The ownership of a huge Atlanta office complex has secured a loan extension in the face of mounting pressure.
Sumitomo Corporation of Americas made an equity payment to extend the $150 million loan on the 915,000-square-foot Atlanta Financial Center, at 3353 Peachtree Road Northeast in Buckhead, Bisnow reported.
Sumitomo purchased the complex in 2016 for $222.5 million, or $228 per square foot.
Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, the banking arm of Crédit Agricole Group, issued the original loan, which matured earlier this year. Details of the extension are also unclear, including whether Crédit Agricole modified it.
The extension is the latest chapter in the Atlanta Financial Center’s history, including a real estate crowdfunding embezzlement scandal. In June 2022, Sumitomo agreed to sell the complex to New York-based Nightingale Properties at a $78 million loss due to maturing debt.
Nightingale raised over $50 million from investors via CrowdStreet but failed to close the deal. The transaction collapsed last year when an independent manager alleged that Nightingale CEO Elie Schwartz had misappropriated nearly all investor funds, including $12 million diverted to purchase First Republic Bank stocks and options.
Schwartz entered a settlement with CrowdStreet investors to repay the funds over several years but defaulted after one $3 million installment. That led the special fiduciary to urge the bankruptcy court to seize Schwartz’s assets, with the next hearing scheduled for July.
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The loan extension comes amid broader distress facing the office market, which has been pummeled by remote-work trends since the pandemic. High interest rates have exacerbated challenges since last year as loan maturities loom.
Atlanta’s office vacancy stands at nearly 25 percent, with over a third of Class-A office space available for lease. At the Atlanta Financial Center, approximately 275,000 square feet, or 30 percent of the property, is available, the outlet reported.
—Quinn Donoghue