Ardent Launches Third Self-Storage Fund: The Atlanta Deal Sheet

Atlanta-based The Ardent Cos. is looking to raise $150M to store people’s stuff.

The commercial real estate asset management firm has launched its Self-Storage Development Fund III, seeking to raise $150M for ground-up developments of climate-controlled self-storage facilities in “high-demand, supply-constrained U.S. markets,” the company announced in a press release. 

The new fund will help to develop 11 sites that will encompass 1M SF of self-storage space in markets like Hoboken, New Jersey, Long Island, New York, and Boston.

Since 2019, Ardent has raised $170M across two other funds that developed 16 self-storage facilities, including the recent opening of a 75K SF Extra Space Storage facility in Auburn, Maine.

Ardent’s move in the self-storage industry comes as occupancy and rents return more toward stability after an uncharacteristically volatile period in the niche asset class spurred by the pandemic, according to a Cushman & Wakefield report.

Construction of storage space boomed, driving rents down. Asking rates fell more than 4% year-over-year last July. As of February, though, rents dipped by just 80 basis points, with 11 of the top 30 metropolitan areas in the U.S. reporting rate increases, according to Cushman & Wakefield.

“The current environment presents an especially compelling opportunity for Fund III,” Ardent CEO Matt Shulman said. 

Ardent's fund launch comes less than two weeks after it lost the 2.2M SF Piedmont Center office park in Buckhead to foreclosure.

SALES

Sonida Senior Living purchased an 88-unit senior living facility in Alpharetta for $11M, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. While Sonida didn't identify the asset, Fulton County public records show the firm purchased Mansions Senior Living from Oklahoma City-based Rees on June 1. Sonida owns 83 senior housing properties in the U.S.

Mansions Senior Living at 3675 Old Milton Parkway was developed in 2017 and includes 64 assisted living units and 24 units dedicated to memory care, according to the filing. It was appraised at $12M last year by the county.

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Aubuchon Realty Co. purchased Woodmont Village, an 86K SF Kroger-anchored shopping center on Cumming Highway in Canton, for an undisclosed sum. The property, which was developed in 2002, is 75% leased and was previously owned by ShopCore Properties, according to an online marketing flyer.

Matthews Real Estate Investment Services’ Kyle Stonis, Pierce Mayson and Boris Shilkrot brokered the transaction. 

FINANCING

Private equity firm Acre provided a $33M, nonrecourse, interest-only, floating-rate loan to Norhaven Partners and Coro Realty to refinance The Massell, a 210-unit apartment complex at 1230 Joe Frank Harris Parkway in Cartersville. 

The mortgage will pay off a $31.7M loan from First Horizon Bank that was set to mature in September, according to information listed in the Reonomy database. The new loan has a five-year term. Walker & Dunlop’s Stephen Farnsworth and Hanes Dunn arranged the financing.

ASSIGNMENTS

CP Group tapped Stream Realty Partners’ Bryan Heller, Preston Manning, Glenn Kolker, Parker Welton and Lauren Slappey to lease Piedmont Center office park in Buckhead. 

CP Group co-invested in the 2.2M SF office park this month after Bawag Group foreclosed on the mortgage it gave to The Ardent Cos. and purchased the property at a public auction with a $200M credit bid.

“Piedmont Center is one of the most significant projects in Atlanta, and we see tremendous potential in reimagining it for the modern workforce,” CP Group founding partner Chris Eachus said in a statement.  

LEASING

Indoor children’s party venue Oodazu leased 68K SF at 421 DeKalb Industrial Way in Decatur. Partners Real Estate’s Shea Meddin and Brooke Gothard represented Oodazu, while Mimms Enterprises’ Sarah Gretzmacher brokered for the landlord. Oodazu also has a location at the Shops of Miami Circle in Buckhead.

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SquareOne Holdings has leased 6K SF for the Stir raw bar and cocktail concept at The Medley, a mixed-use project under construction by Toro Development Co. in Johns Creek. The restaurateur also leased 1K SF for a satellite cocktail bar called Tonic House at the project.