A Former Sam's Club Is For Sale in Georgia. The City is the Seller

It is one of several commercial properties acquired by the City of Stonecrest, Georgia

A 130,000 square foot former Sam's Club is for sale in Stonecrest, Georgia.

And the City of Stonecrest is the seller.

But how did the City end up owning a Sam's Club?

It has to do with the the State of Georgia's Urban Redevelopment Act.

This law permits Georgia cities and counties to form Urban Redevelopment Agencies (URAs) that have broad powers to jumpstart — and even finance — the redevelopment of blighted properties.

In particular, URAs have the authority to issue revenue bonds that can be used to acquire real estate in areas considered blighted, dilapidated or underutilized.

And it is popular in Georgia.

In fact, over $1.4 BB in URA revenue bonds have been sold through various cities and counties in Georgia over the past 5 years to acquire and reposition real estate.

Including in Stonecrest which is located in DeKalb County — roughly fifteen miles southwest of Atlanta — and one of the newest cities in the state, having only incorporated as a city in 2017.

The Stonecrest URA acquired the former Sam's Club in 2020 for ~$3.2 MM — just a couple of years after the warehouse club retailer had closed and vacated the building.

To pay for the Sam’s Club building acquisition, the Stonecrest URA issued $3.2 MM in bond financing and secured a 20 year repayment term at a 2.92% interest rate.

Stonecrest’s grand vision was to convert the former Sam's Club into a “town center” for the community by relocating City Hall to the premises from a leased office building and adding a post office and other community features.

But the City's real estate acquisitions did not stop with purchase of the former Sam's Club.

The City's URA also issued bonds to acquire a vacant Sears department store at the local Mall of Stonecrest.

And it then completed yet another bond issuance — this time to acquire the office building that housed City Hall.

The acquisition of the building that housed City Hall led Stonecrest to shift its "town center" plans to that property instead of the former Sam's Club.

And likely compelled the City to put the Sam's Club up for sale last Fall via a bid process outlined on its website.

Bidding to acquire the former Sam's Club appears to have ended in February 2024.

But so far no bidders have been revealed — nor has a sale of the property been announced.