Ashley Capital recently acquired 220 acres of land in east Atlanta, where it is building the 150,000-square-foot Twin Creeks Business Center, which will open in July.

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Since its inception in 1984, New York City-based Ashley Capital has maintained a clear real estate investment strategy. According to Vice President Lori Roth, the firm pursues value-added opportunities in the industrial and office sectors throughout the eastern half of the United States. It maintains a balance between the redevelopment of underperforming assets and the development of new properties and business parks. Over the past 25 years, Ashley’s discipline has enabled it to achieve a healthy portfolio of over 24 million square feet.

Despite its size, Ashley prides itself on the innovative ways it handles the real estate requirements of both big and small firms. As a privately held organization with only 50 employees, the firm sets itself apart from its competition by being able to meet tenants’ needs both efficiently and economically. “What our customers are getting with us is flexibility and a quick response time,” Vice President Tim Schneider says. “We can structure our deals creatively, because we don’t have to wait for committee or board approvals like many larger companies have to do.”

For example, when Ashley Capital purchased a building in Atlanta with the intent of converting it into a multi-tenant warehouse/distribution facility, a company with nearby manufacturing plants decided it wanted to take the entire building for its distribution operations.  

“Quickly, Ashley was able to modify its plans, renovate in accordance with the tenant’s requirements and accelerate the completion of the build-out to have the space ready in time for the tenant’s busy season,” Roth says. When that same tenant needed additional space, Ashley was able to accommodate by building another facility on excess land at the site.  

In addition, Ashley strives to build in an element of flexibility in its designs to allow tenants to expand and contract as necessary.

“Tenants can take additional space as they need it in our buildings,” Schneider says. “We try to renovate creatively to offer options for our tenants.”

Expanding Horizons
Ashley Capital owns properties throughout the Midwest, East Coast and South, and provides space to a variety of tenants throughout these areas. In Atlanta, one of the firm’s newer markets, the majority of its properties are occupied by a single tenant, while in other parts of the country it operates multi-tenant facilities. The firm looks for financially sound companies, from large conglomerates to smaller organizations, to occupy its buildings. “We have the flexibility to include both in our portfolio,” Schneider says.

The firm’s flexibility is in high demand in markets where many clients require the space to expand or contract their operations when needed. However, the volatility of the market can present challenges to finding tenants to keep buildings occupied. “We work with an extensive network of brokers throughout the country and those strong relationships, coupled with the high quality of our buildings, have served us well in keeping our portfolio leased,” Roth explains.

Schneider says the company is focusing on developing an aggressive marketing plan to reach out to potential tenants. In fact, the company is hitting the streets to develop a better idea of tenants’ needs and requirements. “We’re doing a lot of door-to-door marketing, because this will give us a much better idea about what the local people are looking for,” he says. “You can gain a lot of market intelligence by talking to the local tenants in each market.”

In some cases, trailer staging is the most-important feature a building can offer while in other cases it is the maximization of dock doors. By engaging actively with tenants, Ashley can pinpoint what appeals to companies and tailor facilities to meet their requirements.

Growing Its Portfolio
Ashley Capital recently acquired 220 acres of land in east Atlanta, and is currently building the 150,000-square-foot Twin Creeks Business Center, which will open in July.

“Also on that site, we are ready to begin construction on a 478,000-square-foot building that we hope to build within the next 12 to 18 months,” Schneider says. “For the balance of the site, we’re prepared to build upwards of 2 million square feet of office space. It will take some time, but that is our main growth plan on the east side of Atlanta.”
    
Future Outlook
Although Ashley Capital plans to continue growing at a steady pace through its property acquisitions and development, this will not be without its challenges. With financing harder to negotiate, the company plans to rely on its solid, ongoing relationships with financial institutions. “We haven’t had a problem getting financing as our excellent reputation with the lending community gives us the ability to access capital in this tougher credit environment,” Roth says. “However, deal terms have become more restrictive and we have to take that into account when pursuing future opportunities.”

In fact, Roth believes the company will continue growing, simply by remaining committed to its goal to acquire, develop and renovate properties to enhance their value.

“Our goal is to achieve smart growth in the future,” Roth says.