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COVER STORY, OCTOBER 2005
ATLANTA'S NEWEST COMMUNITY
Atlantic Station brings new shopping, living, dining and working opportunities to Midtown Atlanta.
Julie F. Hunt
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The Art Foundry condominiums are just one multifamily component of Atlantic Station, the 138-acre mixed-use community opening in Midtown Atlanta in October.
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Atlantic Station has stirred interest in the commercial real estate industry for more than 5 years. The very idea of the project — the redevelopment of a former steel mill site into a 138-acre mixed-use community — was difficult for some to imagine. But co-developers Jacoby Development Inc. and AIG Global Real Estate Investment Corporation had a vision for what the blighted area could become, and on October 20, they will celebrate the grand opening of Atlantic Station, a true live/work/shop community that is revitalizing Atlanta's Midtown area. How It All Began
Located on the site of the former Atlantic Steel Mill at the nexus of interstates 75 and 85, Atlantic Station has a unique history.
The origin of the Atlantic Station site dates back to 1901, when Atlantic Steel was founded as the Atlanta Steel Hoop Company, which manufactured cotton bale ties and barrel hoops. It was reorganized into the Atlantic Steel Company in 1915 and expanded its lines over the years. In 1979, Atlantic Steel was acquired by Ivaco Inc., a publicly traded company headquartered in Montreal, Canada. In May 1997, Atlanta-based Jacoby Development Inc. reached an agreement to buy the Atlantic Steel site from Ivaco. On December 31, 1998, the Atlantic Steel Mill ceased operations. Deconstruction of the steel mill began in July 1999, and environmental remediation began that fall.
When complete, Atlantic Station will offer 6 million square feet of Class A office space, 3,000 to 5,000 residential units, 1.5 million square feet of retail and entertainment space, and 1,000 hotel rooms in at least three hotels. An underground 7,000-space parking garage will accommodate residents, shoppers and office workers.
Where to Shop
“The retail tenant mix is definitely unique to Atlanta,” says Brian Leary, vice president of Atlantic Station LLC. “Dillard's, Publix, Regal Cinemas, and fashion tenants like Gap, Jos. A Bank, Banana Republic — we really went out of our way on the tenanting to provide different options depending on what you need over the course of any day.”
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Atlantic Station is located on the site of the former Atlantic Steel Mill at the nexus of interstates 75 and 85 in Midtown Atlanta.
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At three stories and 225,000 square feet, the Dillard's store is the retailer's first foray inside Interstate 285, which is known as Atlanta's perimeter. “Dillard's understands their role as the department store in the central business district and the city of Atlanta,” says Leary. “They want to become that store — the place you drop in at lunch, and the place you go on the weekends.” The store's architecture is impressive, with canopies and brick and glass exterior. Traditionally a regional-mall anchor, Dillard's Atlantic Station location will structure its merchandising differently from its other stores based on the demographics of the area. Publix is opening an urban prototype store at Atlantic Station; it will cater to people who will stop in daily for lunch and those who will shop for groceries several times a week.
Regal Cinemas is opening a 16-screen, stadium-seating theater in Atlantic Station. “It has the potential to be the theater for Atlanta,” says Leary. “Some folks will bypass their local theater for the movie experience here.” Features include a sidewalk box office, glass atrium lobby and large seats.
Other retailers of note include three furniture stores, West Elm, IKEA and Z Gallerie, as well as other homegoods retailers like Pier 1 Imports and Metropolitan Deluxe. Leary describes West Elm, a division of Williams-Sonoma, as a furniture store that is “high-end but accessible.” The Atlantic Station location will be West Elm's seventh in the country.
Swedish furniture retailer IKEA opened a 366,000-square-foot store in July 2005 in the far west section of Atlantic Station. “This has been IKEA's most successful store opening in the United States,” says John Whitaker, managing director of AIG Global Real Estate Investment Corporation. The nearest IKEA is located in Northern Virginia, so residents from across the Southeast are taking advantage of the store's new Atlanta location. “Because it will draw people from the Carolinas, Tennessee and Alabama, IKEA will benefit the other retailers, restaurants and hotels in the project,” notes Whitaker.
The urban setting of Atlantic Station is also new for IKEA: its other stores are in suburban areas, with large parking lots to accommodate shoppers. “Here, most of the parking is under the store,” explains Leary. “That says a lot about IKEA's desire to be in the city of Atlanta and part of something like Atlantic Station.”
