City Realty Accomplishments

Big plans cooking for West Midtown restaurant site, adjacent land

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Two buildings with mixed uses pitched where Six Feet Under, other businesses operate now

 

A package of properties that’s been marketed as the “last prime development opportunity in West Midtown” appears to have a taker.

CRG, the real estate investment and development arm of Chicago-based Clayco, is looking to break into the intown Atlanta market with a two-building 11th Street project that would replace longstanding restaurant Six Feet Under Pub and Fish House and other businesses, the Atlanta Business Chronicle reports.

CRG has filed for building permits to construct a mix of multifamily units, commercial spaces, and offices that would add to an influx of large-scale development that’s transformed the Howell Mill Road corridor and surrounding blocks in recent years.

Plans call for 344,900 square feet of residential uses in one building. The other would be a 277,000-square-foot stack of offices.

For context, the office building would be slightly smaller, in terms of square footage, than 287,000-square-foot Star Metals Offices next door. Nearby, Interlock’s phase-one office building totals about 200,000 square feet.

Also included in the mix would be 27,400 square feet of street-level retail.

Courtesy of City Realty Advisors

CRG is asking the city to rezone the site from industrial uses to one that allows for a blend of commercial and residential space, MRC-3. As the ABC notes, CRG is known for building student housing, so it’s possible the residential component would be devoted to students at nearby Georgia Tech.

Dotted with low-rise buildings, the site in question collectively spans about 1.7 acres, or 74,000 square feet, on 11th Street between the booming Howell Mill corridor and Northside Drive. It’s comprised of four contiguous parcels.

The Six Feet Under restaurant location, at bottom left, and other buildings on site, with a backdrop of recent development that’s claimed underutilized or vacant land. Courtesy of City Realty Advisors

Immediately to the west is the 15-story Star Metals Offices building, part of the Star Metals District that’s slated to expand, beginning next month, across properties just south of 11th Street, too.

The Interlock development, also currently expanding, has consumed acreage to the north.

CRG has yet to buy the land in question. The property is listed with City Realty Advisors, but an asking price hasn’t been specified.

Six Feet Under, a laidback restaurant and pub, originated in Grant Park and opened its 11th Street location near Georgia Tech about 15 years ago, but owners announced planslast year to relocate those operations to Cheshire Bridge Road, in the former ROXX Tavern. Property records indicate an LLC associated with Six Feet Under owns the 11th Street property, having paid $1.2 million for the loft-style building and adjacent parking in 2006.

Other businesses on site now include recording studio 11th Street Studios, a picture frame shop, and digital printing service Doc-Qmax. City Realty reps have previously said the other buildings are also owned by their users.

The site, as sellers noted in 2022 listings, includes a strong 85 Walk Score today and could soon count Tishman Speyer’s redevelopment of Compound nightclub, Star Metals’ second phase, and more projects as neighbors, ostensibly upping the area’s walkability.

 

 

JANUARY 24, 2023, 12:06PM

By JOSH GREEN

Urbanize Atlanta

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UPDATE: Veil lifts on restaurant, retail conversion overlooking Piedmont Park

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Plans call for replacing longstanding Skate Escape corner building with BBQ eatery-retail combo

 

[UPDATE: 1 September 14, 8:32 a.m. Midtown Alliance has shared the first visuals for the adaptive-reuse 12th & Everything proposal (see above and below) across the street from a main Piedmont Park entrance, as presented to the Midtown Development Review Committee on Tuesday. Plans call for a third DAS BBQ location in Atlanta with a building conversion heavy on rooftop and street-level patio space, while the currently shuttered building next door on Piedmont Avenue would see a mix of retail and conference space—potentially Skate Escape and a coffee option, per renderings.

