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From farmland in the early 1970s to a major economic center in Georgia and the Southeast today, Central Perimeter has evolved into the dominant office submarket in metro Atlanta and an employment center larger than the downtowns of Nashville, Charlotte or Jacksonville. A corporate hub, Central Perimeter contains the headquarters of nearly 50 companies, including four that are Fortune 500s.
During 2012, Central Perimeter also was the most active submarket in metro Atlanta, accounting for more than half of the region’s total office space absorption at 1.7 million square feet.
The largest lease transaction in metro Atlanta in 2012 was in Perimeter. State Farm opened a new customer service center in nearly 500,000 square feet of space in two buildings in Dunwoody, which created 500 jobs. Metro Atlanta’s largest office sale in 2012 was the $300 million purchase of the 2.1 million-square-foot Concourse Corporate Center that includes the landmark King and Queen buildings.
Additionally, Cox Enterprises added two buildings totaling 600,000 square feet to its Perimeter campus, delivering the largest office construction project last year.
Central Perimeter is maintaining this strong activity in 2013, with State Farm leasing nearly 200,000 square feet of additional office space, adding 800 jobs. Also, the restaurant chain Krystal moved its corporate headquarters from Chattanooga, Tenn., to Perimeter. Cox Enterprises has started construction on a third new building that will include 578,000 square feet.
The Perimeter market is also becoming a center of activity for the technology sector with corporate headquarters such as AirWatch (which recently announced an expansion of 700 jobs in Atlanta), Clearwave, SecureWorks, Elavon and First Data Corp. New hotels are also springing up in Perimeter. A full-service 173-room Hyatt is under construction near the Villa Christina restaurant and conference center, and Starwood recently opened a 275-room LeMeridien boutique hotel in a $20 million refurbished space. Plans have been announced for a 250-room hotel at Georgia 400 and Abernathy Road and a Hampton Inn & Suites on Ashford Dunwoody Road.
Companies say they like Perimeter’s amenities: the largest concentration of medical facilities in metro Atlanta, a live-work-play urban environment with upscale housing near jobs, the state’s second largest shopping mall and quality dining and hotel options.
Another important driver for the market’s success is transportation. Perimeter’s central location in the region near major interstates, the ability to easily get to Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport and the availability of public transit (three MARTA stations with two more nearby) are cited as critical for recruiting skilled, educated employees from throughout the metro area.
“MARTA is a secret weapon” for Perimeter, said David Dabbiere, chief operating officer of AirWatch, during a recent panel discussion about Perimeter’s information technology and dot-com industries. Perimeter Business Alliance organized the meeting. Of the mobile management provider’s 1,200 employees worldwide, 800 are located in Perimeter. Dabbiere added that MARTA is especially desirable for retaining the company’s young workforce — typically 23- to 24-year-olds.
MARTA is also popular with AutoTrader.com employees, said another panelist David Spotts, director of facilities and corporate services at AutoTrader.com. Many employees take advantage of a free shuttle the company operates to take employees back and forth each day to transit stations. AutoTrader.com consolidated its operations into 450,000 square feet of space in Central Perimeter two years ago and has already run out of space, according to Spotts.
Early on, Perimeter business and government leaders embraced transit for the area and have continued to support its use through a variety of incentives for employees. Business leaders also formed the Central (DeKalb) Perimeter Community Improvement District in 1999 and the Fulton Perimeter Community Improvement District in 2001 to make transportation infrastructure improvements. Branded as the PCIDs, they are funded by additional property taxes voluntarily paid by commercial property owners in the 4.2 square mile core of the Central Perimeter Market, where most corporate activity is located. In cooperation with local stakeholders, the PCIDs developed a Livable Centers Initiative master plan for Perimeter, updated every five years, that includes ways to improve traffic congestion. By implementing internal connectivity and mobility infrastructure improvements as well as external access improvements to the market, the PCIDs are helping keep the market competitive.
The PCIDs have partnered with the Georgia Department of Transportation, the State Road and Tollway Authority and local city and county governments to deliver the Hammond Half Diamond Interchange, a new gateway to the market at Georgia State Route 400; Georgia’s first Diverging Diamond Interchange at the major I-285 and Ashford Dunwoody Road gateway; and the Perimeter Center Parkway “flyover” bridge over I-285 that connects the southern and northern portions of the market.
The PCIDs have also added miles of sidewalks, bike lanes and pedestrian crosswalks and have completed roadways improvements that incorporate the PCIDs’ design to safely serve pedestrians, cyclists and motorists. And, we are working to improve access to our area MARTA stations by adding a mid-block crossing and commuter trail, and are developing green space and an inner-Perimeter trolley-like circulator.
A sister organization founded in 1997, the Perimeter Transportation Sustainability Coalition, also works to improve access to the market by encouraging businesses to create van and carpools for their employees, promote walking and bicycling and offer a transit discount program.
— Yvonne Williams, president and CEO, Perimeter Community Improvement Districts