A Charlotte apartment developer is spearheading a mixed-use project next to a Wieuca Road Baptist church that includes plans for a new office building.

The monument sign for the Church at Wieuca in Buckhead

Crescent Communities applied for special administrative permits Jan. 9 with the city of Atlanta to develop a 300-unit apartment complex and a multistory office building at 3626 Peachtree Road, part of the Church at Wieuca campus.

The church’s lead pastor, Kevin Head, confirmed the nearly 2.5-acre parcel at the corner of Wieuca and Peachtree roads in Buckhead is under contract to Crescent but declined to disclose the pending purchase price. 

“We have finalized the purchase and sale agreement with them,” Head said. “It’s a significant step for us as a church.”

According to SAP applications filed by engineering firm Kimley-Horn, Crescent is looking to build 300 apartments with a parking deck, plus an office building with 6,500 SF of commercial space and a parking deck. 

Harvey Rudy, an Atlanta-area development vet and founder of HSR Development Services, is the development partner with Crescent, continuing his affiliation with the site that he first established while with Greenstone Properties. Rudy said Crescent is considering a 375K SF office building on the site.

Crescent Commercial Managing Director Sagar Rathie declined to comment further about the project.

“Crescent Communities is excited about our continued investment in Buckhead, and we look forward to sharing more details in the future,” Rathie said in an email.

This is the latest iteration of the redevelopment of the Church at Wieuca’s land. Greenstone previously partnered with the church in 2021 on redevelopment plans. Two years later, the firm announced it had partnered with Toll Brothers to build townhomes, 400 apartments, 500K SF of office space and 12K SF of retail space on the site, but the project ultimately failed to materialize. 

Rudy was previously Greenstone’s development head, responsible for such projects as HD Supply’s 220K SF headquarters near The Battery in Cobb County and the 14th + Spring office tower in Midtown. Rudy continued to do planning for the Church at Wieuca when he formed his own firm in 2024.

Developers have scaled back to historically low levels of new office construction.

Courtesy of Harvey Rudy

HSR Development Services founder Harvey Rudy

Portman Holdings delivered its 525K SF Ten Twenty Spring office building in Midtown in 2024, which snagged consulting firm EY as an anchor tenant last year. The only other office under construction in Atlanta is 1072 West Peachtree, the 60-story mixed-use skyscraper by Rockefeller that includes 224K SF of office space and is set to deliver this spring, according to a fourth-quarter CBRE office market report.

A recent upswing in Atlanta’s office fundamentals, especially among landlords that own the city’s collection of trophy towers, could be encouraging developers to consider planning for new office development once again, said Sara Barnes, Avison Young Southeast market intelligence manager.

“I have a feeling some developers are going to start considering it,” Barnes said. 

Office tenants inked more than 7M SF in 2025, focused mainly on Class-A and trophy properties, according to a Q4 Avison Young report. In fact, nearly three-quarters of all new leasing activity in 2025 was among Class-A and trophy office properties as tenants vied for high-caliber office spaces amid back-to-office initiatives, according to Avison Young.

Metro Atlanta office landlords tallied negative net absorption of more than 475K SF last year, but trophy tower owners saw nearly 468K SF of positive absorption, demonstrating the growing bifurcation in the office market.

Still, Barnes said she doubts any developer will break ground on office in the next 12 months, especially as they must pencil in elevated construction costs. The average price to develop a new urban office building is around $750 per SF, up $200 from five years ago, according to data compiled by Avison Young senior associate Nick Steen. 

Further interest rate cuts and further cooling of the trade wars, however, could help push construction pricing downward, but most developers will likely sit on the sidelines in the near term rather than risk building new office space, Barnes said.

“Spec development, I still think we have a little bit to go before we see that break ground,” she said.

Charlotte Motor Speedway has sold land near its famous track in Concord, North Carolina, to the Hendrick Motorsports racing team, the Charlotte Business Journal reported.

An entity connected to Hendrick purchased the 20-acre site at 7001 Bruton Smith Blvd. in Concord’s racing hub for $14M late last month.

This is the second sale between the speedway and Hendrick in the last couple of years. In 2023, Hendrick bought more than 82 acres from the speedway for some $23M.

Earlier this year, Hendrick subsidiary Hendrick Motorsports Technical Solutions opened its two-building, 160K SF headquarters near the Concord campus.

The news comes a day after NASCAR announced a settlement agreement with 23XI Racing and co-owner Michael Jordan on Dec. 11 at the federal courthouse in Charlotte. 

23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports Inc. had sued NASCAR in October 2024, accusing it of running a monopoly that curtailed the economic freedom of racing teams. 

