Atlanta Sees No. 9 Biggest April to May Rent Drop in U.S.

TimMay 10, 2016June 10, 2021Comments Closed

Atlanta had one of the largest decreases in rent for a 1-bedroom apartment from April to May, according to a new report. Madison, Wisc.-based ABODO’s National Apartment Report: May 2016, found Atlanta saw average rents for a 1-bedroom apartment fall from $1,305 to $1,266 — a 3 percent decrease.

Rent for a 1-bedroom apartment fell from $1,331 in March to $1,305 in April — a 2 percent decrease. ABODO reported the sustained buyer demand will continue to keep pressure on sale prices, especially for best-in-class assets in major metros. “The competitive marketplace is pushing investors further out into smaller secondary and tertiary markets in search of higher yields,” it said. “However, the rise in new construction in many cities may make buyers more cautious going forward.”

David Haddow, president and founder of the Atlanta-based real estate consulting company Haddow and Co., told Atlanta Business Chronicle during a January interview he thought Atlanta will begin to see more for-sale activity in 2016. “I think we’ll hopefully see a little tapering off on apartment construction, but I think rents are going to start to flatten out because of completion,” he said. “There are a lot of deliveries this year.”

Click here for the full report from ABODO.

Written by Phil W. Hudson for Atlanta Business Chronicle

14th Street tower could soar to 70 stories

TimMay 10, 2016June 10, 2021Comments Closed

Two years after first pitching the project, developers are tweaking a plan for Midtown’s former Symphony Center site to include a 70-story skyscraper, potentially making it one of the tallest buildings in the city.

In 2014, New York developers including Ashkenazy Acquisition Corp. and Olympia Heights Management pitched one of the city’s largest mixed-use projects for the four-acre site at 98 14th Street — a $650 million plan to build a trio of twisting towers. The project would include up to 1,300 residential units, 90,000 square feet of retail and a 340-room hotel.

“Tower C” was to rise 60 stories, with 340 hotel rooms and 200 residential units. That tower is now being considered for an additional 10 stories, allowing it to reach at least 800 feet, or about as tall as Midtown’s One Atlantic Center, the city’s fifth-tallest office building, Atlanta Business Chronicle has learned. The original plans also called for a 57-story residential tower with ground-floor retail and a 38-story residential building with retail. Now, one of those buildings would be scaled back, sources said. An attorney for the development group — identified as an affiliate of New York-based Ashkenazy Acquisition Corp., Olympia Heights Management and architect Arquitectonica — was not immediately available for comment. The Atlanta office of Perkins + Will is also designing the initial phase of the project. An announcement could come toward the end of May.

The new proposal is being discussed with planners in Midtown and the city of Atlanta, sources familiar with the plans say. An initial site plan is already approved. “The original concepts for this site were bold but achievable, and we appreciate that the development team is taking their time,” said Midtown Alliance President and CEO Kevin Green. “Given the amount of investment and momentum in Midtown and our city, the value proposition is becoming more compelling.” Green added, “This is a premier site in the heart of Midtown that offers a lot of opportunity. If you are going to build something remarkable, this is a great place to do it.”

The plan would face growing headwinds. Financing high-rise apartment towers is becoming more difficult, as banks are growing wary of overdevelopment, with several thousand units already under construction in Midtown alone and rents starting to peak. While Atlanta’s economy bounced back after the national recovery began, and the Atlanta Regional Commission projects the region will add about 320,000 jobs between 2015 and 2020, it’s uncertain how much longer the expansion will last. The average U.S. economic cycle in the postwar period is seven years. The average of the last three cycles is nine years.

When the project was presented in 2014, the goal was to build in phases over several years with the thinking that Midtown would continue becoming an even greater magnet for investment and jobs. Since then, the expansion of NCR Corp. to Midtown and the launching of the next phase of Technology Square have done little to diminish that hope. Pursuing an option to build an even taller skyscraper could make sense, especially if the project intends to attract an upscale hotel brand, such as Mandarin Oriental or Park Hyatt, said Atlanta developer Jarel Portman.

