like I don't know if you've seen any of the murals that have gone up in the last couple weeks.
00:39:44.159 --> 00:39:45.360
Um they're awesome.
00:39:45.440 --> 00:39:50.800
And I think that's a big part of like what you know is Atlanta opens its doors to welcome the world here.
00:39:51.039 --> 00:39:51.760
That's real.
00:39:51.840 --> 00:39:55.920
I mean, since the Olympics, this is the biggest sporting event that's been here.
00:39:56.159 --> 00:39:58.480
Biggest any event, um, I think.
00:39:58.639 --> 00:39:58.800
Yeah.
00:39:58.960 --> 00:40:11.039
And so so I think just being able to say, like, hey, we're more than just an arena, we're more than just, you know, some food, whatever, like we have culture and art and and you know, that's what we offer.
00:40:11.119 --> 00:40:11.760
And I think it's cool.
00:40:11.840 --> 00:40:12.800
Like, everyone's gonna get to see that.
00:40:12.880 --> 00:40:14.639
So like let's put our best best foot forward here.
00:40:14.800 --> 00:40:15.360
Yeah, yeah.
00:40:15.519 --> 00:40:17.599
It's coming, it's coming very, very soon.
00:40:17.840 --> 00:40:20.159
Um I wanna I wanna switch back to you.
00:40:20.239 --> 00:40:26.559
I just we have a lot of students that listen in and we even have some interns with us.
00:40:27.039 --> 00:40:33.039
Um you went from analyst at at investment group and you've risen the ranks.
00:40:33.119 --> 00:40:35.440
Like what not everybody does that.
00:40:35.599 --> 00:40:37.599
I think that's like a pretty rare thing for people.
00:40:37.840 --> 00:40:41.360
Like I don't know what what recommendations, what advice do you have?
00:40:41.599 --> 00:40:43.840
I mean, it was that that made you stand out.
00:40:44.079 --> 00:40:46.960
I think um one one, I think you have to be driven.
00:40:47.039 --> 00:40:50.400
Like it's just just pick what you're pick what it is you want and then go at it, right?
00:40:50.719 --> 00:40:53.599
Um for me, it's kind of it's kind of a funny story.
00:40:53.679 --> 00:40:58.079
So when I was in when I was in college, uh I knew I wanted to do finance.
00:40:58.559 --> 00:41:01.360
I don't know why I wanted to do finance, because it's really not that cool.
00:41:01.440 --> 00:41:04.800
Yeah, uh, but I knew I wasn't gonna be like a professional soccer player.
00:41:04.960 --> 00:41:06.480
So I might as well pick something in business.
00:41:06.559 --> 00:41:07.599
I want to do business.
00:41:07.920 --> 00:41:12.239
And and so um I started learn learning about what you could do.
00:41:12.320 --> 00:41:18.880
I talked to our like advisors and things, and they were like, well, look, if you're gonna go into a business, there's like investment banking, there's consulting, there's all these different things.
00:41:19.039 --> 00:41:24.159
And for whatever reason, I gravitated towards kind of finance and banking because they were like, this will open up more doors for you.
00:41:24.719 --> 00:41:25.199
Right.
00:41:25.440 --> 00:41:33.039
And so as I started to figure out how to get to that point, and this is tying back to the young listeners and and things like that, you know, use the resources around you.
00:41:33.119 --> 00:41:34.880
So what I did is I went to our career center.
00:41:35.039 --> 00:41:38.800
It's probably all like super easy to do now because back then you had to like go somewhere to get information.
00:41:39.039 --> 00:41:41.199
And this is like 19 or 2000.
00:41:41.599 --> 00:41:51.920
And um, and I got all the names of alumni from Emery, is where I went, that worked on Wall Street because that was like a thing they tracked.
00:41:52.079 --> 00:41:57.280
And then I started emailing all of them and being like, hey, I want a job in New York, help me.
00:41:57.599 --> 00:41:58.719
And it was great.
00:41:58.880 --> 00:41:59.840
People actually want to help you.
00:41:59.920 --> 00:42:04.559
And I learned people like helping people who are like trying to blaze the trail that they blazed before them, right?
00:42:04.639 --> 00:42:07.119
So, you know, people who'd they knew it was tough to get these jobs.
00:42:07.199 --> 00:42:10.719
They knew, you know, coming from the south, going to the northeast isn't the easiest grind.
00:42:10.880 --> 00:42:21.039
And and so I in a and what ended up being a typo, I send an email to an alumni um of Emory whose name was Allison Greenberg.
00:42:21.760 --> 00:42:29.920
Now I had previously emailed another uh uh alumni named Evan Goldberg, and his email was egoldberg at bear.com.
00:42:30.400 --> 00:42:31.599
Okay, bear sterns.
00:42:31.840 --> 00:42:37.280
And so I just guessed, because I didn't have Allison's email, that her email would be a Greenberg at Bear.com.
00:42:37.519 --> 00:42:41.519
So I send the email, and within like 10 minutes, I get a phone call.
00:42:41.679 --> 00:42:44.239
And I'm sitting in like my college house with like three of my buddies.
00:42:44.320 --> 00:42:46.320
He answers the phone, he's like, you know, what's up?
00:42:46.400 --> 00:42:52.880
You know, and and it's this this guy, and he's like, This is Alan Greenberg from Bear Stearns.
00:42:53.119 --> 00:42:53.920
Is Chris there?
00:42:54.480 --> 00:42:58.800
And so he looks at me and he's like, someone from Bear Stearns is calling you.
00:42:59.199 --> 00:43:00.480
And I'm like, okay.
00:43:00.719 --> 00:43:09.760
So you know, 21-year-old me runs over and grabs the phone and I'm hello, and and and he says, This is Alan Greenberg from Bear Stearns.
00:43:10.639 --> 00:43:14.320
I received a fax from you and I think you sent it to the wrong person.
00:43:15.039 --> 00:43:16.320
I'm thinking, a fax?
00:43:16.400 --> 00:43:17.360
Like I just sent an email.
00:43:17.440 --> 00:43:19.199
Now you guys are younger than me.
00:43:19.280 --> 00:43:22.320
So like email was not I wouldn't say it was a new thing, it was a thing.
00:43:22.559 --> 00:43:27.440
But this guy was old school, and so clearly someone was printing out his emails and handing it to him.
