Atlanta-based commercial real estate veterans Merritt Lancaster and Jack Arnold have founded Bridger Properties LLC, a full-service commercial real estate company providing a range of services, the company announced this week.
Launched in late 2020, the company will offer leasing, occupier services, property management, development management, construction management, and strategic advisory services, the company says.
“We looked at the rapidly changing landscape of commercial real estate and wanted to create a platform that would be relevant in every stage of the real estate cycle,” Bridger Properties principal Merritt Lancaster said in a statement. “Being able to provide highest-level services and strategic investment capability gives Bridger a unique and broad presence in our markets.”
Since launching, Bridger Properties says it has taken on more than 60 assignments, including more than 2 million square feet of project leasing assignments, including retail leasing for developer Third & Urban and FCP‘s 15.2-acre Westside Paper mixed-use project in West Midtown. That development broke ground in the fall and will feature about 21,400 square feet of entertainment, restaurant, and retail space along with more than 220,000 square feet of creative office space, according to a project website.
Before co-founding Bridger, Lancaster spent time as principal of developer Paces Properties and, before then, as chief investment officer of Flournoy Development Company. He also founded Confluence Real Estate, a boutique real estate investment firm being folded into Bridger.
Arnold comes off of seven years as managing director of retail at Stream Realty Partners, founding its southwest retail team. He also led retail and mixed-use investment activity for the company, which included the off-market acquisition of a 2.1 million-square-foot portfolio.
With Bridger, the duo will also lead investments on behalf of itself, partners, and clients. It has already engaged in $35 million in principal activity and been selected by unspecified institutional partners as their “regional investment platform,” according to this week’s announcement.
In leading retail leasing for Westside Paper, Bridger Properties joins Cushman & Wakefield Executive Managing Director Aileen Almassy, Managing Director Will Porter, and Senior Director Porter Henritze, which lead office leasing for the project.
“That is great news,” Henritze wrote What Now Atlanta in an email. “We handle all of the office portion and are excited to partner with Bridger.”