[UPDATE 2: The development team shares these additional details in a press release today, with another rendering included below. The full project is expected to open in mid-2023: “Made of stone and cedar, the design of the 2,315-square-foot building at 1084 Piedmont [Avenue] will draw inspiration from Piedmont Park, housing a restaurant downstairs and an 800-square-foot, upstairs dining terrace with a gable-covered bar overlooking the park. The terrace will also be available for private events. Next door, the 1094 building will be around 1,500 square feet and feature the iconic, historic skate shop Skate Escape fronted by a new coffee shop called PMA Coffee.”]

Midtown’s roster of restaurant and retail offerings along the fringes of Piedmont Park could be in for a boost.

A concept called 12th & Everything is formulating plans to convert longstanding business Skate Escape and an adjacent brick structure into a business that melds outdoor dining with retail and conference spaces, according to Midtown Alliance.

The buildings in question stand at the northwest corner of 12th Street and Piedmont Avenue, across the street from a primary entrance to Piedmont Park, a new Shake Shack location, and Willy’s Mexicana Grill.

Smallwood

The 1084 and 1094 Piedmont Avenue building locations in relation to the western edges of the park. Google Maps

Plans presented Tuesday for the 12th & Everything adaptive-reuse project near a main Piedmont Park entrance. Smallwood/DAS BBQ, via Midtown Alliance

Skate Escape has operated on that corner since 1979 as the “oldest roller skate and skateboard shop” in Atlanta, per the business’ website, but has been offered for sale in recent years as its owners pondered retirement.

The neighboring brick structure, located immediately to the north, was once part of the skate shop business but has been shuttered for several years.

Instead of demolishing the buildings, plans call for adaptively reusing and expanding them as 12th & Everything.

How both buildings in question front Piedmont Avenue. Google Maps

The current Skate Escape structure at 1084 Piedmont Avenue—long a hub of rental bikes—would be expanded by about 940 square feet to create a new restaurant space that spans 2,315 square feet overall.

That would include a new 800-square-foot, canopied rooftop and a patio at sidewalk level for dining, according to a Midtown Development Review Committee agenda for Tuesday’s monthly meeting.

Next door, plans call for fully renovating the 1094 Piedmont Avenue building to create 1,486 square feet of retail and conference space, per Midtown Alliance.

Skate Escape’s longstanding corner-lot location. Google Maps

Between the buildings, a new translucent canopy would be installed, connecting to each rooftop. Below that, “significant hardscape and landscaping improvements” would serve to beautify the spaces, per the agenda. Parking would be offered nearby in what’s described as a “shared parking arrangement.”

Applicants include representatives of the Smallwood architecture firm, Genesis Engineering, and Stephen Franklin of DAS BBQ, per Midtown Alliance.

 

SEPTEMBER 14, 2022, 7:44AM

By JOSH GREEN

Urbanize Atlanta

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Near East Lake Golf Club, mixed-use Ella project debuts

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More than 200 rentals and retail are delivering near Publix, Drew Charter School

Leasing efforts are underway at a mixed-use project that continues a surge of new living options in a pocket of DeKalb County that’s lagged other eastside areas in terms of growth.

Situated between East Atlanta and the storied East Lake Golf Club, Perennial Properties’ Ella is the largest of a handful of residential projects to crop up near the Glenwood Avenue corridor. The property had been a vacant lot for well over a decade.

According to plans obtained last year, Ella is bringing 230 apartments, 10,000 square feet of retail, and office space to 2201 Glenwood Avenue, as designed by Dynamik Design architects.

Ella’s apartments range from studios up to a unique seven-bedroom option (yes, seven). Four retail spaces have been slotted in next to the Publix at East Lake.

The Ella project’s location just south of Charlie Yates Golf Course and Drew Charter School campuses, with East Lake Golf Club at right. It joins a growth spurt of other mixed-use and single-family home ventures in the area. 

Communal amenities include a pool with sun shelf, media wall with outdoor TVs, a game room, a rec area with cornhole, a clubhouse with a bar near the pool, and a requisite pet spa, among other features.

The apartments include quartz countertops, keyless entry, stainless-steel appliances, vinyl floors described as “luxury,” and carpeting called “plush.”

