As the densely packed area around Lenox Square and Phipps Plaza grows ever denser, project activity is booming in a once-quieter part of Buckhead: the Buckhead Village.
OliverMcMillan’s $1 billion Buckhead Atlanta development has served as the catalyst for much of this investment, and no wonder: the six-block, 1.5 million-square-foot development in the Buckhead Village area boasts 300,000 square feet of upscale retail stores, restaurants and cafés, along with 125,000 square feet of office space and 370 luxury high-rise residences. Spanx has its 100,000-square-foot headquarters there, and high-end retailers like Jimmy Choo, Billy Reid, Jonathan Adler, La Perla and Les Copains and many more—as well as a variety of restaurants, such as Corso Coffee Shop, the Shake Shop, Gypsy Kitchen, and American Food and Beverage—are now calling Buckhead Atlanta home.
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A Revival for Buckhead Village
The activity at Buckhead Atlanta has intensified developers’ interest in the surrounding area. Now projects are springing up all around the Buckhead Village, which is “evolving into a distinct neighborhood of smaller office buildings connected to a mix of restaurants and new apartments,” according to the Atlanta Business Chronicle.
Most of the projects are redevelopments of existing buildings, such as the recently unveiled proposal by The Loudermilk Cos. to replace an aging office building at 359 East Paces Ferry with a twelve-story tower. This speculative building will add 125,000 square feet of office space on top of a parking deck. It will be aimed at boutique office tenants seeking 5,000-10,000 square feet of space. Building rents will be in the $40 range, the Chronicle notes—similar to the rates commanded at Buckhead Atlanta.
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Not to be outdone, OliverMcMillan is also planning a smaller office tower: a $70-80 million, seven- or eight-story building on the former HiFI Buys site as part of the Buckhead Atlanta development.
Residential projects, too, are popular in the Village area. The Hanover Co., a Houston-based developer, is proposing a residential tower next to Buckhead Theater (formerly the Roxy) and recently demolished the Parkside at Buckhead Apartments between Buckhead Avenue and Pharr Road to build a new apartment project. Trammel Crow Residential will redevelop the Buckhead Village shopping center into a 244-unit apartment project at Pharr Road, Grandview Avenue, and Lookout Place.
Other Projects in the Works
Of course, parts north of Buckhead Village are still seeing plenty of action. One of Buckhead’s highest-profile projects is expected to be complete in mid-2016: the 30-story, 500,000-square-foot Three Alliance building at the intersection of GA 400 and Lenox Road. Built on spec, this building represents the final phase of the Alliance Center complex and will feature “Atlanta’s first faceted glass curtain wall system,” according developer Tishman Speyer’s web site.
Another project in the works is not a building—but adds another considerable asset to Buckhead nonetheless. The first phase of the PATH400, a multi-purpose trail running parallel to GA 400, opened in January, offering some much-needed green space to the submarket. PATH400’s first phase connects Old Ivy Road to Tower Place; the second phase, expected to be complete late this year, will connect Old Ivy Road to Wieuca Road. Subsequent phases are in various stages of construction, easement acquisition, and final design, according to the Buckhead Community Improvement District’s web site.
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The 5.2-mile PATH400 will be a paved, ten- to fourteen-foot-wide, multi-use path for cyclists, skaters, walkers and runners. Ultimately, it will connect to the hugely popular Atlanta BeltLine. The $10-12 million PATH400 Trail is the result of a partnership among the Buckhead CID, Livable Buckhead, and the PATH Foundation. Buckhead CID has contributed approximately $3 million to the project.
Upward Bound
The PATH400 will attract the coveted Millennial demographic with their penchant for live-work-play environments. Buckhead Atlanta will attract not only Millennials but also tourists, local residents, employees, and business owners from nearly all demographics.
And so, thanks to these and other projects, the office market in Buckhead continues to tighten. Office rents and occupancy—especially for class A space—are still climbing.
Robin Loudermilk, president and CEO of The Loudermilk Cos., predicts that project activity will only grow in the next one to two years.
“The delivery of Buckhead Atlanta really accelerated the momentum,” he told the Atlanta Business Chronicle. “It’s going to be an exciting 12 to 24 months.”
Blog contributed by Trevor Smith, Advisor, Cresa Atlanta. Trevor resides at The Residence at Buckhead in the Buckhead Atlanta complex. Trevor specializes in office and industrial tenant representation. For more information, please contact Trevor at 404.446.1571 or tasmith@cresa.com.