Where to Live
“The promise of convenient retail is creating a premium for the [residential] units,” says Whitaker. Beazer Homes' townhomes sold out before they were built; TWELVE, Novare Group and Wood Partners' condominium/hotel, also has met with great success.
“What's amazing is, these are all pre-construction figures,” Leary notes. “People have been buying into the vision.” Atlantic Station residents will enjoy such pedestrian-friendly amenities as sidewalks and a nearby park, features that aren't available to most in-town residents.
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The Commons area of Atlantic Station features a 2-acre lake and a park that will include an amphitheater for small outdoor concerts. Apartments, townhomes and condominiums will surround the park area.
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“By early next year, more than 2,000 people will be living in Atlantic Station,” says Leary. There are 400 units at Twelve, 300-plus lofts above the retail and about 1,200 units around The Commons park. At full build-out, more than 10,000 people will call Atlantic Station home. For more information on the residential development at Atlantic Station, please see the sidebars on pages 98 and 100. Where to Work
Hardin Construction completed the District's first office tower, the 171 17th Street Building, in 2004. The 21-story, 500,000-square-foot tower boasts such tenants as Wachovia Bank, Arnall Golden Gregory, Burr & Forman, Carter and Jacoby Development Inc.
In July 2005, the 171 17th Street Building was awarded Silver certification in the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Core and Shell Development program by the U.S. Green Building Council. The building is the first LEED Silver-Core & Shell-certified high-rise office building in the world and the first high-rise office building in Georgia to receive any LEED certification.
Atlantic Station's site plan contains spaces for additional office buildings, all of which will contain ground-floor retail.
Community Impact
“What we've tried to do in the architecture and street-scaping is create a sense of authenticity and a place that has some semblance of soul,” says Leary. “We got our own zip code (30363), and we really want that zip code to be associated with a certain quality of life that has an environmental sustainability component, that has a community-focused component.”
The emphasis on community is evident in the grand opening festivities, which will benefit a series of charities. “This is something that will be consistent throughout all of the things we do,” says Leary. “To make sure that we're not only creating our own community, but reaching out to the greater Atlanta community for the needs that are out there.”
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Novare Group is launching a new concept, TWELVE, which combines residential condominiums with hotel features and amenities. TWELVE not only brings the first hotel component to Atlantic Station, but also it represents the first high-rise residential project within the development. In addition, the hotel/condominium includes ground-floor retail, a restaurant and a ballroom.
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Novare Group and Wood Partners are developing TWELVE, a new hotel/condominium concept.
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“The idea of joining hotels and condominiums usually has been associated with the luxury brand of the hotel segment,” says Jim Veil, president of TWELVE Hotels and Residences. “We've combined our expertise of understanding the urban market, which is a younger market, and designed a project tailored to that, thus creating a whole new concept.”
The 26-story high-rise includes 380 condominiums, located on floors seven through 26, and 101 hotel units, situated on floors two through six. The first level features a restaurant and a ballroom, in addition to common fitness and pool areas that are available to both hotel guests and condo residents. The retail will include four or five tenants that, according to Veil, will complement the retail in Atlantic Station as well as provide specific services for residents and guests of TWELVE.
“By combining the hotel concept embedded in the condominium building, TWELVE offers amenities for both residents and guests, which creates a unique mixed-use lifestyle within itself,” Veil notes. “Our concept for TWELVE is contemporary, casual and comfortable. In addition, this is an urban development in an urban setting, and the design reflects that; we want to be a focal point on the Atlantic Station skyline on the outside, and on the inside we want to provide the residents and the hotel guests with exceptional views and view corridors to all points of Atlanta.”
Smallwood, Reynolds, Stewart & Stewart designed this project, R.J. Griffin & Company served as general contractor, and Wood Partners has joined Novare Group in its development. The ballroom and restaurant are scheduled to deliver in December, and the hotel is anticipating a February 2006 opening. The first residents will move in before year-end, with the balance of them occupying units next year.
“As an entity, TWELVE brings another element of residential to Atlantic Station, and it also brings the development its first hotel component,” Veil says. “From our perspective, not only is this site a great place to locate, but we think it's a perfect launching pad for our new concept; we're very excited about it.”
