Charlotte-based Asana Partners, a Charlotte-based real estate investment firm, has purchased a longtime retail hub in Dunwoody, along with several surrounding parcels.
Published first in the The Atlanta Business Chronicle, Asana reportedly paid $27.5 million for the Shops of Dunwoody. It also purchased several outlying parcels for an additional $7.5 million across three separate transactions, which include Sunshine Car Wash and office buildings on Nandina Lane.
The deals closed on March 31, the publication reported.
The transaction also includes a building that contained a drive-through Burger King, which has been long vacant. For the past several years, the area around that building has been the site of a 25-foot Christmas tree and Menorah. The Dunwoody Homeowners Association’s lighting ceremony each November draws thousands of spectators.
The shopping center’s restaurants include Breadwinner, Summit Coffee, Dunwoody Tavern, Nai Thai, Vintage Pizzeria, Taqueria Los Hermanos, J. Christopher’s and Wasabi House.
In recent years, a small green space was installed in front of the restaurants, which has become a family-friendly nightly gathering place.
The city has discussed for years the desire to redevelop the center, though it’s unclear, given the conditions of the Dunwoody Village Overlay District, whether that could be achieved.
After the Dunwoody City Council passed the Dunwoody Village Overlay district in 2020, the owner of the Shops of Dunwoody, Hudgens Company LP, sued the city, claiming that the 150-foot buffer zone between the village and neighboring residences limited the available redevelopment area.
The council excluded the shopping center and car wash from the Overlay District in order to facilitate negotiations with the unhappy neighbors. The Dunwoody Homeowners Association supported the residents and hired its own attorney to advocate for the increased buffer zone.
After back-and-forth negotiations, the city completed the rezoning of the Shops of Dunwoody in 2021. A compromise set a height limit of four stories within 150 feet of the shopping center and homes in the Dunwoody West and Branches subdivisions.
The Business Chronicle reported that this purchase marks the latest expansion for Asana, which owns Krog Street Market, Midtown Promenade and Plaza Fiesta.
The publication also reported that Asana declined to comment on the transaction.
