Formed as Margolias Realty Group in Johannesberg, South Africa in 1970, our firm’s beginnings in the United States trace back to 1984 when Sol and partners acquired their first property in Atlanta. Growth continued when Darren joined the firm and took over property management and leasing responsibilities. In the early 1990’s, Atlanta Leasing Associates was formed as the exclusive brokerage arm for Margolias Realty Group. Its dedicated focus has been to lease up vacant space, perform due diligence on acquisitions and market properties for disposition. As the portfolio grew, Ivan was brought on board in 1999 as financial controller.
David joined the group in 2004 as an investor and project manager for the Waverly at Surfside condominium conversion. The following two years marked a peak in our firm’s acquisitions. In 2006, we became aware that that the real estate market was changing rapidly and drastically. The deteriorating market combined with the fear of increasing tax rates on capital gains mobilized Margolias Realty Group to sell the majority of their portfolio. With no attractive acquisitions on the horizon, we turned our focus inward and decided to combine Margolias Realty Group and Atlanta Leasing Associates into one. The name Atlanta Leasing & Investment was chosen as it reflects the full spectrum of what we do.
Atlanta Leasing & Investment has honed its analytical expertise through 25 years of commercial real estate investing. Throughout that time, we have avoided ground up development – focusing instead on acquiring existing buildings and improving them or changing their use. Since inception, our firm has acquired, leased and disposed of over $450 Million of office, residential, industrial and retail properties.