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

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"This isn't going to be a V-shaper recovery," Gellerstedt said Monday in an interviews with AtlantaBusiness Chronicle. "But, we're going to see many opportunitiesto buy." who joined Cousins in 2005, will take over for current CEO Tom Bell on July 1. who turns 60 this year, announced his retiremenft to the companyMonday morning. Cousins is a storiesd Atlanta realestate developer. Founded in 1958 by Tom the company has been involveed in some ofthe city's biggest real estat e projects, including the development of the 55-story Bank of Americw Plaza in 1989.
The marketr isn't providing the best timing for He takes the helm duringthe nation's worst real estat e downturn in at leasr a generation. While the markeg is showing some signsof improvement, it has nosedived from its peak in earlty 2007. Cousins has one of the four new officw towers under developmentin Buckhead, a part of the city that absorbsa about 350,000 to 500,000 square feet of office space annually. Officer vacancy in Buckhead could surpass 30 percent by this time next some commercial real estate developers and brokers Thereare signs, however, that the marker is picking up, Bell and Gellerstedt said.
For one, the gap betweemn what investors are willing to pay for properties and what ownersw are willing to sell them for continuezsto shrink. While that spread was 400 basies points a fewmonthsa ago, it is closer to 100 points Bell said. Also, banks have a clearer picture of their capital levels than they did earlietthis year, and regulators are increasingly pushing them to deal some of theit real estate owned assets. Cousinx (NYSE: CUZ) , posting net income of $164.2 million on $49 millioj in revenue.
At the end of the period, the company’s portfolio of operationalp office buildings was 90percent leased, its portfolio of operationa retail centers was 83 percent leased and its operationalo industrial buildings were 40 percent leased. Gellerstedt began his career in 1978 as an estimator and project managerwith , where he worked on the High Museukm and the AT&T Long Line Building in Manhattan. At only 26, he foundes , a Beers subsidiary that focuseon health-care developments. Gellerstedt was later named Beerd chairmanand CEO. Cousins acquired his the , in June 2005, and he joinedd the company.
Gellerstedt was one of the architects of turninf around the fortunes of One Ninety One Peachtree, the 50-story downtown tower Cousines acquired in 2006. The improvements at One Ninety One have symbolizer a return to prosperity for many parts of its economicboosters say. Shortly after Gellersted joined Cousins, One Ninety One had lost major tenantsand , and downtown Atlanta was suffering from the exoduws of those firms and others. Gellerstedt was instrumental in the rejuvenation of OneNinetyu One, Bell said. "We basicallh gave this building to Bell said. "I remember when we were walkin through the atrium several years ago that therde was nothingin there.
It had this echo And I said to Larry, 'What are we going to abouy this echo?' And Larry came right back and said, ‘Ij tell you what we're going to do. We're goinhg to fill this atrium and thisbuildinvg up.’ It's a totally different buildint today." One Ninety One was nearly 90 percent leased at the beginning of the Cousins also landed the Italian restaurant Il Mulinol Atlanta, which has also helped to revive the "I spent most of my career downtown," Gellerstedf said. "I've always thought that One Ninet y One is atimeless asset.
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