Walker & Dunlop Completes Sale and Financing for Multifamily Property Near The Battery Atlanta

Walker & Dunlop, Inc. announced today that its multifamily property sales group, Walker & Dunlop Investment Sales, recently completed the sale of The Columns at Bentley Manor, a 418-unit garden style apartment community in Marietta, Georgia. 

The Columns at Bentley Manor benefits from proximity to the Cumberland and Galleria submarkets, which boast over 31 million square feet of office space, and offers a convenient commute to Downtown Atlanta’s employment centers. The property is just minutes away from The Battery Atlanta, a transformative $1.5 billion mixed-use development, providing residents a true live, work, play experience.

The Walker & Dunlop Investment Sales team was led by Managing Director and middle-market expert, Kyle Palmer. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, Mr. Palmer facilitated the transaction and served as advisor to ECI Groups, who is both the original developer and the seller of the property. In parallel with the sale of the property, Walker & Dunlop’s Craig West arranged permanent financing through Freddie Mac’s floating rate program on behalf of the buyer, The Carroll Organization. The transaction represents Carroll’s second recent acquisition in this submarket, and the firm plans to implement a $3.5 million comprehensive capital improvement plan including amenity renovations, deferred maintenance, and interior unit upgrades.

Said Mr. Palmer, “The Columns at Bentley Manor offers new ownership tremendous headroom to improve future yields, given the significant rent spreads achieved by nearby, fully renovated communities.” He added that, “The Cumberland Galleria submarket has progressed from what was once just a suburban office submarket into a vibrant, infill, live-work-play destination with SunTrust Park and The Battery as major catalysts.”

Originally built in 1985 and renovated in 2008, The Columns at Bentley Manor is a gated community with 37 buildings in total. The property is situated on 24 acres, and amenities include a leasing office with business center and coffee lounge, two pools, a modern clubhouse, fitness center, pet park, playgrounds, and ample parking.

Walker & Dunlop is a leader in multifamily property sales and financing with $5.4 billion in property sales volume completed in 2019 and $26.6 billion in debt originations. For information about Walker & Dunlop's view on the apartment market, including expert perspectives on markets, leadership, and the road ahead, visit our new Driven by Insight information center.

About Walker & Dunlop

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE: WD), headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, is one of the largest commercial real estate finance companies in the United States. The company provides a comprehensive range of capital solutions for all commercial real estate asset classes, as well as investment sales brokerage services to owners of multifamily properties. Walker & Dunlop is included on the S&P SmallCap 600 Index and was ranked as one of FORTUNE Magazine’s Fastest Growing Companies in 2014, 2017, and 2018. Walker & Dunlop’s 900+ professionals in 40 offices across the nation have an unyielding commitment to client satisfaction.