How the East Lake site looked prior to construction, five years ago.

The community’s entrance near the East Lake Publix.

Rents at Ella begin at $1,405 monthly for pint-sized studios with 464 square feet. One-bedroom options begin at $1,605 monthly, and two-bedrooms at $2,215.

The seven-bedroom, Real World-esque co-living space has more than 3,200 square feet across two levels. As with the three-bedroom options, the co-living space isn’t listed as being available yet.

Like the Publix next door, another perk of the location is quick proximity (walkability?) to two golf courses, including the Charlie Yates links across the street.

The Ella lobby.

Where four retail spaces are available near the Publix parking lot at Ella. Perennial Properties

The activity continues a push by developers and homebuilders southeast of Atlanta into DeKalb County, just beyond the neighborhood limits of East Atlanta, Kirkwood, Gresham Park, and East Lake, among other communities.

Immediately south of Ella, Columbia Ventures has built 108 affordable and market-rate townhomes, garden apartments, and villas in a project called Gardenside at The Villages of East Lake along Fayetteville Road.

Developed in conjunction with Purpose Built Communities, that gated complex includes a playground and priority placement at Drew Charter School for residents with K-12 children. Options range from one to three-bedroom residences, per Columbia Ventures.

Just south of both sites, Urban Craft Homes built and sold out a community of 35 single-family homes called The Forest at East Lake, also along Fayetteville Road. Situated beside a creek on 10 acres, those houses were priced from the low $400,000s.

All of the above could seem like small potatoes if Perennial Properties’ plans to transform 12 acres of grassy fields into a mixed community with nearly 300 apartments and townhomes come to fruition nearby.

Called the Bag Factory, that project is planned along 2nd Avenue, about two blocks south of East Lake Golf Club’s Hole 4. The site has been empty for decades, developers have previously said.

JUNE 16, 2022, 9:24AM

By JOSH GREEN

Urbanize Atlanta

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First look: Mixed-use community planned for sprawling eastside field

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Proposal would blend townhomes, retail, apartments at site near East Lake Golf Club

Another major development is in the works within a circa-1997 Tiger Woods’ drive of one of metro Atlanta’s most storied golf courses.

Roughly two blocks south of East Lake Golf Club’s Hole 4, Perennial Properties is seeking to rezone a large grassy field into a classification that would allow for nearly 300 new residences and other uses set around a new public greenspace in unincorporated DeKalb County.

Situated along 2nd and Alexander avenues, across the street from Donald Trimble Mortuary, the three parcels in question are collectively known as the Bag Factory Site. The land, spanning about 11.7 acres, has been empty for decades, according to developers.

Location of the 2nd Avenue properties in relation to downtown Atlanta and East Lake Golf Club.

The developer is seeking to downzone the site to multifamily residential (MR-2) from its current commercial and industrial designations. Perennial hosted three community meetings about the project in February.

The proposed Bag Factory development would include 237 apartments in two four-story buildings, 44 rental townhomes (two stories atop garages), and two street-level retail slots with about 5,000 square feet of space.

A public-accessible village green with a central pavilion would act as the heart of the community, spanning about 32,000 square feet.

Glenwood Avenue—where Perennial is building another mixed-use venture next to a Publix—is located about a quarter mile to the north. Options for pedestrian access between the Bag Factory development and Publix are being explored, per the development team.

The Bag Factory’s apartments would all be market-rate, with none reserved as affordable housing. In a rezoning application, developers did point out that only about 30 percent of rentals would be two or three-bedroom apartments, with the others intended to be more affordable, smaller units—either studios or one-bedrooms.

“While the proposed development will not have a lot of units to accommodate large families,” wrote Perennial’s legal reps, “it will provide housing opportunities for young professionals and empty-nesters.”

Any timeline for construction isn’t clear. An inquiry to Harold Buckley, at attorney representing the project, hadn’t been returned as of press time.

