The West Midtown submarket—sometimes referred to as Atlanta’s Westside—has gotten hotter and hotter over the past few years, and it’s showing no sign of cooling off. A number of significant projects are in the works in West Midtown, which is generally defined as the area bordered to the east by Northside Drive and Georgia Tech, to the north by Buckhead, to the west by Marietta Boulevard and Marietta Road, and to the south by Hollowell Parkway.
One of the most eagerly anticipated projects underway is the $12 million Ellsworth loft office development on Ellsworth Industrial Drive. With more than 90% of loft office space in West Midtown currently occupied, this project answers an urgent demand for this type of space. By re-purposing an existing building that houses two furniture stores, Ellsworth will provide 81,629 square foot of loft offices geared toward West Midtown creative firms. It is set to open in June of this year.
Ellsworth Industrial Drive has attracted another hot project, TopGolf International’s 65,000-square-foot golf-themed entertainment complex. Set to open this spring, the new facility will feature a driving range, restaurant, and bar. This will be TopGolf’s second metro-Atlanta location; its entertainment complex in Alpharetta opened in May 2014 and has attracted more than 50,000 customers so far.
Other notable projects underway in Midtown West include:
- Moore’s Mill Village, the long-awaited, proposed redevelopment of Moore’s Mill Shopping Center on Marietta Boulevard. If all goes as planned, the current structures in this decrepit shopping center will be demolished, and a new shopping center will be built with Publix as an anchor. Bonds have been issued, and the project is awaiting a demolition date.
- A 26,200-square-foot movie/production studio space at 800 Forrest Street.
- The relocation of co-working space provider Strongbox West into a 51,000-square-foot building and two-acre complex at 1040 West Marietta Street.
In addition, plans are emerging for new residential projects along 17th Street, Northside Drive and Howell Mill Road, the Atlanta Business Chronicle reported in November. Westside property owners like Georgia Tech are considering long-range redevelopment plans, especially along Northside Drive and Howell Mill Road, the Chronicle says.
Once a gritty warehouse district, West Midtown has been compared to Wicker Park, a hip urban section of Chicago, and SoHo, the New York neighborhood that grew into a center for emerging artists in the 1960s. With hot restaurants like The Optimist, one of the most popular restaurants in the Southeast, as well as the Goat Farm Arts Center, a community for artists, and trendy boutiques and coffee shops, West Midtown has become a top draw for creative firms and for foodies, artists, and in-town residents seeking a hip urban alternative to Buckhead and Midtown. Developers are trying to build their projects within walking distance of all those existing amenities, with a long-term plan of making the district more walkable, according to another Chronicle article.
West Midtown’s proximity to the planned Westside Trail section of Atlanta’s hugely popular BeltLine will add to the area’s appeal. The Westside Trail, a three-mile corridor to be developed on the Atlanta BeltLine’s southwest side, will run from University Avenue in Adair Park north to Lena Avenue at Washington Park. For a half mile along White Street, the trail will use the existing West End Trail. This portion of the trail broke ground in November 2014 and is scheduled for completion in 2016.
Despite its growing popularity, West Midtown remains one of Atlanta’s more affordable submarkets for start-ups. The Ellsworth loft office development will surely draw in even more of these firms. For larger companies, several sizable parcels are available in the area, such as a 75,000-square-foot facility on five acres of land at 1990 Defoor Avenue.
As Atlanta’s economy and job market continue to pick up speed, more companies will look west as they seek to launch or expand. The rise of the West Midtown submarket will continue its steady upward climb.
Blog contributed by Bucky Winfield, SIOR, Senior Vice President, Cresa Atlanta. Bucky is an expert in industrial corporate site selection, lease negotiations and facility disposal. For more information, please contact Bucky at 404.446.1593 or bwinfield@cresa.com.
Blog contributed by Trevor Smith, Advisor, Cresa Atlanta. Trevor specializes in office and industrial tenant representation and 2014 Chairman of the Board, Atlanta Chapter of the Junior Chamber International. For more information, please contact Trevor at 404.446.1571 or tasmith@cresa.com.