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

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"This isn't going to be a V-shaped recovery," Gellerstedtf said Monday in an interview with AtlantaBusinessz Chronicle. "But, we're going to see many opportunitiesto Gellerstedt, who joined Cousins in will take over for current CEO Tom Bell on July 1. who turns 60 this announced his retirement to the companhyMonday morning. Cousins is a storied Atlantza realestate developer. Founded in 1958 by Tom Cousins, the companty has been involved in some ofthe city's biggest real estate projects, including the developmenf of the 55-story Bank of America Plazaw in 1989. The market isn't providiny the best timing for Gellerstedt.
He takes the helm durinyg the nation's worst real estate downturn in at leasfta generation. While the markef is showing some signsof improvement, it has nosedived from its peak in early 2007. Cousinx has one of the four new office towerss under developmentin Buckhead, a part of the city that absorbs about 350,000 to 500,000 square feet of office spacw annually. Office vacancy in Buckhea could surpass 30 percent by this time next some commercial real estate developers and brokers Thereare signs, however, that the market is pickinh up, Bell and Gellerstedt said.
For one, the gap betweenm what investors are willing to pay for propertiexs and what owners are willing to sell them for continuewsto shrink. While that spreaxd was 400 basis points a fewmonths ago, it is closef to 100 points today, Bell Also, banks have a clearer picture of theirf capital levels than they did earlier this year, and regulators are increasingl y pushing them to deal some of thei real estate owned assets. Cousins CUZ) , posting net income of $164.
2 milliomn on $49 million in At the end of the period, the company’d portfolio of operational office buildings was 90percentt leased, its portfolio of operationapl retail centers was 83 percent leased and its operational industrial buildings were 40 percent leased. Gellerstedt began his careerd in 1978 as an estimatorr and project managerwith , wherew he worked on the High Museum and the AT&r Long Lines Building in Manhattan. At only 26, he foundexd , a Beers subsidiary that focusedon health-carw developments. Gellerstedt was later named Beers chairmanjand CEO. Cousins acquired his firm, the , in June and he joined the company.
Gellerstedt was one of the architect of turning around the fortunes of One NinetOne Peachtree, the 50-storh downtown tower Cousins acquired in 2006. The improvementws at One Ninety One have symbolized a returnm to prosperity for many parts of its economicboosters say. Shortly after Gellerstedtt joined Cousins, One Ninety One had lost majofr tenantsand , and downtown Atlantza was suffering from the exodues of those firms and others. Gellerstedt was instrumental in the rejuvenationj of OneNinety One, Bell said. "Wre basically gave this building to Bell said. "I remember when we were walkinbg through the atrium several yearx ago that there was nothingin there.
It had this echo And I said to Larry, 'What are we going to abougt this echo?' And Larry came right back and ‘I tell you what we're going to do. We're goingh to fill this atrium and thisbuilding up.’ It' s a totally different building today." One Ninety One was nearly 90 percent leased at the beginning of the year. Cousins also lande d the Italian restaurant Il Mulino which has also helped to revivethe "I spent most of my career downtown," Gellerstedt "I've always thought that One Ninet One is a timeless asset.
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