— Dan Marcec |
Atlantic Stations' Retail Roster
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IKEA's Atlantic Station location, which opened in July 2005, has been the retailer's most successful store opening in the United States.
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The retail and restaurant tenant roster boasts national, regional and local stores. Jones Lang LaSalle recently was named the leasing and management agent for Atlantic Station's retail district. Here are just some of the stores you can find in Atlantic Station.
American Eagle Outfitters
Ann Taylor Loft
Atlantic Cleaners & Tailors
Banana Republic
Bath & Body Works
California Pizza Kitchen
Chaplin's Jewelry
Cingular Wireless
City Sports
Claddagh Irish Pub
Copeland's Cheesecake Bistro
Dillard's
Doc Green's
DSW
Express / Express Men
Eye Gallery
FOX Sports Grill
Gap
The Grape
GUESS?
IKEA
Jos. A. Bank Clothiers
Mama Fu's Noodle House
Metropolitan Deluxe
Moe's Southwest Grill
Old Navy
Pier 1 Imports
PJ's Coffee and Wine Bar
Publix
Regal Cinemas
Ritz Camera
Rosa Mexicano
Strip Steaks & Sushi
Tahitian Noni Café
Victoria's Secret
Washington Mutual
West Elm
White House Black Market
Z Gallerie |
Multifamily Component Takes Off Within Atlantic Station
Within a large mixed-use project, careful juxtaposition of property types is instrumental to that development's success. Atlanta-based Lane Company understands this concept, and in developing a large portion of Atlantic Station's residential component, the company has provided a calculated variety of housing. At present, Lane Company already has six multifamily projects within Atlantic Station, two of which are already complete, allowing residents to enjoy the new development from its earliest stages.
Phase I of Lane Company's development included Park District Apartments, a four-story, 231-unit, mixed-income rental community, and the Art Foundry condominiums, a 347-unit property located opposite Park District. Both of these projects are complete; Park District currently is 93 percent occupied and Art Foundry has sold all of its units.
The other four residential projects that Lane Company is developing all are underway. Phase II consists of Icon Apartments, a $31 million project consisting of one- and two-bedroom units, and “element” Condominiums, a $55 million, 322-unit property; both are scheduled to be complete in 2006. In addition, Atlantic Station's student housing community, The Flats, and ATL Lofts, which are located in six buildings above the retail component, both are scheduled to deliver in the summer of 2006. The Flats features 86 student housing units, and ATL Lofts includes 303 total units.
“In general, Atlantic Station is in a great location, and there's a lot of high energy in it,” says Joel Brockmann, development director for Lane Investment and Development Corporation. “We've worked really hard to vary the styles and the project types to appeal to a broad range of folks. Since we've hit a lot of different market segments, we've had great success with our developments.”
Brockmann concedes that Lane Company is very excited to be involved on the ground level with Atlantic Station. However, developing properties before the grand opening proved to be challenging. He explains that before the streets were open, communicating with the public was a challenge because people did not have access to the properties they planned to purchase. Now that the streets are open, logistically, construction has been more difficult. On top of that, a setback occurred recently at “element,” where a fire ensued and destroyed 45 units of wood framing in addition to damaging the adjacent parking deck.
“Certainly the fire was a tragedy, but we're thankful that no one was hurt,” Brockmann says. “It slowed our construction 3 to 4 months, but we can buy more wood framing and put it back up. The most interesting thing about the fire is that in cases of such a tragedy, usually people will call to cancel their contracts, yet we had none of that; every single buyer has stuck with us, so of course we're happy with that, but I think that underscores the quality of the project and the success of Atlantic Station as well.”
In addition to Lane Company's developments, Beazer Homes also has constructed residences in Atlantic Station. The three-story, 56-unit Beazer townhomes have been occupied since as early as August 2003. Beazer also has developed the two-story Beazer single-family attached homes, which include 34 units designed to blend with the townhomes; this project was fully complete in March 2005. Both of these projects are located just off 16th Street near the Interstate 75/85 connector.
— Dan Marcec |
Key Players
In addition to Jacoby Development and AIG, the following companies are part of the Atlantic Station team:
Beazer Homes USA
C.W. Matthews Contracting
Lane Companies
MACTEC
Novare Group and Wood Partners
Phillips Partnership
R.J. Griffin & Company
Vratsinas Construction Company
Wakefield Beasley & Associates |
©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.
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