“No question that developers love height because they can see their building from any point in the city,” said Portman, whose current projects include a luxury condo project in Buckhead called Emerson. He added that Ashkenazy is known for interesting architecture. “That is just their DNA.”

Vision for East Lake Commercial Village Gains Traction

TimFebruary 11, 2016June 10, 2021Comments Closed

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).

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.)

A Look Inside Downtown’s FlatironCity

TimFebruary 10, 2016June 10, 2021Comments Closed

A new entrepreneurship hub in a 120-year-old downtown Atlanta landmark is changing how people work. Renovations are nearly complete at the historic 11-story Flatiron building — Atlanta’s first “skyscraper.” It was completed in 1897 at Peachtree and Broad streets near near Woodruff Park.

Called FlatironCity, the 40,000-square-foot building is becoming a collaborative workspace that’s a far cry from the gray walls and drab cubicles of a traditional office tower.

“It’s got a different energy. It’s alive. It’s dynamic,” said one tenant in the building, Thomas P. Ventulett, co-founder and CEO of Aegex Technologies. He’s also the son of the renowned Atlanta architect Tom Ventulett of tvsdesign.

The project marks a continued shift toward shared office space, meant to spark the creative spirit and foster big ideas from startups and freelancers. Flatiron draws some similarities to WeWork, a New York-based provider of loft office space that’s now launching in Buckhead. WeWork co-founder McKelvey was quoted in Bloomberg last year as saying: “All these buildings that we look at, towers which are full of these soul-crushing acoustic ceilings, and crappy gray carpets, and draining environments with fluorescent lights …no one wants to work that way anymore. … It has nothing to with the economy. It has nothing to do with anything other than humanity.”

FlatironCity echoes what McKelvey believes. It offers its tenants a plethora of amenities, from fridges stocked with Wild Heaven beer to the latest technology — from a 2-gigabit dedicated fiber optic line, 3D printer, to Microsoft Surface Hubs, large touch-screen computers for conference calls, brainstorming sessions and more. It also will soon house Atlanta’s only HoloLens, a technology from Microsoft that brings high-definition holograms to life. “I think our amenities go above and beyond,” said Flatiron City Manager Katie Ryan, formerly a brokerage coordinator for Cushman & Wakefield.

The ground floor will be open to the public and includes three concepts from Figo Pasta including Italian pasta, soup and sandwich, and coffee bars. Those should open around April or May. The first floor also boasts a Microsoft Innovation Center, which aims to be the living room of the building. It will host workshops for entrepreneurs in partnership with PASTE Magazine, and weekly CEO conversations through Georgia Tech’s Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC). “We want people to feel like it’s their home,” said Arun Nijhawan, managing principal for Lucror Resources. “I want people to feel like they own this building.”

A real estate fund led by Nijhawan bought Flatiron in 2014, paying $2 million, according to Fulton County records. Renovations kicked off in early 2015. “The whole building was basically falling apart,” he said. “We started to see what it could become. We looked at how office space is used, and we knew we wanted a place where people would be talking and interacting about their ideas.”

The renovation continues to unfold. Today, the building is about 50 percent leased. Its tenants include iFusion, Project Locker, TEDx Peachtree, Boardwalk Consulting, Preston Atteberry and Aegex Technology. The city of Atlanta also is bringing its Women’s Entrepreneurship Initiative (WEI) to the 11th floor of Flatiron. When it opens in next month or so, it will house 15 women-founded companies.

Unlike traditional office landlords, FlatironCity gives its tenants more options to expand and contract depending on their needs. “We always ask our tenants to give us their ideas, and we will evolve with them,” Nijhawan said.

Written by Amy Wenk and Douglas Sams for Atlanta Business Chronicle

Post Properties develops its first project in downtown Atlanta

TimFebruary 8, 2016June 10, 2021Comments Closed

After 45 years in Atlanta, Post Properties Inc. is building its first apartment project downtown.