00:43:28.559 --> 00:43:32.000
And so I say, Um, well, I'm sorry.
00:43:32.079 --> 00:43:38.719
Like I didn't mean I I was trying to reach an alumni from my school, I got Emory, and um, and he's like, Oh, well, I can see from looking at this that you want to work here.
00:43:39.360 --> 00:43:41.039
And I'm like, that's absolutely right.
00:43:41.119 --> 00:43:43.840
I'm like, I'm I would it's like my dream job.
00:43:44.079 --> 00:43:47.360
And he said, Well, what did you say the name of that person was again?
00:43:47.519 --> 00:43:49.039
I said, uh, Allison Greenberg.
00:43:49.119 --> 00:43:50.079
And he goes, Hang on one second.
00:43:50.159 --> 00:43:56.880
I can hear him like put the phone on his shoulder, and then he screams out, Does anybody know an Allison Greenberg who works here?
00:43:57.119 --> 00:43:59.760
And then he pauses for a minute and gets back on the phone.
00:44:00.400 --> 00:44:02.800
He's like, I can't seem to find her.
00:44:03.119 --> 00:44:06.079
He's like, but I can get your resume in the right hands.
00:44:06.559 --> 00:44:11.440
So at this moment, I'm like, Alan Greenberg, why do I know that name?
00:44:11.760 --> 00:44:12.800
Yeah, like who is this guy?
00:44:13.039 --> 00:44:22.559
So I hang up the phone and I realized, because I'd done all my research and like this again, young people out there, do your homework on the people that you're going to be approaching to talk about career opportunities.
00:44:22.800 --> 00:44:25.360
So back then they had these little cheat sheet books you could buy.
00:44:25.440 --> 00:44:28.320
I think it was from like vault.com or something, and they would tell you everything about a company.
00:44:28.800 --> 00:44:31.440
So Alan Greenberg is the chairman of Bear Stearns.
00:44:31.519 --> 00:44:33.920
His name is Ace Freenberg, but everybody calls him Ace.
00:44:34.239 --> 00:44:38.480
So this guy is like a legend on Wall Street, like literally a legend.
00:44:38.639 --> 00:44:38.880
Okay.
00:44:39.360 --> 00:44:40.559
Calls me, right?
00:44:40.719 --> 00:44:40.880
Wow.
00:44:41.119 --> 00:44:48.880
So you can imagine when the chairman of the company sends an email to HR saying, consider this applicant's resume, you get a phone call.
00:44:49.119 --> 00:44:49.360
Jeez.
00:44:49.679 --> 00:44:54.559
So like literally I get into this whole mess because of a typo.
00:44:54.960 --> 00:44:55.280
Wow.
00:44:55.599 --> 00:44:58.000
So it's hard work and luck, right?
00:44:58.159 --> 00:44:58.639
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:44:58.800 --> 00:45:04.800
And I think I think, you know, if you're out there, big be out there, talk to people, be respectful.
00:45:05.119 --> 00:45:07.840
If you go to meet with someone, learn about them before you meet with them.
00:45:08.000 --> 00:45:08.239
Yeah.
00:45:08.719 --> 00:45:11.119
But like just be out there.
00:45:11.360 --> 00:45:11.519
Yeah.
00:45:11.760 --> 00:45:12.320
It just helps.
00:45:13.360 --> 00:45:17.679
You're getting reps in, you're you're fresh, and and momentum breeds momentum.
00:45:17.840 --> 00:45:20.159
And that's uh that's a pretty great typo.
00:45:20.320 --> 00:45:20.800
It was crazy.
00:45:20.880 --> 00:45:20.960
Yeah.
00:45:21.119 --> 00:45:25.440
Then we kept thinking, so then my roommates were all like, let's try to guess the the CEO's emails of all the banks.
00:45:26.800 --> 00:45:27.440
Didn't work.
00:45:28.639 --> 00:45:29.440
I love his comment.
00:45:29.599 --> 00:45:31.440
He's like, I think I can get this on the right hand.
00:45:31.840 --> 00:45:32.639
Literally how he said it.
00:45:32.880 --> 00:45:34.719
Just oh I can take care of this.
00:45:34.880 --> 00:45:35.119
Cool.
00:45:35.280 --> 00:45:35.599
Yeah.
00:45:35.920 --> 00:45:36.079
Okay.
00:45:36.239 --> 00:45:40.079
So you go work for them and then just work really, really hard.
00:45:40.400 --> 00:45:40.639
Yeah.
00:45:40.880 --> 00:45:41.119
Yes.
00:45:41.280 --> 00:45:42.000
Grind it out.
00:45:42.079 --> 00:45:43.519
Um and then met Angelo.
00:45:43.599 --> 00:45:45.360
He came and interviewed me at my current business partner.
00:45:45.440 --> 00:45:49.039
He interviewed me and hired me as his like senior analyst uh back in 2003.
00:45:49.519 --> 00:45:50.800
So I moved to South Florida.
00:45:50.960 --> 00:45:54.880
Um, growing up in the west coast of Florida, it was an easy, easy move for me to make.
00:45:54.960 --> 00:45:56.400
Um is Angelo here in Atlanta?
00:45:56.639 --> 00:45:57.440
Angelo's not here in Atlanta.
00:45:57.519 --> 00:45:58.559
Angelo sits in South Florida.
00:45:58.719 --> 00:45:58.880
Okay.
00:45:59.039 --> 00:45:59.280
Yeah.
00:45:59.519 --> 00:46:03.119
And so he uh he was previously an attorney by by trade.
00:46:03.199 --> 00:46:11.679
He worked in New York, um, very successful attorney, worked at Tishman Spire for a little while too, and then kind of got hired in by our former uh business partner, and then he hired me in.
00:46:11.760 --> 00:46:21.360
So it was kind of like he brought me in and it was off to the races, and we just started doing it, and and as I said, we sold the company, and I think I just kept pushing, right?
00:46:21.440 --> 00:46:26.639
Like I think there's a big part of like just being out there, like trying to make things happen, like swing big.
00:46:26.800 --> 00:46:40.800
And like I think like that's one thing that it's taken me a long time to figure out is like remove these mental barriers you have of what you can do, take big swings, like think large, and then surround yourself with people who are like that, right?
00:46:40.960 --> 00:46:43.280
Try to find other people who are doing those things.
