The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Plaza Theatre, Majestic Diner property gets new owner
CEO of Charlotte firm says there’s no plan to redevelop retail strip.
A Charlotte-based real estate company has bought a high-profile Atlanta retail strip that is home to some of the city’s most iconic intown businesses.
Asana Partners reportedly paid $18.1 million for the 2.6 acre property on Ponce de Leon Avenue that includes the Majestic Diner and the Plaza Theatre.
The theater opened before World War II and may be best known to recent residents for weekly showings of the “Rocky Horror Picture Show.”
Asana CEO Jason Tompkins was unavailable Thursday. But Sam Judd, chief investment officer of Asana, told the Atlanta Business Chronicle that the firm has no plans to tear down and redevelop any of the buildings it acquired.
The deal was for $159.78 per square foot, said Tim Holdroyd, president of City Realty, an Atlanta real estate brokerage company.
That is a good price, he said, and with a fully occupied set of leases and a great location, there’s no reason to expect the new owners to make dramatic changes.
“In my opinion, there is no immediate need to tear it down or redevelop it,” Holdroyd said. “It is a great piece of property.”
An owner will do well to collect rent for the moment, though at some point they might want to consider a different course, he said.
“Like everything in urban Atlanta, eventually it will be a redevelopment play, but right now, it’s a fully leased, urban property, and it’s an income play.”
In late January, Asana announced that it had assembled a $500 million war chest from investors that it would use to target “high-growth urban and infill neighborhood locations” around the country. The firm said one-quarter of that had already been committed to properties in Washington, D.C., Charlotte, Atlanta, and Austin, Texas.
The property’s former owner was Ponce Investment LLC, according to the Business Chronicle report.