Atlanta-based Post (NYSE: PPS) is breaking ground today on a 438-unit apartment building it calls Post Centennial Park, which will be in walking distance of two downtown MARTA stations and the Atlanta Streetcar. The $96 million project will include units that average about 808 square feet and roughly $1,620 a month, the company said. Ten percent of the apartments will be designated workforce housing, with rents averaging about $1,090 a month.

In a statement, Post CEO and President Dave Stockert said the project reflects the ongoing downtown Atlanta renaissance. Since the recession, downtown has emerged as a stronger center of tourism and entertainment, and Georgia State University has continued to expand throughout the area.

Post also maintains an important shift in residential development that started several years ago just after the recession ended. Since then, apartment developers have concentrated most of their new Atlanta projects in dense urban areas such as Midtown or Buckhead or neighborhoods including the Old Fourth Ward where people can live and work next to the Beltline. The areas are usually in walking distance of transit and near amenities such as shops or restaurants. Post is building its project near the Civic and Peachtree Center stations but also tourist destinations such as Centennial Olympic Park and Philips Arena.

Post and developers such as Paces Properties Inc. have bought into downtown’s potential to generate apartment demand, especially as Georgia State University enrollment grows and more students want to live downtown after graduation. Land in other parts of the city is also becoming more expensive, potentially making downtown a more affordable option for developers seeking projects in dense urban settings.

Written by Douglas Sams for Atlanta Business Chronicle

Parkside Partners Plans an Overhaul on West Peachtree St

TimDecember 9, 2015June 10, 2021Comments Closed

Parkside Partners, known for its loft office projects across Atlanta, plans a $12 million overhaul of a forgotten 3-story building on West Peachtree Street — which happens to sit amid nearly $1 billion worth of planned development. Parkside Partners has reached an agreement with the building’s owner, Providence Bank, to buy and redevelop the property, which stands at the corner of West Peachtree and 16th Street next to the former Trump Towers site.

Parkside Partners will call the project 16th Station, and renovations would begin once the developer lands a tenant to anchor the 40,000-square-foot building. The redesign, led by architect MSTSD Inc., would aim for a building with a character and feel like those in the Westside Provisions District.

Parkside Partners joins other developers embracing the adaptive reuse trend, as what vacant land remains within the intown Atlanta neighborhoods continues to climb back to pre-Recession prices, and construction costs for new buildings soar well over $400 a foot. Rents in existing trophy buildings, meanwhile, are rising to some of the highest levels in years, forcing more tenants to consider less expensive alternatives.

Parkside also likes all the projects planned on the northern end of West Peachtree. Consider that MARTA is seeking developers for its mixed-use project at Arts Center station, at 15th and West Peachtree. Nearby, MetLife has assembled more than eight where it’s planning a large mixed-use development. Next door to 16th Station, AMLI Residential is developing a tower on a 1.8-acre site at 15th and West Peachtree Streets. And, several transportation improvements are also in the works, including converting West Peachtree into a two-way street, which could turn the corridor into less of a thoroughfare and create the opportunity for more street-level retail.

Written by Douglas Sams for Atlanta Business Chronicle

Atlanta Eyeing Conversion of Homeless Shelter

TimDecember 9, 2015June 10, 2021Comments Closed

The Atlanta City Council voted Monday to take the first step toward potentially converting a controversial homeless shelter at Peachtree and Pine streets into a facility for police and fire department operations. Council members voted 13-1 to spend $50,000 on a feasibility study of turning over the building to the police and fire departments, a process that will include a title search and an appraisal of the property.

The city, Central Atlanta Progress Inc. and other parties have been trying for years to evict the Metro Atlanta Task Force for the Homeless from the building. A lawsuit accuses the task force of failing to make payments on the property and of “warehousing” homeless people. However, the Georgia Supreme Court issued a ruling last month granting the task force the right to have a jury decide whether an attempt to foreclose on the property was illegal.

