Savannah Duncan
Though Atlanta is still recovering from The Great Recession, there are signs of life in the market as several development and redevelopment projects are underway. “We lost a significant number of jobs and Georgia suffered more bank failures (79) than any other state in the nation,” said Amanda Rhein, senior project manager of redevelopment at Invest Atlanta, the official economic development authority for the City of Atlanta. “We’ve come a long way and are really happy to finally start talking about some positive developments.”
Rhein’s comments came last Wednesday at the Urban Land Institute’s “Development — Here We Go Again!” panel. The discussion, which was moderated by Rhein, included Steve Baile, senior vice president of Atlanta operations at Daniel Corp.; Ben Brunt, principal with Noble Investment Group; Eric Weatherholtz, co-founder of Healey Weatherholtz Properties, and Bob Voyles, CEO of Seven Oaks Co.
Each panelist took the opportunity to discuss a development project that is currently underway or planned in the city of Atlanta.
77 12th
In Midtown, Daniel Corp. is currently working on the $82 million 77 12th, a mixed-use retail and residential development located on the corner of 12th Street and Crescent Avenue. Northwestern Mutual is the equity partner and lender for the development, which will include 330 apartment units, as well as 20,000 square feet of street-level retail.
“One of the reasons we are so vested in Midtown is we love the fundamentals of the institutional capital that follows Midtown,” Baile said. “The ability to draw capital really helps validate a project like this getting off the ground.”
Baile says amenities are very important to the company, and 77 12th doesn’t disappoint. The building will feature a 5,000-square-foot fitness center, a sports club with a pool table and poker room, a swimming pool and several private dining and grilling areas. The first units are slated to be available in April 2013.
The project is considered the most recent phase of the $1 billion 12th & Midtown mixed-use development, which already includes condo and retail development 1010 Midtown, the 414-room Loews Atlanta Hotel, and 1065 and 1075 Peachtree, two office towers anchored by retail space. Daniel Corp. secured several equity partners for the project, which include Selig Enterprises, Canyon-Johnson Urban Funds and Metropolitan Life Insurance Co.; with Citicorp USA, Hypo Real Estate Capital Corp. and Northwestern Mutual providing financing.
Hyatt Atlanta Midtown
Also in Midtown, Noble Investment Group plans to start construction in July on a $21.5 million renovation of the former 191-room Hotel Midtown — Atlanta. Following completion in May or June of next year, the hotel will be re-flagged at the Hyatt Atlanta Midtown.
“This property will be a dominant, transit-oriented hotel in Midtown,” Brunt said. “We’ll compete with Midtown Suites, the former Palomar hotel, now the Renaissance, and TWELVE Atlantic Station. Our goal is not to be a meeting place, but to really serve the upper tier demand.”
The company acquired the property in November 2011 from CW Capital for $16 million. The exterior renovation will include removal of the brick exterior and the addition of a fiber cement panel system. The interior work will include the creation of three new rooms from dysfunctional meeting space, addition of a ballroom and a complete lobby renovation.
Shops Around Lenox
In 2009, Healey Weatherholtz and Alex. Brown Realty acquired the 126,000-square-foot Shops Around Lenox, a hidden shopping center gem located in the heart of Atlanta’s Buckhead submarket, adjacent to Lenox Square.
“We had a basic plan of a modest renovation, then once we go into it and started talking to retailers in earnest, we got the indication that we could get some of the best-in-class merchants out there with more capital,” Weatherholtz said. Pearlmark stepped forward to provide financing for the project.
The joint venture had a vision to take the open-air center, which was originally built in the 1970s, and redevelop it to have a more streetscape feel with 25 individual storefronts. “It’s an open-air component to the fortress-enclosed malls [in the area],” Weatherholtz added.
Today, the center is leased to more high-end local and national tenants, which include Cosabella, lululemon, Fab’rik, Paper Source, Tootsis, Swank, Roche Bobois, Deka and Bill Hallman. Additionally, Crate & Barrel moved out of Lenox Square in March to anchor the center.
The redevelopment started in 2011. The last phase, which includes redevelopment of a freestanding building adjoining the Westin and facing Neiman Marcus, is slated for completion in September. It will include a double-height storefront for fashion retailers as well as an elevated restaurant space for Dantanna’s. Public art, including a piece by muralist Hense, and upgraded open-air gathering space are part of the scope, Weatherholtz added.
Times Square South
Times Square South is a proposed development in the Luckie Marietta District in Midtown. The mixed-use building would include 350,000 square feet of office space, 60,000 square feet of retail, restaurant and entertainment space, and 600 parking spaces. Seven Oaks Co. and Legacy Property Group formed a joint venture in 2011 to develop the project. Cooper Carry designed the property.
“We’ve had a lot of interest in the retail space, some in the office space, but we haven’t begun an active marketing campaign, which we are about to do,” Voyles said. The office portion would be geared toward attracting social media and technology firms.
“Our goal is to provide a venue where these folks can come to Atlanta and be in the center of the most exciting entertainment area in the city,” Voyles saids. “We are working hard with the Georgia Department of Economic Development and Invest Atlanta to make this project a reality.”
— Savannah Duncan