Dallas-based build-to-suit development and investment firm KDC recently announced its purchase of two Park Center office buildings in Dunwoody, Ga. The asset incorporates roughly 1 million square feet of metro Atlanta office space and was acquired in a sale-leaseback deal with State Farm.

Phillip Askew, Ronald Reese and Charlie Robinson of Northmarq’s Dallas debt/equity team arranged financing for KDC’s acquisition. Details on the sale price were not available.

The Dunwoody acquisition included Park Center buildings Two and Three — which State Farm leases — in addition to nearly 40,000 square feet of retail space. The purchase also included a 4,223-space parking structure and an adjacent, 2.56-acre tract for future development.

The 17-acre, master-planned Park Center was the largest of its kind in metro Atlanta’s history when it broke ground in 2014. KDC was the original developer of Park Center and has reportedly already started the planning and design of future phases, with specifics yet to be determined.

Located in the Perimeter Center area of Dunwoody, the project was designed as a three-tower, build-to-suit corporate home for State Farm:

• Park Center One was completed in 2016. It incorporates about 620,000 square feet and is directly connected to the Dunwoody MARTA Station. Last year, following a pivot to a hybrid work model, State Farm subleased nearly 600,000 square feet of Building 1 to online car dealer Carvana.
• Park Center Two rises 22 stories and includes 621,000 square feet of class A Dunwoody office space, in addition to about 40,000 square feet of ground-level retail. It was completed in 2020, along with the campus’ crescent-shaped plaza; a new road for car traffic; and a multi-use trail for pedestrians and cyclists, which runs along an “urban creek” between Sandy Springs and Dunwoody.
• Park Center Three was completed in 2021, is 18 stories tall and incorporates roughly 440,000 square feet of office space. Development plans for Building 3 also include a community center.

Designed by architect Cooper Carry & Associates and built by the Holder Construction Company, the State Farm Campus has been lauded as a new model to follow in suburban development. In 2021, the campus won the National Association for Industrial and Office Parks Georgia Award of Excellence and was also named the most innovative project of the year. Earlier in 2022, the campus was awarded “Best Design in Real Estate” by the Atlanta Business Chronicle, which recognized the project’s success in creating a more metropolitan environment in a market that has thus far built a reputation as the “King of Sprawl.”

Notably, employees here have access to: a convenient option to commute by train instead of by car; a community-oriented plaza at the base of the three towers; and a blend of ground-level retail options, on-site parks, and restaurants that connect to a network of multi-use pathways. Furthermore, two of the towers are connected by a large auditorium and pedestrian bridge link. And, throughout the campus, each floor is designed to accommodate various work styles and incorporate both quiet, focus spaces and communal gathering areas.

“The sale-leaseback of the two office towers presents a great opportunity for KDC to own these amazing properties in a growing market,” said President of KDC, Toby Grove. “As the developer of two campuses for State Farm — the CityLine development in Richardson, Texas, and Park Center in Atlanta — it is rewarding to be working with State Farm on another transaction.”

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