Supporters including the task force’s leaders, pleaded with council members before Monday’s vote not to shut down what one speaker described as the largest homeless shelter in the South. One-quarter of the homeless people currently housed there are women and children, task force Executive Director Anita Beaty said. “We need your help to protect the women, children and men who live with us every day,” she said.

Councilwoman Felicia Moore, who voted against the ordinance, questioned the wisdom of the city getting involved in an ongoing court case. But Councilman Alex Wan, chairman of the Finance/Executive Committee, said the ordinance simply provides for a feasibility study. Before any acquisition of the property by the city could go forward, the issue would have to return to the council, he said. Indeed, the council approved an amendment introduced by Moore prohibiting any sale of the property to the city without council approval.

Written by Dave Williams for Atlanta Business Chronicle

Picture Source: Byron E. Small

Midtown Hotel Sold to Make Way for More

TimDecember 9, 2015June 10, 2021Comments Closed

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.”

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.

Written by Jarred Schenke for Bisnow ATL

It’s Selig’s Olde Bar Now

TimDecember 8, 2015June 10, 2021Comments Closed

One of Atlanta’s founding real estate families has bought one of the city’s most popular bars. Selig Enterprises has purchased the retail center occupied by Smith’s Olde Bar for more than $3M, according to Databank.

The property, called Morningside Strip Center, consists of nearly 18k SF of retail and another 27,400 SF of land, and has been owned by the estate of Beverly Taylor for more than 90 years. City Realty Advisors’ Tim Holdroyd brokered the sale. “We already have a substantial investment in the area, including Ansley Mall and Ansley II, and this seemed like a natural fit,” Selig CEO Steve Selig says in an emailed statement to us. The center made headlines earlier this year when it was put up for sale, casting a cloud of uncertainty over the fate of the popular Atlanta music venue on the northwest corner of Piedmont Avenue and Monroe Drive. Sources say the owners of Smith’s have signed a short-term renewal. Steve tells us, “Our plan is to improve the premises, work with the owners of Smith’s Olde Bar and lease the balance of the property.” Calls to the Smith’s owners were not returned as of press time. For Selig, the buy represents an opportunity to redo a portion of a prime Atlanta corner just across from Ansley Mall into an urban retail or entertainment complex.

Written by Jarred Schenke for Bisnow ATL

Biz leaders line up support for Westside revitalization

TimOctober 19, 2015June 10, 2021Comments Closed

Top business leaders are lining up to support the Westside Future Fund, a high-powered umbrella organization that’s been formed to coordinate the planning, fund-raising and revitalization efforts in the communities west of the Mercedes-Benz Stadium now under construction.

Written by Maria Saporta for Atlanta Business Chronicle

Oct 16, 2015, 6:00am EDT

Westside Future Fund Chairman Richard Dugas, CEO of PulteGroup Inc. (one of Atlanta’s newest Fortune 500 companies), sat down with Atlanta Business Chronicle on Oct. 14 for his first in-depth interview about the initiative since he was tapped to lead the effort last December.

In the past 10 months, the Fund has hired Quince Brinkley as its executive director, raised about $1.5 million for its initial operations, formed its board and started putting together a strategy of how to attract new investment and improve the quality of life in Vine City, English Avenue, Castleberry Hill, the Atlanta University Center and Ashview Heights.

“This is not a community redevelopment effort,” Dugas said. “This is a community revitalization effort. We will have failed if we have displaced anyone.”

The Fund is taking a multi-pronged approach towards the Westside. It is working with the numerous partners who already have been investing in the neighborhoods, and it is hoping to serve as a coordinator and facilitator in making sure everyone is working collaboratively rather than independently.

“I see our role as taking all the tributaries and turning them into a river,” Dugas said. “We want to play a coordination role, to serve as a community quarterback.”

When the Fund was formed, the idea was to have a neutral entity that could coordinate “the good existing efforts already underway and not care who got the credit,” Dugas added.