Around the corner on Glenwood Avenue, next to the Publix entrance, Perennial is developing a four-building, mixed-use project called simply East Lake.

That venture, also designed by the Dynamik Design firm, includes 230 apartments and 10,000 square feet of retail, in addition to office space.

Immediately south of that construction site, Columbia Ventures and Purpose Built Communities recently developed 108 affordable and market-rate townhomes, garden apartments, and villas in a project called Gardenside at The Villages of East Lake along Fayetteville Road.

The gated complex includes a playground and priority placement at Drew Charter School for residents with K-12 children.

Founded in 1988, Perennial has developed and operated more than 20 sites around Atlanta, per the company’s rezoning application.

 

By Josh Green

Urbanize Atlanta

APRIL 06, 2022

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Affordability initiative to protect historic Midtown apartment building

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Renovation of Winnwood Apartments, a Georgian Revival-style landmark from 1931, to include more housing, micro units

A restoration project in Midtown’s northern blocks is aiming to be a win-win for both historic preservation and affordable housing in a prominent Atlanta location.

Built in 1931, the Winnwood Apartments have been the subject of redevelopment talks for more than two years. The two-story brick structure at 1460 West Peachtree Street —built in a Georgian Revival-style by the once-prominent Atlanta firm H.W. Nicholes and Sons—reflects popular residential architecture from the early to mid-20th century.

According to preservation organization Easements Atlanta, it’s one of the last examples of this architecture style left standing in the city.

The Winnwood Apartments’ West Peachtree Street entry and courtyard today, prior to full renovations. Photography by Above Visuals; courtesy of GBX Group, Urban Landings

GBX Group has partnered with Easements Atlanta, along with developer Urban Landings, to refurbish and reconfigure the 90-year-old property into roughly 50 units—all micro apartments and one-bedrooms.

Previously, Winnwood Apartments were all two or three-bedrooms units, officials tell Urbanize Atlanta.

“This project won’t have a dedicated affordable component, per se,” Urban Landings cofounder Bobby Gibson wrote via email. “Instead, it will attempt to tackle affordability by building efficient spaces with A Class finishes at a discount to new A Class developments.”

Photography by Above Visuals; courtesy of GBX Group, Urban Landings

Atlanta development wonks may recall the landmark building and surrounding property were once controlled by Tenth Street Ventures. When four of that company’s managing partners split off to form Urban Landings in 2021, the Winnwood Apartments transferred with them, Gibson said.

Urban Landings succeed in earning a spot for the property on the National Register of Historic Places last year. That enabled developers to access historic tax credits that are helping to make the project financially viable, officials said.

The redevelopment team expects to wrap construction on Winnwood Apartments in the fourth quarter of this year. Cameron Pimm, Urban Landings chief operating officer, said it’s too early at this point to say what rents might be.

The goal, said Pimm, is to provide “quality housing at an achievable price point for the ever-expanding workforce.”

The building in the context of northern Midtown, as seen two years ago. City Realty Advisors

Winnwood’s new ownership group also donated a façade easement to Easements Atlanta. According to project leaders, that move will ensure the complex’s exterior design is permanently protected while making the project eligible for more tax incentives.

Ian Michael Rogers, Easements Atlanta’s president, said the Midtown apartments help “offer a deep connection to our city’s story” in a recent announcement. Drew Sparacia, CBX’s CEO, added that today’s real estate climate favors demolition and new construction, but that chasing quick dollars could pay fewer dividends in the long run.

“Those buildings, many with rich architecture and ties to their local communities, offer untold economic and socioeconomic potential for all community stakeholders if rehabbed correctly,” said Sparacia. “We’ve seen it time and time again across the country. And we’re confident that we’ll see it with this [Midtown] project.”