00:46:43.440 --> 00:46:46.079
Uh, because they they it's it's it's like anything.
00:46:46.159 --> 00:46:49.280
If you if you like to run and you run with someone who's faster than you, you run faster.
00:46:49.679 --> 00:46:52.960
You like to play golf and you play golf with someone who plays better golf than you, you probably focus more.
00:46:53.119 --> 00:46:57.119
Like anything if you start being around the right people starts to like flywheel it.
00:46:57.199 --> 00:47:02.159
And I think um, you know, Angelo's been an incredible business partner of mine, mentor of mine.
00:47:02.239 --> 00:47:05.119
I mean, literally taught me the business from an early age.
00:47:05.280 --> 00:47:09.039
And um, and yeah, it's just been it's just been a sprint.
00:47:09.119 --> 00:47:09.280
Yeah.
00:47:09.519 --> 00:47:10.000
Still is.
00:47:10.159 --> 00:47:10.800
Yeah.
00:47:11.519 --> 00:47:12.400
We're just getting started.
00:47:12.480 --> 00:47:12.719
Yeah.
00:47:14.000 --> 00:47:14.159
Yeah.
00:47:14.559 --> 00:47:18.000
All two two bricks on the throttle just going full.
00:47:18.320 --> 00:47:24.159
Um, I I want to ask, were like where so y'all have been pretty bullish on office acquisitions.
00:47:24.239 --> 00:47:26.239
Um, where else do you see opportunity?
00:47:26.320 --> 00:47:28.159
And is it is it still office?
00:47:28.320 --> 00:47:33.679
I from my standpoint as as a tenor rep, we get a lot of calls from people that are like, hey, what do you what do you think of this building?
00:47:33.760 --> 00:47:36.159
We're looking at it and just kind of getting a a read.
00:47:36.239 --> 00:47:42.320
So we know there's a lot of people that are looking at at office acquisitions, but um yeah, I'm I'm curious what we're doing.
00:47:42.480 --> 00:47:43.440
Yeah, I mean it's tough out there today.
00:47:43.519 --> 00:47:47.599
I think I think we're very bullish on office space, but not all office space.
00:47:47.760 --> 00:47:51.760
I think you have to you have to kind of pick it's uh, as they say, a stock picker's market right now, right?
00:47:51.840 --> 00:47:55.119
You gotta pick you gotta pick what you think is gonna succeed in the near term.
00:47:55.280 --> 00:47:56.880
I mean, look, it time matters too, right?
00:47:56.960 --> 00:48:00.880
You uh in in a vacuum, if I said, do I buy this and in 30 years is it worth more?
00:48:01.039 --> 00:48:01.199
Sure.
00:48:01.280 --> 00:48:02.480
But like that's not what we're paid to do.
00:48:02.639 --> 00:48:10.320
I think we're we have to find the near-term opportunities, uh, the opportunities that are maybe not as visible to to people looking from the outside.
00:48:10.480 --> 00:48:16.239
Um, but the office market is fundamentally stronger today than I've seen it since COVID began.
00:48:16.719 --> 00:48:19.360
And I'm sure you see that too in conversations you're having.
00:48:19.599 --> 00:48:26.480
And I think a lot of office tenants are a little gun shy sometimes when it comes to taking space because they don't know, and then you have this AI thing coming, and what does that mean?
00:48:27.119 --> 00:48:31.119
But it's interesting because the business leaders, they all want everybody in the office.
00:48:31.360 --> 00:48:33.679
They're all not afraid to commit to space anymore.
00:48:33.840 --> 00:48:35.920
Um I think people need to run their businesses, right?
00:48:36.000 --> 00:48:41.119
That's what they they're like, we have to run a business, and then my people need to be together, and we want to do it in an area that they like to come to.
00:48:41.440 --> 00:48:43.440
And it's not, you don't have to overthink it, right?
00:48:43.599 --> 00:48:46.000
I think it's create a product people like, right?
00:48:46.719 --> 00:48:47.119
Cool.
00:48:47.599 --> 00:48:49.840
Are y'all looking anywhere outside of Atlanta?
00:48:50.320 --> 00:48:51.199
I mean, we've been super busy.
00:48:51.280 --> 00:48:54.079
I mean, we bought, as you as you mentioned earlier, we bought Piedmont Center last summer.
00:48:54.400 --> 00:48:58.079
Um we bought a million square foot project in downtown Denver a few months ago.
00:48:58.480 --> 00:49:03.840
Um we closed on a portfolio, I think it's about 900,000 feet of space in Orlando a few months ago.
00:49:04.079 --> 00:49:07.360
Um we're working on another large-scale acquisition in South Florida right now.
00:49:07.519 --> 00:49:07.679
Yeah.
00:49:07.840 --> 00:49:08.960
Um These are all office.
00:49:09.360 --> 00:49:11.679
These are all all office, yeah, all office.
00:49:11.760 --> 00:49:13.199
One's got a mixed use component to it.
00:49:13.440 --> 00:49:13.679
Okay.
00:49:13.840 --> 00:49:14.159
Yeah.
00:49:14.480 --> 00:49:15.039
It's amazing.
00:49:15.280 --> 00:49:15.599
Yeah.
00:49:15.840 --> 00:49:17.360
So over four million feet.
00:49:17.760 --> 00:49:18.079
Yeah.
00:49:18.159 --> 00:49:18.400
Yeah.
00:49:18.559 --> 00:49:20.559
I mean, how how big's the portfolio now?
00:49:20.880 --> 00:49:22.559
Yeah, so we're we're about twenty-two million feet.
00:49:22.719 --> 00:49:22.880
Okay.
00:49:22.960 --> 00:49:28.559
Um, call it about three, three and a half billion of assets under management, uh, three hundred employees.
00:49:28.960 --> 00:49:31.679
We have offices in DC or Bethesda.
00:49:32.000 --> 00:49:36.079
Um, we have off an office in Charlotte, Atlanta, Florida.
00:49:36.239 --> 00:49:40.880
I mean, in Atlanta, we're the largest private owner of commercial real estate, and Florida, we're the largest owner.
00:49:41.519 --> 00:49:46.159
And we have offices in Texas, Denver, all over.
00:49:46.400 --> 00:49:49.519
So I think there's opportunity everywhere.
00:49:49.679 --> 00:49:49.920
Yeah.