The Westside Future Fund was an outgrowth of the Atlanta Committee for Progress, the blue-ribbon business group that works with Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed on the city’s top initiatives.

At the last ACP meeting, Reed said that in addition to Chick-fil-A Inc., The Home Depot Inc. and the Blank Foundation had pledged at least $250,000 each to support the operations of the Westside Future Fund. Dugas said Pulte Homes also has made a similar commitment.

To support the operations of the Westside Future Fund through the end of 2018 — staff, rent, administrative costs as well as consulting services — Dugas said the board needs to raise a total of $4.5 million.

The Fund also is putting together a comprehensive plan for the entire area that will incorporate the multitude of more targeted plans that already have been done for the Westside. The scope will be education, economic development, public safety, housing and land use as well as health and well-being.

Dugas said he appreciates the skepticism that exists both inside and outside the Westside communities, based on what has happened in the past.

“I have been educated about the false starts,” Dugas said. “I’m committed that we will not do that again. We feel a strong obligation to not let people down again.”

That’s one reason Dugas wants to be sure the Fund is working from a comprehensive plan before the Fund starts implementing projects on an ad-hoc basis.

On the top of his list is community engagement. Dugas is well aware that that population in those five neighborhoods has fallen 55 percent between 1970 and 2010–from 41,000 to 18,000, and he said the most important constituents are the residents in the community. That’s why he wants to make sure this effort is done right.

“We are in this for 20 to 30 years,” Dugas said. “This is not a short-term — raise a bunch of money — and leave. It’s going to take a long time. We are acutely aware the community is skeptical.”

Another top priority is respecting the unique history of those communities. For example, the home where Martin Luther King Jr. was living when he was assassinated is on Sunset Avenue in the heart of Vine City. “The Westside Future Fund is very committed to preserving the historic integrity of the entire west side, including historic properties,” Dugas said. “Our goal is to make sure that unintended consequences don’t occur.”

Dugas asked for patience as the Fund’s leadership puts all the pieces in place.

One of the initiatives that could have the greatest impact is what Dugas is calling a “social responsible acquisition fund.” The idea would be for the Westside Future Fund to set up a vehicle whereby people could make a low-margin investment to a social fund that could be used to acquire blighted properties that could either be renovated or rebuilt.

“There are executives and corporations in town, like Jeff Sprecher, sitting on the sidelines, watching the Westside Future Fund’s ability to manage a social responsible acquisition fund and are willing to make sizable contributions to the overall effort,” Dugas said.

If the Westside Future Fund can work through those, Sprecher, CEO of New York Stock Exchange-owner InterContinental Exchange Inc., has pledged to invest $5 million into such a fund. Because that kind of contribution is more like a loan than a donation, Dugas said it could be a way for the entity to raise a significant amount of money in a short period of time.

“There’s a lot of momentum from a lot of foundations and corporations,” Dugas said. “The reality is that there’s a lot of excitement around the Westside, and our goal is to have a catalytic impact over the long-term.”

CLOSER LOOK

The existing partners include:

– The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, which has pledged $15 million towards revitalizing the Westside–primarily by investing in human capital;
– The city’s economic development agency Invest Atlanta, which also is investing $15 million on primarily physical improvements in the community;
– The Chick-fil-A Foundation, which just announced that it is donating $300,000 to the Westside Future Fund and building a Chick-fil-A store on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive;
– Families First, which will be moving its headquarters to the to the historic E.R. Carter School;
– Westside Works, which is creating job training and employment opportunities for Westside residents, placing 216 individuals in living-wage jobs;
– Friendship Baptist Church, which is building its new sanctuary in the community and has more extensive plans to invest in the area;
– City of Refuge, which is planning to expand its community footprint to the areas adjacent to its home base on Joseph E Boone Boulevard; and
– The Atlanta Police Foundation, which is installing security cameras, launching neighborhood security patrols and working with Pulte Homes and the Blank Foundation to have Atlanta police officers live in homes in the area.