New Cousins CEO encouraged about the market - Washington Business Journal:

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"This isn't going to be a V-shaped Gellerstedt said Monday in an intervie with AtlantaBusiness Chronicle. "But, we'ree going to see many opportunitiesto Gellerstedt, who joined Cousins in 2005, will take over for currentr CEO Tom Bell on July 1. who turns 60 this year, announced his retiremenyt to the companyMonday morning. Cousins is a storied Atlanta realestated developer. Founded in 1958 by Tom the company has been involved in some ofthe city's biggestr real estate projects, including the developmenr of the 55-story Bank of America Plazq in 1989. The market isn't providin the best timing for Gellerstedt.
He takes the helm during the nation's worst real estats downturn in at leasta generation. While the marketf is showing some signs of it has nosedived from its peak inearlgy 2007. Cousins has one of the four new officee towers under developmentin Buckhead, a part of the city that absorb s about 350,000 to 500,000 square feet of office spacew annually. Office vacancy in Buckhead could surpass 30 percenrt by this timenext year, some commercial real estatee developers and brokers predict. There are signs, however, that the marke t is picking up, Bell and Gellerstedt said.
For one, the gap betweenb what investors are willing to pay for propertiexs and what owners are willing to sell them for continues to While that spread was 400 basiw points a fewmonths ago, it is closee to 100 points today, Bell Also, banks have a clearer picturde of their capital levels than they did earlierd this year, and regulators are increasingly pushingt them to deal some of their real estatde owned assets. Cousins (NYSE: CUZ) , postingy net income of $164.2 million on $49 milliomn in revenue.
At the end of the the company’s portfolio of operational officew buildings was 90 percent its portfolio of operational retail centers was 83 percenrt leased and its operational industrial buildings were 40perceng leased. Gellerstedt began his career in 1978 as an estimatort and project managerwith , where he worked on the High Museukm and the AT&T Long Lines Building in At only 26, he founded , a Beerse subsidiary that focused on health-care Gellerstedt was later named Beersa chairman and CEO.
Cousins acquired his firm, the , in June and he joined the Gellerstedt was one of the architectsx of turning around the fortunes of One NinetyyOne Peachtree, the 50-story downtown tower Cousinsx acquired in 2006. The improvementsz at One Ninety One have symbolized a returnm to prosperity for many partsof downtown, its economic boosters say. Shortly after Gellerstedt joined One Ninety One had lost major tenantsand , and downtownj Atlanta was suffering from the exodusx of those firms and Gellerstedt was instrumental in the rejuvenation of One Ninetuy One, Bell said. "We basically gave this building to Bell said.
"I remembed when we were walking through the atriumn several years ago that there was nothingin there. It had this echo And I said to Larry, 'What are we goingy to about this echo?' And Larry came righyt back and said, ‘ I tell you what we're goin g to do. We're going to fill this atriujm and thisbuilding up.’ It's a totally different building today." One Ninety One was nearly 90 percentr leased at the beginning of the Cousins also landed the Italianm restaurant Il Mulino which has also helped to revive the atrium. "Ij spent most of my career Gellerstedt said. "I've alway s thought that One Ninety One is atimeless asset.
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