FEATURE ARTICLE, JULY 2005

SEMBLER BRINGS BIG BOX TO URBAN ATLANTA
The Sembler Company is underway on three significant urban mixed-use projects in Atlanta.
Susan H. Fishman

The Sembler Company, one of the Southeast’s top retail developers, currently is undertaking three major development efforts inside the perimeter (inside Interstate 285) in Atlanta. All are true urban mixed-use projects, with a substantial amount of residential integrated with large-scale retailers, such as Target, Barnes & Noble, Kroger and Lowe’s.

Sembler’s Edgewood Retail District is bringing big box retailers to urban Atlanta. The center, anchored by Target, Lowe’s, Best Buy, Barnes & Noble, Kroger and Bed Bath & Beyond, also has a multifamily component.

The brick-laden Main Street, the character-defining center of the development, will include approximately 45 small local and national retailers, including restaurants and coffee shops. Full-service retailers include EB Games, Stanton Designs, UPS Store, Digs Furniture Store, Rooms to Go Beds, SOLE Shoes, The Vitamin Shoppe and a Sprint Store. Residents will enjoy the convenience of services, such as banks and a dry cleaner, with the opening of Faith Barber Shop, Carriage Cleaners, Nail Talk, Wachovia Bank and Washington Mutual Bank. A variety of dining establishments also will be available, including Mama Fu’s Noodle House and Willy’s Mexicana Grill.

Additionally, 30 loft condos over stores on Main Street and 42 converted lofts in the historic Old Shoe Factory are key elements in the mixed-use character of the Edgewood Retail Center and will be ready for occupancy in August and September of this year.

Edgewood’s four-sided architecture that abuts closely to Moreland Avenue keeps the parking structure inside the center so that onlookers traveling down Moreland Avenue can enjoy window treatments and lighting fixtures that seem more in line with a town square atmosphere.

“Pedestrian accessibility and parkscape both are significant components to our projects,” says Jeff Fuqua, The Sembler Company’s president of development. “A lot of effort is being made to allow for residential and retail to co-exist.”

Sembler’s designs have been described as “innovative.” One reason for that is that many of the buildings are vertical, says Fuqua. “We’re also mixing large-scale retail with residential; I’m not sure I’ve seen that done anywhere. For example, a 60,000-foot Target store next to a 27-unit luxury high-rise is a bit unusual, but it’s in demand.”

Another unique feature of the Sembler developments is that you will not see a parking space from the road or any public space. There is either residential or retail fronting all streets. Thirty to 40 percent of the parking is stacked vertically to avoid the horizontal component. And the four-sided architecture and masonry designs match existing structures in the area.

Another Atlanta project for the company is Lindbergh Plaza, a redevelopment of an old Kmart-anchored center in the Buckhead area that is expected to kick-start a revitalization of the entire area. First known as Broadview Plaza and later as Lindbergh Plaza, the former Kmart-anchored shopping center was a community landmark for more than 25 years. As a new Sembler and NORO Broadview Holdings development, the 26-plus acre property will retain the Lindbergh name but will bring to the neighborhood a state-of-the-art, mixed-use development with high quality retail and a strong residential component.

The rebirth of Lindbergh Plaza will feature approximately 400,000 square feet of commercial space in a multi-level format that will include major national retailers like Target, Home Depot and Best Buy, as well as numerous neighborhood-scale shops. The Home Depot is relocating to the center from its current location at Georgia 400 and Sidney Marcus Boulevard, just across the street, with a new flagship store.

In addition, the development will include approximately 258 multifamily apartment units, located along Piedmont Road. Demolition of the old structures is well underway with all demolished materials being recycled on site to be re-used in the new development. Vertical construction will begin in the near future and is projected to take 16 months. Some stores will be ready to open as early as summer 2006, and the plaza is expected to be fully operational by late fall of that year. The residential development should be completed by early 2007.

Sembler is developing the 1 million-square-foot Perimeter Place, which will contain 450,000 square feet of retail and 550,000 square feet of residential space. Perimeter Place will be anchored by SuperTarget, Loehmann’s, Ross Dress For Less, Office Max, Drexel and Henredon; it also features restaurants including Mimi’s Café, Fleming’s, Bonehead’s, Chipotle, Outback Steakhouse and Carrabba’s.

Also under construction is the 1 million-square-foot, mixed-use Perimeter Place, located in the heart of the central Perimeter submarket of Atlanta, one of the most dynamic office, retail and residential submarkets in the southeastern United States. With 450,000 square feet of retail and 550,000 square feet of residential, Perimeter Place will be anchored by SuperTarget, Loehmann’s, Ross Dress For Less, Office Max, Drexel and Henredon. The center also will offer patrons and residents a variety of dining options, including Mimi’s Café, Fleming’s, Bonehead’s, Chipotle, Outback Steakhouse and Carrabba’s. Located on Perimeter Center West at Perimeter Center Parkway near Perimeter Mall, the project will have convenient access to I-285, Georgia 400, and the Sandy Springs and North Springs MARTA rapid transit stations. Perimeter Place is scheduled to open in early 2006.

©2005 France Publications, Inc. Duplication or reproduction of this article not permitted without authorization from France Publications, Inc. For information on reprints of this article contact Barbara Sherer at (630) 554-6054.