Prime Midtown Atlanta real estate acquired by Georgia Tech Foundation

The Georgia Tech Foundation, the group that manages donations and often land acquisition for the university, has laid down a king's ransom for a small parcel in Midtown.

According to the Atlanta Business Chronicle, the group recently closed on the 1.8-acre site for $19.4 million—nearly $11 million per acre.

The acquisition is just the latest in a series of purchases made by the foundation. Late last year, they also scooped up the former Biltmore Hotel, located across the street from the Scheller College of Business at Tech Square, and catty-corner from the under-construction CODA tower.

Interestingly, the most recent parcel was purchased from developer Novare, who’d bought the site a decade ago for just $11.4 million, hoping to one day build another of their numerous high-rises. Jim Borders, the president and CEO of Novare, is a trustee of the Georgia Tech Foundation.

While it's very early to speculate on plans for the site, the sale could signal the ultimate northward migration of the university, which was once constrained to the other side of The Connector.

Since jumping the interstate in the early 2000s, Tech has transformed parking lots and small scale development into an array of academic uses.

The foundation’s acquisitions are typically longterm plays, so it could be a while before actual construction launches.

Meanwhile, just south of the site, work is finally topping out on the incredibly slow moving Hanover Midtown project. The six-story residential development has taken more than two years to rise from the grave of the Midtown Checkers.

• Tech Foundation lands $20 million parcel [Atlanta Business Chronicle; subscriber]