Historic Flatiron Building sold for almost $2 million

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Flatiron Building

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Douglas Sams

Commercial Real Estate Editor- Atlanta Business Chronicle

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An Atlanta real estate fund recently bought downtown's historic Flatiron Building for almost $2 million, with plans to turn the property into hub for startups.

Arun Nijhawan, managing principal for Lucror Resources, acquired Flatiron Oct. 15, according to Fulton County records. Atlanta Flatiron LLC, an affiliate of Lucror, is listed as the buyer. Historic Urban Equities, Ltd., whose principals include Atlanta real estate investor and developer Jim Cumming, was the seller.

Nijhawan may have gotten a bargain by today's standards. The Lucror affiliate paid just $1.95 million for Flatiron, according to Fulton County. The county had valued the building at $1.1 million.

But, a major — and potentially complicated — renovation lies ahead.

Earlier this year, Atlanta Business Chronicle reported Nijhawan plans to turn the 40,000 square foot Flatiron into a "collaborative place" for Atlanta's "makers, thinkers, and doers."

The city is getting behind the project. Invest Atlanta, the city's economic development arm, offered Lucror a $1.5 million loan to help offset more than $10 million in acquisition and renovation costs, Atlanta Business Chronicle reported.

Colliers International Atlanta won the assignment to lease and manage Flatiron. It could become one of the numerous startup hubs blossoming across the metro region, including downtown.

Cumming had owned the Flatiron building for years, and its value hasn't changed much in more than three decades. In 1977, a group involving the well-known Atlanta investor bought the property for $1.2 million, according to the Atlanta research firm Databank Inc.

Douglas Sams covers Commercial Real Estate