An industrial stretch of Atlanta’s Old Fourth Ward found its value for nearly a century through smelting iron.
The potbelly stoves and cast iron pans forged and shipped from Atlanta Stove Works along Krog Street could last a lifetime if protected from rust. But when the factory shut down in 1988, the surrounding area lost its luster.
“It was a gritty neighborhood when we bought it,” said George Banks, founder of Atlanta retail consulting firm Revel. “The Fourth Ward (neighborhood) had been underinvested in for 100 years.”
His firm in 2012 paid $13.5 million to acquire one of the area’s shuttered warehouses, which prolific Atlanta filmmaker Tyler Perry had used for studio space. The building is now the Krog Street Market food hall that, when coupled with the Beltline running alongside the district, helped fuel a wave of redevelopment and new construction in the former iron smelting hub.
Like a well-weathered cast iron pan, wiping away the grit and applying a new coat of seasoning has given the area new life — and a significantly higher price tag.
Atlanta real estate investment firm 26th Street Partners recently paid $210 million to acquire roughly 5.7 acres in the Krog District, including the food hall and many of its well-known buildings. The transaction price was unveiled Saturday in Fulton County deed records, detailing the Sept. 25 sale.
Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez
Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez
Charlotte-based Asana Partners, a prominent Atlanta landlord, sold the properties and the roughly 180,000 square feet of buildings on-site. At more than $1,150 per square foot, it’s one of the most expensive commercial real estate transactions of the past few years in Atlanta, according to Alan Wexler, CEO of real estate information firm DataBank.
It’s also a deal done without debt financing, records show, which Wexler said is a sign that investors are confident in the Krog District’s performance.
“There would be people who would question that high of a square foot (price) because the market is not on fire,” he said. “But that’s not to say it isn’t worth the money they paid.”
Asana Partners declined to comment on transaction details, and 26th Street Partners hasn’t disclosed its plans for the newly acquired portfolio, which includes Atlanta Stove Works, SPX Alley, the Butler building and Gravel building. The three partners who run 26th Street Partners are former executives with Jamestown, the Atlanta-based developer of Ponce City Market.
Typically, when a new owner acquires a property, little changes for tenants beyond them having a new landlord. But longer term, the firm could look to bring in new tenants as leases expire.
Credit: Brandon McKeown
Credit: Brandon McKeown
Krog Street Market has cemented itself as one of the Beltline’s premiere destinations, especially for locally owned food options. Banks said the idea of a curated food hall was novel in 2012, even though the concept has now spawned several peers across metro Atlanta.
“We had to educate our investors and lenders, and a lot of people said, ‘Well, what is this? It won’t work,’” he said.
The neighborhood was its own challenge. Straddling Old Fourth Ward and Inman Park, the Krog District was best known for its graffiti-covered tunnel until the Beltline Eastside Trail and surrounding development redefined the area.
Credit: Arthur Rudick
Credit: Arthur Rudick
Asana in 2018 and 2019 spent about $65 million to acquire the portfolio, later adding two mixed-use buildings, a new parking garage and expanded outdoor dining and open spaces.
Meanwhile, values along the 22-mile trail loop have only increased. Abe Schear, a lawyer and partner in real estate and leasing practices for Arnall Golden Gregory, said the Krog District has emerged as “the main-and-main of the Beltline.”
“It’s a statement property for the ownership,” he said. “That location is not going anywhere.”
Steve Triolet, senior vice president of research and market forecasting for Partners Real Estate, said the Krog District sale is the largest mixed-use transaction in Atlanta of the third quarter.
Other transactions this year that eclipse $100 million in the city are relegated to the foreclosure sale of Buckhead’s largest office complex, Piedmont Center, and the 28-story tower at 1100 Peachtree Street. Regionwide, only industrial portfolios and sprawling land acquisitions for data centers reach similar price tags.
“The Krog deal underscores Atlanta’s 2025 retail resurgence while navigating office headwinds like 26.5% total vacancy,” Triolet said in a statement. The Atlanta region’s office market has struggled with record vacancies since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, which also disrupted retail activity.
Asana and 26th Street Partners have struck a fruitful relationship in recent years, finalizing deals on two other intown Atlanta shopping centers: Plaza on Ponce, home of the Majestic Diner and Plaza Theatre, and Morningside Village.
Credit: Ben Gray
Credit: Ben Gray
The former, which is within a mile of Ponce City Market and the Beltline, represents the closest peer transaction to Krog District. According to DataBank, Plaza on Ponce is the only large commercial real estate transaction in Atlanta since 2024 to sell at a similar price per square foot.
“In general, the number of groups or people who have the money to do this is very few,” Wexler said. “It’s not the general tenor of the market, but the big money is still out there.”
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