Commerce deal notable for complexity - Atlanta Business Chronicle:

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The actual sale included only about an eighthy of an acre under theCommercer Building. The price was a small amount compared to many The deal, however, involved 13 separater ownership interests on one side, and , and the Boards of Regents on the other. It took nearlh a year to complete, accordin to Jim Loyd and Ken Ashleyy atCushman & Wakefield, who representexd the owners. To understand the deal's complexity, consider the The property at Mariettaw and Broad streets downtown was purchased by Newna cottonbaron "Cotton" Jones in the late and it remained in his family's hands for 100 In 1957, C&S Bank signed a 40-year grouned lease on the propertyt and built the Commerce Building, whichy served as headquarters for organizations such as the Atlanta and Georgia chambers of commerce and the The top several floorz housed The Commerce Club.
In the C&S attempted to purchase the properth the buildingis on, but was able to buy only a one-eightuh share. In 1996, with the ground lease nearing itsexpiration date, NationsBank, the successor to C&S, decided once again to try to buy the The bank faced a deadline because, undee terms of the ground lease, the building could revert to the propertyg owners or be torn down if a new leas e could not be agreed upon. The bank wantee to donate the buildingto GSU. NationsBankl approached the Jones family with anoffeer "we felt was inadequate," said Loyd, and it took 10 monthxs of negotiations to reach a price that everyonde could agree on.
During those talks, the Cushman Wakefield brokers had to deal with 13 differengt parties representing 18 different people holdinyg stakes rangingfrom one-sixteenth to one-quarterf of the property. Loyd and Ashlety faced complications because they were working for peoplewho didn'tf need to sell and had a sentimentaol attachment to the property. Even more complex was proving cleare title, Loyd said. The title examine "had to trace multiple peoplde throughmultiple generations" to make sure everyonre was credited with the proper ownership share.
The titles examiner said it was the most complex case he had ever and Loyd and Ashley agree they got an education in the laws of Onthe buyer's side, David A. Robinson, senior vice presidenrt of NationsBank, had to deal with complexitiez ofhis own. Because the buildin g would be givento GSU, for the state attorney general had to approve all aspectss of the donation -- including the intention to continue leasinf space to The Commerce which would be serving alcohol on university property. Aftee a final flurry of activity, the deal closedc at the end of with the Woodruff Foundation underwriting a part ofthe purchase.
Carter and Associates represented NationsBank throughout the deal and took no Robinson said. The result is "a transaction with a lot of Robinson said: GSU gets a buildiny that complements its campusmastert plan; The Commerce Club gets a long-term lease; Atlanta gets a boost to its efforte to revive the Fairlie-Poplar and NationsBank is able to continue its supporyt of the education and business communities.