00:49:50.400 --> 00:49:52.239
And I think you got to really dig in.
00:49:53.280 --> 00:49:53.840
We're finding it.
00:49:54.079 --> 00:49:59.599
Hey guys, before we get back to the episode, I just want to thank one of our partners, USA Cabling Technologies and Solutions.
00:50:00.000 --> 00:50:06.480
Alex Morris and his team have been incredible partners for us and actually helped us bring our studio setup to life here.
00:50:06.639 --> 00:50:08.719
And also got to give a shout out to Danny Pratt.
00:50:08.800 --> 00:50:15.519
If you're building out an office, upgrading your audiovisual systems, or need any low voltage solutions, these are the people to call.
00:50:15.679 --> 00:50:19.360
Their team is professional, reliable, and truly top-tier at what they do.
00:50:19.519 --> 00:50:21.920
To learn more, visit USACablingTech.com.
00:50:22.000 --> 00:50:22.639
Now back to the show.
00:50:22.960 --> 00:50:32.880
I know we just we talked about how you can't predict the weather and how far things are, but I for like a 10-year perspective from from y'all, like is it it's just more office buildings.
00:50:33.119 --> 00:50:36.000
I mean Sunbelt, you guys are the Sunbelt Developers uh podcast here.
00:50:36.079 --> 00:50:37.599
I think we're in the right place, right?
00:50:37.679 --> 00:50:48.239
Like I grew up in Florida, and I guess in a weird way that was sort of like great positioning for me uh being in an area that's growing and never really leaving that ecosystem of being in Atlanta.
00:50:48.320 --> 00:50:52.559
And and I think the migration continues and people want to be here.
00:50:52.719 --> 00:50:54.159
Uh our city is incredible.
00:50:54.239 --> 00:50:57.360
I think we offer so much and it's got great leadership.
00:50:57.679 --> 00:51:05.920
And so I just think, yeah, I think my 10-year horizon is we need to buy a lot more of the right type of product and we need to position things.
00:51:06.079 --> 00:51:19.440
Like I think, I think probably the best trade today is the 20-year-old, well-located, well-built building that you can renovate to compete with the top-tier product.
00:51:19.679 --> 00:51:24.239
Now, I think the quality of those renovations needs to be higher than it's ever been.
00:51:24.639 --> 00:51:24.880
Right?
00:51:24.960 --> 00:51:29.519
It used to be you could, you know, change the furniture, do some flooring, and things like that, and people would be like it's renovated.
00:51:29.599 --> 00:51:32.320
Now I think you gotta I mean if you look at what we did at Bank of America Plaza.
00:51:32.800 --> 00:51:33.599
Oh, I was just thinking about that.
00:51:33.840 --> 00:51:35.039
I mean it's unreal.
00:51:35.280 --> 00:51:35.599
It's unreal.
00:51:35.679 --> 00:51:40.000
Gensler, in fact, I was just talking to the Gensler team that did it this week, they just won a huge award for it.
00:51:40.239 --> 00:51:41.679
Um so super excited for them.
00:51:42.239 --> 00:51:42.960
Why do you bring that up?
00:51:43.119 --> 00:51:45.199
I mean, just the lobby's beautiful.
00:51:45.519 --> 00:51:45.920
Thank you.
00:51:46.159 --> 00:51:46.639
Total trend.
00:51:46.960 --> 00:51:50.320
It's my favorite, it's like it's my favorite lobby renovation I think we've ever done.
00:51:50.559 --> 00:51:59.440
It's um and when it was funny when we did the architecture selection, they kind of showed their initial concept and we just we just loved it.
00:51:59.599 --> 00:52:02.320
I think that's a that's a rendering, but that is it's exactly what it looks like.
00:52:02.559 --> 00:52:02.719
Yeah.
00:52:03.039 --> 00:52:03.599
There's a picture.
00:52:03.760 --> 00:52:03.920
Yep.
00:52:04.079 --> 00:52:06.480
And we're getting some art right now for that large black wall.
00:52:07.920 --> 00:52:09.679
But it's um is it a penley?
00:52:10.159 --> 00:52:10.719
No, it's not.
00:52:10.960 --> 00:52:11.039
Okay.
00:52:11.280 --> 00:52:12.800
The uh I'll tell you what though.
00:52:12.880 --> 00:52:17.119
So you look at the the kind of brass um bars that go up in the ceiling.
00:52:17.199 --> 00:52:26.159
So I don't know if you if anyone on our team, Ryan, or anyone explain this to you, but the inspiration for that, and the Gensler team came up with this, I thought it was an incredible idea.
00:52:26.639 --> 00:52:28.880
Is it's the spire on the building inverted.
00:52:29.599 --> 00:52:32.239
So if you look at the top of the building, we have the kind of beautiful gold spire.
00:52:32.320 --> 00:52:32.400
Yeah.
00:52:32.559 --> 00:52:34.000
Um, kind of looks like a gold cage.
00:52:34.559 --> 00:52:34.719
Right.
00:52:34.960 --> 00:52:35.280
Yeah.
00:52:35.519 --> 00:52:39.119
And so the idea was when you see the building from a distance, everybody knows it, right?
00:52:39.199 --> 00:52:41.280
It's the tallest building in the Southeast United States.
00:52:41.440 --> 00:52:43.599
And it has such an identifiable crown.
00:52:43.840 --> 00:52:51.039
But when you get really close to it, you can't see that crown and you can't see how tall it is, and you kind of lose that experience.
00:52:51.360 --> 00:52:55.519
So the idea they had was let's bring that experience from the top to the bottom.
00:52:55.760 --> 00:53:07.199
And uh and I thought they their idea of creating this more like moot dark and moody, intentionally um um art deco building that just kind of has this kind of flair put into it.
00:53:07.280 --> 00:53:07.679
I loved it.
00:53:07.760 --> 00:53:09.360
Like even the even the security desk.
00:53:09.679 --> 00:53:10.639
The bean, the bean.
00:53:10.719 --> 00:53:12.480
It doesn't first thing I said, it looks like the bean.
00:53:12.719 --> 00:53:19.760
And they were like, and I was like, but it's just such a nice contrast to to what you typically see, and I think it flows into the the curve you see in the building.
00:53:19.840 --> 00:53:23.440
I just the f the floor, I mean, I really it was a lot of fun.
