News
Combined Team Brings Industrial, Office Expertise, Alongside Active Development & Investment Pursuits
Atlanta, Ga. (June 6, 2023) – During a time when many in the commercial real estate segment are pulling back due to shifting market dynamics, Foundry Commercial today announces the acquisition of Southsource, a boutique Atlanta brokerage firm respected for its creative approach to the evolving office segment. The acquisition marks Foundry’s second of the year, and 14th overall since launching in 2007.
Foundry Commercial has been active in Atlanta since 2016, when Partner and Market Leader Chris Hurd began building Foundry’s Atlanta operations from the ground up, recruiting and growing brokerage teams while also helping activate the property management and Development & Investment functions of the business. As part of those efforts, Hurd recruited Jordan Camp and Reid Hanner to the platform, where they have grown their industrial brokerage practice into one of the most successful in the company, and where they have cultivated Foundry’s Industrial Service Facilities (ISF) business.
Southsource was founded in 2020, and despite the timing, quickly became a force to be reckoned with in office brokerage in the greater Atlanta area. Seven Southsource associates now join Foundry Commercial’s Atlanta office, including founder Lawrence “LG” Gellerstedt, who first crossed paths with Foundry when he oversaw WeWork’s Southeastern U.S. real estate strategy. A fourth generation Atlantan and commercial real estate professional, Gellerstedt has been at the forefront of pushing boundaries in an industry that can be reticent to change.
The Southsource team joins an existing Foundry Atlanta team of nearly 20 associates, ranging from analysts to real estate managers to brokers and partners as well as team members from Maxis Advisors, the location analysis and business incentives firm acquired by Foundry in late 2021. Foundry has long-term plans for continued investment in the high-growth Atlanta area, bolstered by a diverse economy, favorable market trends, and a robust talent pipeline.
“Atlanta remains an important market for us, and we are really excited to have the Southsource team join us,” said Paul Ellis, Foundry Commercial CEO. “We believe Foundry has become a platform that is an attractive and creative alternative in a CRE marketplace that often thinks and looks alike. LG and the team bring a fresh perspective, and together we believe that we will build something very unique in the Atlanta marketplace.”
Seeing disruption brewing in the office segment even before COVID-19, Southsource came onto the market and carved a niche among brokers and clients alike, who were drawn to how the firm operated outside the confines of the traditional institutional approach.
“Southsource was born from the tension that’s been building in commercial real estate for years… a highly institutional, sometimes stagnant industry existing in a world that increasingly requires high-speed evolution,” said Gellerstedt. “It’s time for real innovation in the industry. Now as one team, we’re excited to combine our collective resources and amplify the creative brokerage approach.”
“We’ve had a relationship with LG and the Southsource team for years, and the cultural alignment was evident from the very start,” added Partner and Regional Market Leader Jason Holwerda, who was one of the first at Foundry to work alongside LG while at WeWork. “Foundry’s vision – ‘It’s Personal – driven by relationships and building something different’ – is at the forefront of everything we do. The Southsource team built their business upon this same foundation and has been very successful along the way. Combined, our teams are poised for significant growth.”
As part of the transition, Gellerstedt has been named Atlanta Market Leader, as Partner Chris Hurd becomes Investment Advisory Practice Leader in Atlanta. With over $3 billion combined transaction experience, Foundry’s Investment Advisory Group (IAG) helps investors, institutions, and corporate clients maximize the value of their real estate in the handling of asset dispositions, acquisitions, recapitalizations, and 1031 exchanges.