FEATURE ARTICLE, DECEMBER 2005

Atlanta

Atlanta is on the forefront of a national phenomenon of reinventing itself. The maturing of the baby boom generation and the integration of online stores has contributed to new demands on the delivery of retail goods and services. No longer is the suburban mall considered the gathering place of the community. Instead, to meet the demands of today's consumer, many malls are taking on a new shape, demolishing the cavern-like, enclosed design and putting on a fresh new village and entertainment personality. The result is a sense of place, focused on the need for convenience, quality and value.

Creating environments that appeal to how people live, work, eat, shop and play is quite a challenge. A key factor contributing to the mixed-use phenomenon in Atlanta and its submarkets is traffic congestion. As the Atlanta population grows, many people want to live closer to where they work. As a result, the demand for quality housing in a convenient location has resulted in a seemingly endless supply of new condominiums, town homes and cluster home developments.

Atlanta's commercial real estate industry is leading the way in answering this new challenge. Real estate developers have taken a keen eye toward creating shopping environments that provide basic essentials and entertaining alternatives. Some fine examples of this visionary thinking in Atlanta are Jacoby Development's Atlantic Station, a former blighted steel mill in the heart of Atlanta's West metropolitan district. Atlantic Station is home to a 300,000-square-foot IKEA store, the first in the Southeast. When totally built out, the project will have more than 1.5 million square feet of retail/entertainment space, 5,000 residential units, 1,000 hotel rooms, 11 acres of park space and 6 million square feet of office space.

There are a few other examples of projects using the mixed-use concept. The Sembler Company is developing Lindbergh Center, a mixed-use project that will prosper in part due to its excellent proximity to the Lindbergh MARTA rapid transit station. GKJ Development has given Smyrna, Georgia, a community identity with its Main Street-themed Smyrna Market Village. Coro Realty is adding retail, office and condominiums to the existing mixed-use Buckhead Place development at the corner of Piedmont Road and Peachtree Street.

More traditional retail centers, such as North American Properties' Camp Creek Marketplace, The Sembler Company's Edgewood Retail District, and Forest City Enterprises' Stone Crest Mall, have provided a unique alternative to their under-retailed markets.

Public and private cooperation is essential to make any real estate project successful. The creation of TAD's (Tax Allocation Districts), TMA's (Traffic Management Associations) and CID's (Community Improvement Districts) are just some of the results of governmental officials, community leaders and real estate developers recognizing the need to work in a manner of partnership, with long-range vision and goals.

It would be difficult to single out a submarket in Atlanta that is more successful than the other. Each has its unique challenges and community objectives. However, it seems all cylinders of the economic engine are on cruise control.

The future looks very bright for retail in Atlanta. Established areas, such as Buckhead and Perimeter, both well-recognized locations for some of the finest retailers in the country, are in the midst of a renaissance. The construction cranes for condominium, hotel and office towers have become a permanent fixture of the landscape and are expected to remain for many months to come. Statements such as “as go the rooftops, so goes the retail” and “location, location, location” have never been more important than they are today.

— Steve Patrick is vice president with Atlanta-based Coro Realty Advisors, LLC, a member of Retail Brokers Network.

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