Cousins Continues its Legacy

Cousins Properties Building on a Long-Term Legacy

By Bea Quirk

In its nearly 50 years, Cousins Properties has helped build Atlanta into one of the premier American cities. The firm also is leaving its mark on cities throughout the South and beyond.

Cousins was founded in Atlanta by Tom Cousins as a homebuilding company in 1958 and within three years was the largest homebuilder in Georgia. Since its expansion in 1965 into commercial development, the company has developed more than 20 million sq. ft. of office space and 12 million sq. ft. of retail, including seven regional malls. Added to its portfolio are more than 3,000 multifamily residential units.

"Cousins Properties has brought the tradition of many decades of urban and suburban development across a wide range of product types," said Bill Pinto, president and COO for Hardin Construction Co. of Atlanta. "Their involvement is geared to making our communities better places to live, whether that's a focus on transportation, sustainable growth or water and sewer challenges."

Cousins has been a fully integrated equity real estate investment trust, or REIT, since 1987. Its current portfolio includes 7.8 million sq. ft. of office and medical office space, 3.4 million sq. ft. of retail and more than 3,300 acres of land for sale for future development, primarily residential. It also develops industrial properties, primarily in the Atlanta area, plus provides leasing and management services for 10.6 million sq. ft. of office space for third parties.

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Tad Leithead, the firm's senior vice president-development, said the multifaceted approach makes Cousins unusual among REITS, which typically specialize in just one type of real estate.

All of this has made Cousins a highly profitable company over the years. According to a Standard & Poor's Quantitative Stock Report, its three-year rate of return of 22.7 percent was nearly double the S&P 1500 rate of 11.6 percent and the industry rate of 14.5 percent.

Cousins has built and developed a number of Atlanta's signature projects, such as the 1.2 million-sq.-ft. Bank of America Plaza, the city's tallest building; The Pinnacle, an office tower in the Buckhead area; and the Inforum, a 983,000-sq.-ft. convention hall and office space facility. Back in 1972, it financed construction of Omni International, now the CNN Center.

While Cousins is headquartered in Atlanta, its projects extend throughout the South and West, including Dallas, Austin and Irving, Texas; San Francisco; Memphis and other parts of Tennessee; Miami; and Charlotte and the Carolinas.

Founder Cousins served as the company CEO until 2002 and remains chairman of the board. Under current CEO Tom Bell, the company has moved more into mixed-use developments, primarily in its core market of Atlanta.

Terminus, located in the Buckhead area, is one such project. The first phase - to open in spring 2007 - will include 532,000 sq. ft. of office and 65,000 sq. ft. of retail, with the master plan calling for another 500,000 sq. ft. of office, a hotel, additional retail and up to 800 residential units.

"It is the bellwether of what our future will look like," Leithead said.

"By mixing many uses, we can use all our in-house strengths in a fully integrated way. That's what you'll see us focusing on in the future."

Cousins doesn't always go it alone. For example, it partnered with Bank of America on the bank's Atlanta tower, and on Gateway Village in Charlotte, a mixed-use development with office, retail and residential components.

Cousins joint ventured with IBM in Atlanta on Wildwood, a 2.5-million-sq.-ft., 289-acre office park that is home for Cousins' corporate headquarters, where 300 of the company's 500 employees work. Other tenants in the eight buildings include Coca-Cola Enterprises, Georgia Pacific and General Electric.

Cousins partnered with Atlanta-based Weeks Properties in April and began construction on the 2.9-milion-sq.-ft. King Mill Distribution Park in Atlanta. This summer, Cousins and the Related Group of Florida broke ground on 50 Biscayne, a 529-unit luxury residential tower with 54 stories - including 15,000 sq. ft. of retail, a fitness center, pool and spa - that will be one of the tallest buildings in Miami upon completion.

"Especially in markets new for us, we like to partner with someone," Leithead said.

Joyce Bronson, senior vice president with Related, said the collaboration with Cousins has worked well.

"They're great partners," she said. "They get it - they understand the development business. And they select quality sites. They know and understand construction."

In October, The Avenue Carriage Crossing - the largest open-air specialty retail center (also called lifestyle centers) in Tennessee - opened in Collierville. Jim Wilson & Associates was a joint venture partner. The Avenue concept - featuring a pedestrian-friendly, open-air setting with national retailers, local merchants and restaurants - was pioneered by Cousins, and construction began on the seventh one in August. The Avenue Webb Gin, is a 390,000-sq.-ft. center in Georgia's Gwinnett County, and the first merchants will open their doors this August.

As properties are added, some are sold off. In July, Cousins - as managing member of 285 Venture - sold 1155 Perimeter Center West, a 363,000-sq.-ft. office tower in Atlanta, to a fund managed by Shorenstein Co. of San Francisco.

By law, REITS are prohibited from developing property to sell, but "we do sell properties when the market calls for it," Leithead said. But Cousins often stays involved in its projects even after they're sold by continuing to provide leasing and property management services, many times from onsite offices.

"Our legacy is long-term ownership," Leithead added. "Our goal is to build high-quality buildings that operate successfully in the long run."