The building’s Georgian Revival-style facade and courtyard today.Photography by Above Visuals; courtesy of GBX Group, Urban Landings

JANUARY 27, 2022, 2:15PM

By JOSH GREEN

Urbanize Atlanta

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In Midtown, a merger with the old and new at a 90-year-old apartment building

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The Winnwood Apartments are located in Midtown, at the merger of Peachtree and West Peachtree streets.
The Winnwood Apartments are located in Midtown, at the merger of Peachtree and West Peachtree streets.

An 90-year-old apartment building in Midtown may become the latest example of multifamily landlords opening their doors to Airbnb.

Atlanta real estate investor and developer Tenth Street Ventures bought The Winnwood, a nearly 1-acre property at 1460 West Peachtree Street near its connection with Peachtree and just north of office towers such as Pershing Park Plaza, the current home of the law firm Jones Day.

No sales price was given, and the transaction for The Winnwood was not available in Fulton County property records. The brick mid-rise building, which features Neoclassical Revival architecture, dates back to 1930.

The property had been owned by the same family for decades, part of the dwindling and still relatively affordable stock of older apartments that remain in the city. For now, most of the units have been vacated.

Tenth Street plans to renovate The Winnwood, taking it from 26 units to 48.
Tenth Street plans to renovate The Winnwood, taking it from 26 units to 48.

The Winnwood could follow the model of another recent Tenth Street Ventures project in Midtown, where it allows tenants to rent out their units as Airbnbs. It has rebranded that property on Piedmont Avenue as “Studio9Forty.”

 It’s an example of a national trend of apartment owners working with companies that rent out apartments to travelers. Brian McCarthy, a principal with Tenth Street, said it shows the lines between multifamily properties and hotels are starting to blur.

“Residential living is changing,” he said. “The multifamily owners are looking at getting into hotels, and the boutique hotel owners are trying to get into multifamily.”

Tenth Street plans to renovate The Winnwood, taking it from 26 units to 48. First, though, it will apply to receive historic designation for the apartments. It said it is evaluating the best way to redevelop the building, while preserving the Neoclassical Revival exterior.

McCarthy said the goal is to restore The Winnwood “to its historic glory.”

The project has been a landmark in north Midtown for decades. The Whitehead family owned a house previously on the site. The property then remained in the family until the death of Cecil S. Whitehead a few years ago.

The Winnwood Apartments at 1460 West Peachtree Street will be designated as historic.

The Winnwood Apartments at 1460 West Peachtree Street will be designated as historic.

Tim Holdroyd and Nik Hatzis with City Realty brokered the sale of The Winnwood. The lender is LendingOne. Andrew Braden and Mathew Braden of Braden Fellman Group are also partnering on the project.

Tenth Street Ventures buys, designs and renovates properties, with the goal of keeping properties more affordable for the working class. The Winnwood is fifth major transaction by TSV over the past year.

By Douglas Sams – Commercial Real Estate Editor, Atlanta Business Chronicle
https://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/news/2020/01/14/in-midtown-a-merger-with-the-old-and-new-at-a-90.html?iana=hpmvp_atl_news_headline

Vision for East Lake Commercial Village Gains Traction

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In October 2012, City Realty was hired by the C.F. Foundation to help re-enliven four vacant corners at Hosea Williams and 2nd Avenue. After three years and countless proposals, the four corners are now coming together in what promises to be a lively community center containing offices and at least six restaurants. Below is the article about it that came out yesterday written by Josh Green for Curbed:

Plans to revive a tired East Lake intersection with several commercial ventures and spiffy new architecture are barreling ahead. All four corners of the intersection, dubbed “Hosea + 2nd” for its cross streets, are in for big changes, beginning with the northwest quadrant, where a former gas station is being transformed into the third Greater Good BBQ outpost, which plans to open this spring. Now, a development team that includes the owners of Fellini’s Pizza and La Fonda Latina has inked James Beard-nominated pastry chef, Aaron Russell, and his wife, Jamie Russell, to open a neighborhood restaurant and bar on the southeast corner of the intersection (see above and after the jump).