As part of the settlement, NASCAR agreed to change its charter, or licensing, system for racing teams, among other concessions. Hendrick Motorsports is one of the only teams to possess four charters.

“This moment presents an important opportunity to strengthen our relationships and recommit ourselves to building a collaborative and prosperous future for all stakeholders,” Hendrick team owner Rick Hendrick said in a statement following the settlement.

In late November, the Charlotte City Council approved a $25M deal to renovate the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

Improvements planned for the 16-year-old tourist attraction reportedly include relocating the gift shop and café, adding more event space, obtaining new security screening equipment and creating a dedicated educational space for school groups. 

The construction timeline for a new arena in the South Philadelphia Sports Complex could accelerate now that the city has been awarded a WNBA expansion team.

Philadelphia will be getting a new WNBA team in 2030.

News about the franchise set to debut in the 2030 season came in a Monday press release. It will be owned by Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, the parent company of the Philadelphia 76ers.

The WNBA is also adding new teams in Cleveland and Detroit. All three cities paid a $250M expansion fee, five times the $50M the Golden State Warriors paid to bring the Valkyries to the Bay Area in October 2023. All three teams plan to invest in building practice facilities and other amenities, though few specifics were available Monday.

“Philadelphia is a city with unmatched passion, rich basketball tradition, and an unwavering love for its teams,” WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said in a statement. “It’s only fitting that this iconic sports town is finally home to a WNBA franchise.”

Other cities that bid on a hometown franchise include St. Louis, Austin, Nashville, Miami, Denver, Charlotte, Houston and Kansas City, Missouri.

Philly’s new team will play at the same new venue set to house the Sixers and the NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers.

Construction is set to wrap up in 2031, but HBSE Managing Partner Josh Harris told The Philadelphia Inquirer he would like to expedite the project so the new team can play there during its inaugural season.

If that doesn’t come to fruition, the team will debut at the Wells Fargo Center, where the Sixers and Flyers play now.

“Philadelphia is one of the most storied basketball cites in the world and our region is home to some of the best women’s players and coaches to ever grace the hardwood,” Harris said in a statement. “It’s only right that this city gets the WNBA franchise it deserves, and we’re humbled to help usher in a new era of Philadelphia basketball.”

Professional basketball dominated headlines in Philadelphia much of last year as the Sixers worked to garner support for a controversial new arena on Ninth and Filbert streets in Center City.

The team ultimately gained city council approval before pivoting back to South Philly in January.

The arena replacing the Wells Fargo Center is a joint venture between HBSE and Comcast Spectacor, which used to own the Sixers and regained a small stake in the team through the agreement.

The pivot away from Center City raised big questions about the future of the struggling Market East corridor, most of which remain unanswered six months later.

City officials have announced a master-planning process for the neighborhood, but few details have been shared with the public.

Oracle acquired a River North property from GBT Realty Corp. for $60 million. In June 2021, Oracle paid $253.7 million for more than 65 acres of East Bank land for its future campus on the Cumberland River.

Construction of its planned $1.35 billion riverfront office campus has yet to begin, and no start date has been given. Oracle plans to have 8,500 workers in Nashville by the end of 2031.

The Nashville Business Journal reports Oracle’s tech campus is the single-largest economic development deal in city and state history. Oracle Chairman Larry Ellison tagged the campus as the company’s future world headquarters and revealed that he’s hired architect Norman Foster to design it on 70 acres on the East Bank.

Since 1987, GBT has been involved with the development, construction, leasing, management and acquisition of over 40 million square feet of commercial development, including grocery-anchored shopping centers, neighborhood centers, single-tenant buildings, regional power centers and mixed-use developments, representing over $8 billion in real estate. 

Landmark Properties has closed on the acquisition of a 1.56-acre site at 134 N. Eagleville Rd., adjacent to the University of Connecticut’s (UConn) main campus in Storrs, CT. The firm will begin construction on The Mark Mansfield, a 738-bed student housing community, in late 2025. The site was acquired in partnership with Peninsula Investments. TSB Capital Advisors coordinated financing.

“UConn saw a record-breaking 2024 freshman class and, as the university moves forward with plans to expand its enrollment further over the next decade, the demand for high-quality and pedestrian-to-campus living options will continue to increase,” said Jason Doornbos, chief development officer of Landmark Properties. “We’re excited to help meet this growing housing need with the development of The Mark.”

Located near the university’s core, the new development will be Landmark Properties’ second asset in the Storrs market. The site was formerly proposed as the location for another student housing development.

Kolter Multifamily has broken ground on a 55-plus apartment community west of Boynton Beach. The company is taking a different approach to traditional 55-plus housing options.