00:53:23.519 --> 00:53:28.559
It was a fun project, and um and I think it's um it's fun to work with people who are really good at design.
00:53:28.800 --> 00:53:32.079
And the team we had at uh at Gansler that did it was phenomenal.
00:53:32.320 --> 00:53:32.480
Yeah.
00:53:32.559 --> 00:53:32.639
Yeah.
00:53:32.880 --> 00:53:35.280
And y'all just got a fresh bucket of capital to do.
00:53:35.440 --> 00:53:36.079
I guess like the West.
00:53:36.559 --> 00:53:39.199
Yeah, we're building out so we're we're building out a restaurant there.
00:53:39.280 --> 00:53:42.480
So we're gonna get we're working with a group out of New York called uh Episcope.
00:53:42.639 --> 00:53:42.800
Okay.
00:53:43.039 --> 00:53:48.079
And they did um the one pen kind of redevelopment up there, and they're incredible.
00:53:48.239 --> 00:53:54.239
Uh their their brand and quality of product and operations uh is really good.
00:53:54.400 --> 00:53:56.880
And the West Wing will be done this next year.
00:53:56.960 --> 00:54:00.159
It's already uh all the plans and finished being drawn.
00:54:00.239 --> 00:54:01.760
We've priced it like we're getting started.
00:54:02.000 --> 00:54:05.280
And so it'll all get finished up soon, and we'll have a great new restaurant there.
00:54:05.440 --> 00:54:06.880
Um it's gonna be exciting.
00:54:07.119 --> 00:54:07.440
Cool.
00:54:07.599 --> 00:54:08.000
Yeah.
00:54:08.239 --> 00:54:08.719
Good job.
00:54:09.119 --> 00:54:09.280
Thank you.
00:54:10.000 --> 00:54:10.559
Appreciate it, man.
00:54:10.960 --> 00:54:13.199
And and you want, yeah, you got Evershed, you got Ogletree.
00:54:13.360 --> 00:54:14.559
We got Ever Sheds, we got Ogletree.
00:54:14.639 --> 00:54:16.320
We've had we've done it, we've had it just everybody likes it.
00:54:16.400 --> 00:54:19.920
And I think it's um, you know, but it's never easy on the front end, right?
00:54:20.000 --> 00:54:25.199
Like you look at it, and we had four architects pick pitch us white boxes, you know, white floors, white walls, lots of glass.
00:54:25.280 --> 00:54:27.360
And then Gensler walks in with what you just saw.
00:54:27.519 --> 00:54:29.679
And it was they mean it's very different.
00:54:29.760 --> 00:54:32.960
And we were like, we all unanimously, everyone's like, this is it.
00:54:33.119 --> 00:54:33.280
Yeah.
00:54:33.440 --> 00:54:33.679
Yeah.
00:54:34.000 --> 00:54:34.880
Very, very unique.
00:54:35.039 --> 00:54:35.199
Yeah.
00:54:35.360 --> 00:54:36.159
They're a great team.
00:54:36.320 --> 00:54:36.480
Yeah.
00:54:36.639 --> 00:54:40.559
As this, I guess this was another this is one of those kind of whitewashed versions.
00:54:41.199 --> 00:54:42.239
Yeah, that was not the one we chose.
00:54:42.480 --> 00:54:42.719
No.
00:54:42.960 --> 00:54:43.760
Still looks nice.
00:54:43.920 --> 00:54:44.559
Yeah.
00:54:45.199 --> 00:54:47.920
Um good.
00:54:48.079 --> 00:54:49.199
What else can I ask you about?
00:54:49.280 --> 00:54:55.119
I mean, you're you've had an incredible run, you've got a a great future, and you've got a lot of cool projects underway.
00:54:55.519 --> 00:54:57.679
I mean, what and and I know your thoughts on downtown.
00:54:57.760 --> 00:54:58.880
I usually like asking about that.
00:54:59.599 --> 00:55:02.480
No, I mean, I think I think downtown is I think I think this is its moment, right?
00:55:02.639 --> 00:55:04.320
Like I think this is uh I'm excited.
00:55:04.400 --> 00:55:06.079
Like to have the World Cup here is gonna be great.
00:55:06.239 --> 00:55:09.440
I think it's it's a month and then it's over, and then we gotta keep doing stuff.
00:55:09.599 --> 00:55:09.679
Yeah.
00:55:09.840 --> 00:55:11.199
And so I think that's gonna be exciting.
00:55:11.360 --> 00:55:20.960
I think the um, you know, as as the mayor says, you know, Atlanta's a group project, and it's been really fun to be part of that project, um, but it is a group project.
00:55:21.360 --> 00:55:34.480
And it's been really um humbling to get to meet a lot of the leaders of the city and the and some of the people you talked about earlier at the convention center and the ACBB, and just people really want all this to work.
00:55:34.559 --> 00:55:45.599
And I think um I hope the people who aren't in the real estate world or don't hear that every day or see it every day, like know that like there's some great people leading this effort, um, both in the public and private sector.
00:55:45.840 --> 00:55:49.360
And um, you know, I I hate to say this time it's gonna be different, but it is.
00:55:49.599 --> 00:55:51.280
And and I'm excited for it, man.
00:55:51.519 --> 00:55:51.760
Yeah.
00:55:51.840 --> 00:55:52.320
It's good.
00:55:52.559 --> 00:55:53.360
Thank you for what you do.
00:55:53.599 --> 00:55:58.480
This is educating everybody and getting out there and and being in our building and just breathing some life into it again.
00:55:58.559 --> 00:56:00.800
And all it's it's um it's exciting.
00:56:01.039 --> 00:56:01.360
Yeah.
00:56:01.599 --> 00:56:04.800
Yeah, it's and this is kind of a full circle moment.
00:56:05.039 --> 00:56:12.239
The very first video we did was top of Bank of America with Jim Overton, who actually built this building and built Bank of America.
00:56:12.559 --> 00:56:14.559
Is that when you uh threw the drone off the roof?
00:56:14.880 --> 00:56:16.400
Uh that was a separate activity.
00:56:16.639 --> 00:56:19.440
Yeah, but yeah, that was that was Scott told me yesterday.
00:56:19.519 --> 00:56:23.199
He was like, he's like, yeah, he's like, he was at the roof and he just threw the drone off, and I was like, that's exciting.