Hosea

Hosea 2

The concept, which will eventually be joined by two others on that corner, is called “Poor Hendrix” after the couple’s rescue dog. Expect “perfectly prepared classic dishes that compliment an affordable, but thoughtful wine list” and small plates in the bar, officials said.

Across the street, developers closed last week on the acquisition of a third corner (northeast), where plans are being finalized. The C.F. Foundation, an organization that’s worked to revitalize East Lake since 1993, has plans to activate the remaining southwest corner.

(You can read more and explore the site plans for all four corners at hosea2nd.com.)

Midtown Hotel Sold to Make Way for More

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North Point Hospitality Group has unloaded its dual-branded Midtown hotel to pave the way for $155M in new hotel projects in the Southeast. The Atlanta-based hotel developer sold its Hilton Garden Inn/Homewood Suites Atlanta Midtown hotel, a 228-unit hotel off 10th Street to NY-based Carey Watermark Investors for an undisclosed sum. “We continue to be optimistic about the Atlanta market and our growing presence there,” says North Point CEO Jay Patel. “The timing of the sale was such that it represented significant value for both buyer and seller.”

Dual Hotel

Patel says the sale “paves the way for our future development plans. By year end, we expect to break ground on four hotels in the Southeast.” That includes some 605 rooms and a total development cost pipeline of $155M, he says. Patel did not disclose specific hotels, but the firm is opening its 162-unit Homewood Suites in Savannah’s Riverfront historic district this summer—part of a larger River Street East mixed-use development that will include hotels, retail and dining space for $150M. The firm also announced in April that it will develop a $120M tri-branded Marriott hotel in Nashville, including AC Hotel by Marriott, Residence Inn and SpringHill Suites, totaling more than 400 rooms.

Svannah HOtel

 

Written by Jarred Schenke for Bisnow ATL

2520 Peachtree Street High Rise Condo

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Jarel Portman & team gain unanimous approval for 2520 Peachtree Condo

2520 PEACHTREE - BUCKHEAD CONDO DEVELOPMENT SITE

As the Buckhead view notes, “The small room at the Cathedral of St. Philip Tuesday night was jammed—standing room only—with almost everyone attending the NPU-B Zoning Committee meeting there to hear the presentation by JPX Works.” Jessica Hill did a bang up job with the presentation, walking through each aspect of the proposal and the specific aspects that JPX was asking the NPU Board to approve. The proposal passed unanimously without even objection from the residents, the first time that’s happened in 11 years (according to one of the board member we talked to afterwards).

Christian Bailey, co-founder of ODA Architecture, likened the condos to “villas in the sky” and the building as a whole to an “urban lantern,” reminding us of the BeltLine Lantern Parade that has such a symbol of Atlanta urban life.

The key to the success of the meeting was Jarel Portman and his team’s dedication to listening to the needs of the residents and adapting the plans in response. Jessica Hill’s quote sums it up well: “As the unanimous vote in favor of this project reflects, we think this is exactly what our great city needs.”

City Realty has been involved with this project from day 1, envisioning an assemblage of the existing 47-condo units 9 years ago in 2006. The 2520 Condominium Board hired Alan Joel, Jeff Vantosh and me to see if they could assemble all of the units and sell them as one parcel to a developer. Over a period of two years, we successfully completed the job and subsequently entered into a contract to collapse the condominium and sell the whole 80,000 SF site. The purchaser at the time rezoned the property to RG4. However in 2008, just prior to closing, the entire US housing market collapsed and the project fell through.

In the fall of 2013, I decided it was time to revive the effort, and I introduced the idea of a potential buy out to the condo association at their annual meeting in December of that year. Over the next three months, with the help of JPX and Campbell & Brannon, a Buckhead closing firm, we worked with each individual unit owner, one at a time, to enter contracts. The last signature was taken at a US naval base in Doha Qatar, the only place a US notary could be found.

This NPU approval was a huge step in the right direction to ensuring the sale for the current owners! We are excited to continue watching the plans unfold for the area.

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