“We think of the project as a cruise ship on land,” said Kolter’s Jeff Quinlivan. “Typically, senior communities provide residents with smaller units and 24-hour care driving up residents’ monthly costs. Boynton Tropical will be lower acuity with more emphasis on overall wellness-focused amenities and activities.”

The development will feature 210 apartments ranging from 800 to 1.400 square feet and about 15,000 square feet of amenities, such as a resort-style pool, a fitness center, a dining area with a bar, a craft room, a salon, a yoga studio, and a ping-pong room.

Boynton Tropical will be located on the 8.9-acre site at 7401 Tropical World Way, on the east side of Hagen Ranch Road. A Kolter affiliate purchased the property for $4.75 million in 2020.

Boynton Tropical should be completed in winter 2026.

Partners Real Estate has brought on Atlanta Land Sales brokers Matt Hawkins, Pierce Owings, and Sarah Morgan. Their role is to grow the firm’s land sales practice in Atlanta.

Since opening in June 2024, the company’s newest office is now more than 20 brokers strong and boasts expertise across the gamut of commercial real estate offerings, including Office Tenant Representation, Office Agency Leasing, Industrial Services, Development, and now Land.

Hawkins , who came from Cushman & Wakefield, arranged over $2 billion in transactions, and facilitated the land sales for projects that shaped the region such as Truist Park, The Battery, and Rowen to name a few.

Pierce Owings, who also came from Cushman & Wakefield, joins as an Equity Partner. Owings delivered sites now home to Madison Yards and 99 West Paces.

Sarah Morgan will serve as Senior Associate. Sarah joined the land team in 2023 after working as a Senior Consultant at Deloitte.

Biscuit Flats Dev LLC, an affiliate of Mack Real Estate Group (MREG), prevailed at an auction to sell the development rights to over 2,300 acres of fully entitled land immediately adjacent to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation’s (TSMC) semiconductor fabrication campus in Phoenix’s North Valley. TSMC has committed to investing $65 billion in its rapidly growing facilities, with significant further investment anticipated. 

The Arizona State Land Department (ASLD) awarded the project to Biscuit Flats Dev LLC, the winning bidder in an auction for the right to lead what is expected to be a $7+ billion mixed-use development of more than 28 million square feet surrounding one of America’s most potent new employment and innovation drivers, TSMC. McCourt Partners will also invest in the project in partnership with MREG. MREG paid $56.28 million as the winning and only bidder at the auction.

Under an agreement with ASLD, the partnership will control land sales within the site, which are to take place in stages over several years, while also overseeing the necessary infrastructure improvements.  Additionally, the joint venture will have the right to develop approximately 600 acres, across multiple uses.  MREG will decide what the best fit is on 2,300+ acres with over 28 million square feet of development capacity across mixed uses, including up to 8,960 residential units as well as industrial, retail, and office space. Infrastructure work could start in 2025.

Accord Group Holdings LLC, a global real estate strategic investment and capital advisory firm based in San Francisco, served as the exclusive financial advisor to the Bixby Land Company in its establishment of Bixby Industrial Fund 1. Terms were not disclosed.

The recapitalization portfolio consists of five industrial properties: two located in Mira Loma, CA; two in Phoenix; and one in Atlanta. Goldman Sachs Alternatives and an Ares Management Real Estate Secondaries fund are equity investors in the newly established fund.

“Accord started advising Bixby Land on this transaction last April. To see this transaction come together successfully in less than a year with two highly experienced investment partners during a period of economic challenges for commercial real estate is a testament to the team at Bixby and Accord’s structuring capabilities,” said Jack Berquist, managing partner at Accord.

The initial portfolio consists of five industrial properties totaling more than 836,000 square feet of leasable space. The properties are currently 100% leased to a total of 10 tenants with a weighted average lease term of 2.4 years.

At the behest of New York-based Mack Real Estate Group (MREG), the Arizona State Land Department has agreed to auction off 2,300 acres of land surrounding the $40 billion Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. plants in N. Phoenix. The Phoenix Business Journal reports it’s meant for the buildout of a massive technology and science park reminiscent of Silicon Valley.

The auction is scheduled for May 29 with a starting bid at $56.28 million, or about $24,000 an acre. Anyone can bid on the property, but more often than not, the winning bidder is the one who initiates the auction. MREG already has an extensive portfolio of projects across the Valley of the Sun.

The developer “intends to construct and install all of the necessary infrastructure needed for development of the subject and then market parcels for sale to end-users and a variety of uses” including industrial, commercial, multifamily and more.