00:56:23.360 --> 00:56:23.599
Yeah.
00:56:23.840 --> 00:56:24.159
Yeah.
00:56:24.719 --> 00:56:26.400
I mean, it was an exciting field trip.
00:56:26.480 --> 00:56:29.599
You go up to the top and just you could see for a million miles.
00:56:30.159 --> 00:56:30.480
That's funny.
00:56:30.559 --> 00:56:33.280
We take we take a lot of people to the 55th floor, which is the top floor.
00:56:33.360 --> 00:56:33.440
Yeah.
00:56:33.519 --> 00:56:36.320
Um, it's completely as you know, demoed out, so it's like shell space.
00:56:36.400 --> 00:56:37.920
Um, and the view's incredible.
00:56:38.159 --> 00:56:44.559
And then you walk up to the roof, and somehow somehow you're 12 feet higher, yeah, but it feels a world apart.
00:56:44.639 --> 00:56:47.760
And I think it's it's kind of like like putting like the convertible top down or something.
00:56:47.840 --> 00:56:54.480
Like it just feels you're outside and the sun and the wind, and um it's a great it's a great place to stand and just s see the city.
00:56:54.639 --> 00:56:54.880
Yeah.
00:56:55.199 --> 00:56:59.440
On that note, okay, so for the the observation deck, are y'all looking to do it on the roof roof?
00:56:59.599 --> 00:57:04.639
Because I I know a lot of like or is it that 55th floor is it would be the top three floors.
00:57:04.960 --> 00:57:05.280
Okay.
00:57:05.599 --> 00:57:05.920
Cool.
00:57:06.159 --> 00:57:06.559
Yeah.
00:57:06.719 --> 00:57:14.559
So well, if you have like a little carve out for that kind of southwest corner on the roof, would be a waste of it.
00:57:14.639 --> 00:57:17.280
No, I think look, every I think we continue to evaluate it.
00:57:17.599 --> 00:57:20.960
Um you want to do something that's impressive.
00:57:21.280 --> 00:57:23.199
It will be awesome.
00:57:23.440 --> 00:57:25.119
Um dude, I I love the watch.
00:57:25.199 --> 00:57:28.880
I I saw again are you a big watch guy or is this uh a little bit.
00:57:28.960 --> 00:57:32.480
Not not just not like a crazy passion for me, but I uh I like them.
00:57:32.800 --> 00:57:33.039
Okay.
00:57:33.199 --> 00:57:34.000
Well yeah, yeah.
00:57:34.079 --> 00:57:45.519
Everybody has you know different like I know Sanji came in, had a Blanc Pond, and um we had Herbert or Herb Ames, he came in, he had this beautiful day just from I think it was from his dad from the 70s or something.
00:57:45.679 --> 00:57:48.079
So always curious what people's watch game is.
00:57:48.400 --> 00:57:50.480
Yeah, no, it's um I can see why you asked.
00:57:50.559 --> 00:57:50.960
No, it's fun.
00:57:51.039 --> 00:57:55.039
It's uh it was a fun one to get, and I think uh um Daytonas are our iconic.
00:57:55.280 --> 00:57:55.599
They're great.
00:57:55.679 --> 00:57:58.480
Yeah, Aaron Keel, he got um I don't have you seen his?
00:57:58.559 --> 00:58:02.000
It's like this fully gold, beautiful Daytona.
00:58:02.320 --> 00:58:02.559
Nice.
00:58:02.800 --> 00:58:12.159
And he was so he just turned 50 and he made this huge career pivot over to Cushman, and that was he was like, I needed, you know, something.
00:58:12.400 --> 00:58:21.519
And uh he was looking at like a day date, like the presidential, like the it's kind of I mean they're beautiful watches, so they're just kind of grandpa looking watching.
00:58:21.760 --> 00:58:24.880
He it was the right choice, but day toners, it's a good watch.
00:58:25.119 --> 00:58:26.320
You can dress it up or dress it down.
00:58:26.480 --> 00:58:26.800
That's right.
00:58:26.880 --> 00:58:27.280
Yeah, yeah.
00:58:27.360 --> 00:58:30.000
Yeah, hoodie or or like full sports coat and everything.
00:58:30.159 --> 00:58:30.559
That's right.
00:58:30.719 --> 00:58:33.039
Um, I think you're the first guest we've had with a hoodie on.
00:58:33.199 --> 00:58:34.320
And I love it.
00:58:34.960 --> 00:58:38.400
I think I don't know if you can see it on camera, but it says Atlanta influences everything.
00:58:38.559 --> 00:58:38.719
Yeah.
00:58:38.800 --> 00:58:41.440
Um where can I get one of BAME Joiner?
00:58:41.679 --> 00:58:43.679
So go to his website, AIE.
00:58:43.760 --> 00:58:46.000
Um, they just opened up a store at the airport.
00:58:46.159 --> 00:58:55.840
Um I've I've really enjoyed uh we haven't talked a lot about like center culture, which is our our kind of cult arts and culture movement here at the building.
00:58:56.000 --> 00:59:06.320
You know, we've invested over a million dollars with local artists, um including them, uh Ned Abghari, uh Asha Advisory, like anyone looking to do stuff in the city where you want to bring in art, like call them.
00:59:06.480 --> 00:59:07.199
They're awesome.
00:59:07.360 --> 00:59:16.639
And their whole team has helped us really curate what's going to be 10 pieces around the project, all done locally by really famous um artists.
00:59:16.800 --> 00:59:18.559
Uh I got to meet uh an artist named Dr.
00:59:18.719 --> 00:59:20.079
Dax a couple times.
00:59:20.159 --> 00:59:20.880
He's incredible.
00:59:21.039 --> 00:59:24.639
He did the giant mural you see right when you walk in on the on the south entrance there.
00:59:25.119 --> 00:59:31.360
Um uh hence put a piece over you see on the outside facing the convention center side, uh beautiful mural.
00:59:31.599 --> 00:59:38.559
It's um but yeah, I thought this was appropriate given we're sitting in our building and and and we're talking about Atlanta and and I just have a huge amount of respect for that.
00:59:38.639 --> 00:59:46.400
And I think bringing these bringing these creatives into the project and it really helps us like feel like it's more than just a building.
00:59:46.559 --> 00:59:46.719
Right.
