January 10, 2024
Atlanta company leaving massive mixed-use development for intimate neighborhood project
By Savannah Sicurella at Atlanta Business Chronicle
One of Atlanta’s largest mixed-use developments is losing one of its original tenants to a new boutique office project.
Commercial interior construction firm CA South has leased around 7,400 square feet at Southern Post, a 4.3-acre office, retail and residential project in Roswell, according to landlord Armada Hoffler. CA South will relocate its headquarters from The Battery Atlanta, where it has leased around 10,000 square feet at 800 Battery Ave. for the past six years.
The company was one of the first tenants to sign a lease at The Battery — a decision that “took vision and some guts,” said Joe Gibson, a project executive with CA South, in an email. It had a front-row seat to the transformation and growth of the development.
The same will be true at Southern Post, where CA South is the first confirmed tenant.
The projects offer two different office experiences to companies. The Battery is a dense, retail and entertainment-heavy development anchored by the Atlanta Braves’ Truist Park. Over 500,000 square feet of office space — some of which is leased by corporate giants Comcast Inc. and Papa Johns — is spread across the 74-acre campus, along with hotels, apartments and a concert venue.
The Roswell development, in comparison, is much smaller and quieter. It’s surrounded by neighborhoods instead of a central business district. The tallest buildings are four and five stories. Around 95,000 square feet of loft-style space is included in the project, along with around 40,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space.
CA South specializes in commercial interior construction, including new tenant buildouts and occupied tenant-in-place renovations. The company was founded in 2009 and is led by Brandon Cleghorn and Stacy Knight.
At Southern Post, Gibson said CA South has another opportunity to explore an untraditional work experience — this time, with an office building in an established residential community. It believes that the industry will see more of this product in a post-Covid world, and that it’s important for the company to convey to both clients and the larger commercial real estate community that it’s on the “forefront of what’s next,” Gibson said.
CA South has time left on its lease at The Battery. It plans to sublease the space.
The office component at Southern Post is still under construction, though Armada Hoffler anticipates it will open in the spring of this year. Apartments and luxury townhomes are also planned. Around 83,000 square feet of office space is still available to lease.
Phil Costabile and Sarah Maffei of Foundry Commercial represented CA South in the transaction. Stephen Clifton and Zach Wooten of Transwestern lease office space at Southern Post on behalf of Armada Hoffler.