00:59:47.119 --> 00:59:48.960
It's it's it's really fun.
00:59:49.039 --> 00:59:49.920
It's I really enjoyed it.
00:59:50.239 --> 00:59:53.760
We were talking earlier, so there's the Atlanta ATL Culture House.
00:59:53.840 --> 00:59:55.039
Yeah, and then there's ATL House.
00:59:55.360 --> 00:59:59.920
Yeah, so the so the city's effort, A ATL Culture House, which is on the eighth floor of the North Tower.
01:00:00.000 --> 01:00:03.199
Uh we did a press conference on that last week um where the mayor announced it.
01:00:03.360 --> 01:00:04.719
And um really exciting.
01:00:04.800 --> 01:00:16.480
They're gonna have several events during the month of World Cup where people can come in, you know, participate in kind of the arts and culture of Atlanta and really showcase all the things that a lot of these um creatives do in our city and the amazing work that's getting done.
01:00:16.719 --> 01:00:26.159
And then ATL House, who's gonna be sort of the hospitality center for uh for World Cup, for Metro Chamber and various city officials, things like that.
01:00:26.320 --> 01:00:39.039
Um, and then our project, Center Culture, it's a lot of different names, but then center culture is what I just described earlier, which is really our kind of curated effort to work with um, you know, a bunch of different artists, uh local artists to really infuse the kind of culture and art scene into the project.
01:00:39.199 --> 01:00:49.679
Because we really think like this project, um, like our niche within this downtown ecosystem is is we're the common ground, like we're the place you show up and and you can meet people.
01:00:49.760 --> 01:01:02.239
And by the way, in a couple days, and you guys see it first because you're here, uh a couple weeks, we're gonna be installing two-story tall ATL letters that will sit where the old CNN letters were.
01:01:02.480 --> 01:01:06.800
So it'll be vertically stacked ATL, worked with SCAD to build them.
01:01:06.960 --> 01:01:12.480
They're gonna be wrapped in this incredible piece of art, and they're gonna have digital faces on the letters.
01:01:12.559 --> 01:01:13.920
So literally two stories tall.
01:01:14.000 --> 01:01:16.639
So I think that'll be a big place to take a picture.
01:01:16.800 --> 01:01:17.039
Yeah.
01:01:17.199 --> 01:01:18.639
Um any renderings?
01:01:18.880 --> 01:01:24.239
Have y'all you've probably seen some pictures we've released about the south entrance that show the ATL letters.
01:01:24.400 --> 01:01:27.840
What we're installing is more magnificent than what's in those pictures.
01:01:28.480 --> 01:01:30.000
And so that'll be coming here in a couple weeks.
01:01:30.159 --> 01:01:32.239
Um we'll have to get a picture to like put it into play.
01:01:32.559 --> 01:01:32.800
For sure.
01:01:32.880 --> 01:01:33.679
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
01:01:33.920 --> 01:01:35.440
Um that's all exciting.
01:01:35.599 --> 01:01:35.840
Yeah.
01:01:36.079 --> 01:01:38.000
Okay, so let me get this right.
01:01:38.400 --> 01:01:39.280
ATL House.
01:01:39.599 --> 01:01:42.159
ATL House, and then Center Center Culture.
01:01:42.400 --> 01:01:42.800
Center culture.
01:01:42.960 --> 01:01:44.320
That's ATL Culture House.
01:01:44.480 --> 01:01:45.199
ATL Culture House.
01:01:45.360 --> 01:01:46.159
And then ATL House.
01:01:46.320 --> 01:01:46.400
Okay.
01:01:46.559 --> 01:01:48.960
And then we also host FIFA's volunteer headquarters here.
01:01:49.119 --> 01:01:49.599
Yeah, I heard that.
01:01:49.760 --> 01:01:50.480
So they're they're down.
01:01:50.719 --> 01:01:51.440
Have you seen the space?
01:01:51.679 --> 01:01:52.000
I have not.
01:01:52.239 --> 01:01:52.400
Okay.
01:01:52.559 --> 01:01:54.159
So yeah, we can do we can do a little walk.
01:01:54.400 --> 01:01:58.159
The um they took about 30,000 feet down on the first floor of the building.
01:01:58.239 --> 01:02:02.880
Um, it's where all the volunteers kind of get hired and just base camp for them uh during World Cup.
01:02:02.960 --> 01:02:03.840
So that's super exciting.
01:02:03.920 --> 01:02:05.119
We're proud of that partnership.
01:02:05.360 --> 01:02:09.519
Um we're opening up a m a FIFA merch store that'll be in here for the World Cup.
01:02:09.679 --> 01:02:15.280
We've got you know the 11 food concepts we mentioned earlier with with um uh with Center Food Works.
01:02:15.440 --> 01:02:22.960
Uh it's this place is gonna be a whole new universe, and and you've seen the improvements, but no one really has seen those because we haven't unveiled it yet.
01:02:23.039 --> 01:02:23.199
Uh uh.
01:02:23.280 --> 01:02:25.039
But the whole atrium has been redone.
01:02:25.199 --> 01:02:26.800
Um it's a new place.
01:02:27.119 --> 01:02:27.280
Yeah.
01:02:27.519 --> 01:02:28.559
I got two questions about it.
01:02:28.800 --> 01:02:29.039
Sure.
01:02:29.280 --> 01:02:32.000
Uh the renderings I saw for the center.
01:02:32.079 --> 01:02:37.679
Wait, obviously you had the the bar in it, but there was this huge chandelier thing that was from the ceiling.
01:02:38.239 --> 01:02:38.800
That's not there.
01:02:38.960 --> 01:02:39.119
Okay.
01:02:39.360 --> 01:02:40.559
We've reprogrammed that.
01:02:40.800 --> 01:02:40.960
Okay.
01:02:41.119 --> 01:02:44.880
I think that was always just sort of a architectural placeholder.
01:02:45.199 --> 01:02:45.440
Yeah.
01:02:45.599 --> 01:02:47.119
Um we will have something there.
01:02:47.199 --> 01:02:47.360
Yeah.
01:02:47.519 --> 01:02:48.639
It won't be what you see in that picture.
01:02:48.960 --> 01:02:49.280
Okay, yeah.
01:02:49.519 --> 01:02:49.760
Yeah, yeah.
01:02:50.000 --> 01:02:52.639
That seemed I was like, that's beautiful, but it was a lot.
01:02:53.920 --> 01:02:54.000
Yeah.
01:02:54.159 --> 01:02:58.079
Um second thing is uh what's the latest on the Ted Turner apartment?
01:02:58.239 --> 01:03:00.880
I know you all have kind of cleaned it up a bit, but yeah, you've been up there.
01:03:00.960 --> 01:03:05.760
Um and so it's um, yeah, I think I think look, it's such a cool spot.
01:03:06.000 --> 01:03:12.639
And it's um we've looked at it a hundred different ways as you can imagine to be like, how do we activate this to let like kind of the public realm in?
01:03:12.719 --> 01:03:15.199
Yeah and it's really hard to do because of the access to it.
01:03:15.519 --> 01:03:19.840
You know, it's it's a two-story tall spiral staircase to get into it, which is kind of one way, yeah.
01:03:20.079 --> 01:03:24.639
It's it's which is kind of wild to think that's how he would go into his apartment and leave every day.
01:03:24.880 --> 01:03:27.679
Um I feel like I get vertigo every time I go up and down it.
01:03:27.920 --> 01:03:29.039
Uh but just keeps going.
01:03:29.199 --> 01:03:32.239
But yeah, so I think we're gonna, we're gonna the plan is to restore it.
01:03:32.480 --> 01:03:37.280
Um we want it to feel like you know, he just stepped out and you kind of snuck into his apartment.
01:03:37.519 --> 01:03:46.400
Um and it'll be a gathering place for you know friends and friends and family and and you know people like you to come by and hang out, and maybe we could do some filming up there one time.
01:03:46.559 --> 01:03:53.679
Uh but yeah, it's it's it's unfortunately just because of the access, you can't really make it compliant with what needs to be done from a uh access standpoint.
01:03:53.840 --> 01:03:55.920
And so it'll just be a kind of an artifact here.
01:03:56.079 --> 01:03:57.280
Um a little sneak away.
01:03:57.599 --> 01:04:00.480
Y'all could do a model of Ted and his robe and coffee.
01:04:00.800 --> 01:04:00.960
I know.
01:04:01.199 --> 01:04:04.400
I just like every time I'm up there, I just imagine him like walking around in his robe on the sports.
01:04:04.719 --> 01:04:05.760
Because it was the sports and marketing floor.
01:04:05.920 --> 01:04:07.360
Have you watched the The Call Me Teddy?
01:04:07.519 --> 01:04:08.320
Uh I read the book.
01:04:08.400 --> 01:04:09.280
I haven't seen it.
01:04:09.840 --> 01:04:10.960
Yeah, so the documentary is incredible.
01:04:11.039 --> 01:04:20.159
And they actually show footage of the the floor that's the 14th floor of it was the sports marketing desk, and then you just have this door in the hallway that leads you up to his apartment.
01:04:20.400 --> 01:04:20.960
It looks like a closet.
01:04:21.199 --> 01:04:21.760
It looks like a closet.
01:04:22.079 --> 01:04:24.800
Yeah, it's just it's like that's his apartment right there.
01:04:25.119 --> 01:04:25.760
Yeah, man.
01:04:25.920 --> 01:04:26.639
Uh well, cool.
01:04:26.719 --> 01:04:27.840
I'm I'm excited to see.
01:04:28.000 --> 01:04:34.400
We've I know you all have your own approvals, and I I think for the longest time you were like didn't want to show anything.
01:04:34.559 --> 01:04:38.480
Maybe that was your PR team that didn't want to show anything, but we'd love to show it off to the to the world.
01:04:38.559 --> 01:04:42.800
And yeah, I didn't I it was funny, I watched the episode and you were like, we can't show the inside of it, and I was like, why not?
01:04:42.960 --> 01:04:43.920
So I I we didn't know either.
01:04:44.159 --> 01:04:44.639
Yeah, I don't know.
01:04:44.719 --> 01:04:45.599
So I don't let's let's fix that.
01:04:46.239 --> 01:04:47.760
If we both don't know why, then we can probably figure that out.
01:04:47.840 --> 01:04:49.519
Maybe there's a reason I'm not be I'm not being told.
01:04:49.679 --> 01:04:49.920
Yeah, yeah.
01:04:50.239 --> 01:04:54.159
Uh but um but yeah, no, I think um look, I mean, we're opening this place up, so like let's go.
01:04:54.239 --> 01:04:55.360
Yeah, like it's time.
01:04:55.679 --> 01:04:56.559
Yeah, cool.
01:04:56.800 --> 01:04:58.880
Um, Chris, thanks thanks for coming down, man.
01:04:58.960 --> 01:05:00.079
This has been really awesome.
01:05:00.239 --> 01:05:06.800
Thanks for sharing your story and your career, and um just thanks for what you're doing to Atlanta and and uh all the things that are coming.
01:05:06.960 --> 01:05:07.199
Thank you.
01:05:07.280 --> 01:05:12.320
And likewise, it's um it's a it's a pleasure to be here and uh thank you for inviting me.
01:05:12.559 --> 01:05:14.079
We're thrilled you're here at the center.
01:05:14.239 --> 01:05:15.599
Like I said, like keep it rolling.
01:05:15.679 --> 01:05:17.199
You guys are you guys are doing a great job.
01:05:17.280 --> 01:05:19.199
The team behind the camera here is doing a great job.
01:05:19.360 --> 01:05:21.519
Like let us know, we can help.
01:05:21.679 --> 01:05:21.840
Okay.
01:05:22.000 --> 01:05:22.719
We'll do, man.
01:05:22.800 --> 01:05:23.280
Thanks for coming.
01:05:23.360 --> 01:05:23.519
Thank you.
01:05:23.679 --> 01:05:24.000
This is great.
01:05:24.079 --> 01:05:25.039
Appreciate it all.
01:05:25.519 --> 01:05:26.400
Um all right, y'all.
01:05:26.480 --> 01:05:27.280
Thanks for tuning in.
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Uh we have a couple more episodes for season two, and we've got a a walk through at Centenniards.
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And I don't know, Chris, should we just go grab the cameras and go walk around the TEDs and a couple other things here while you're here?
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Maybe.
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Put you on the spot.
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Yeah.
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We'll figure it out.
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All right, thanks, y'all.