Neighborhoods Drive Atlanta Development

Residents' desire to spend less time in their cars boosts neighborhood development in Atlanta.

By Lisa Bertagnoli, Contributing Editor -- Chain Leader, 7/22/2008 3:16:00 PM

Luckie Marietta, a new development in downtown Atlanta, takes advantage of the area's wealth of tourist attractions, such as Centennial Olympic Park and the New World of Coca-Cola museum.

Thanks to residents tired of the city's endless traffic snarls and wary of gas prices, Atlanta's neighborhoods are filling in with nice restaurants and shops within walking distance of homes.

"We are seeing a huge spike in 'inside the perimeter' or in-town residential growth," says Ron Wolf, president of the Georgia Restaurant Association. By "inside the perimeter," Wolf means Interstate 285/85, which forms a circle around the city.

Even trendy Buckhead, already established, is getting a makeover. The Streets of Buckhead, a 600,000-square-foot restaurant, retail and residential complex, is scheduled to open in fall 2009. Its developer, Ben Carter Properties, is touting it as Atlanta's answer to Rodeo Drive, with exclusive brands such as Hermes and Chanel, and hefty three-figure per-square-foot rents to match.

Walk to Dinner

"Neighborhoods are developing as holistic living areas," says Michael Phillips, partner at Tucker Mott Co., a real-estate development firm that has invested heavily in Atlanta's west side. Inman Park, Grant Park, Virginia Highland and Castleberry Hill all are intent on becoming self-sufficient neighborhoods, he says.

Popular districts are close to downtown, where people work, and in once-forlorn warehouse districts. One example is Tucker Mott's White Provision, a new development next to the company's Westside Urban Market , a converted warehouse now filled with upscale home-decor stores. The area was formerly a meatpacking district.

White Provision, a new development on Atlanta's west side, adds to Westside Market and Star Provision, two older retail-restaurant developments.

When White Provision is fully operational next year, it will house 98 condos (10 of which have been sold already), shops, restaurants and a Hilton Garden Inn hotel. The development will complement Westside Provision, a warehouse-based mall that houses several upscale home-decor and apparel stores. Star Provision, another warehouse conversion, houses Bacchanalia, considered one of Atlanta's best restaurants.

One-Stop Tourism

Another thriving district is Atlanta's downtown proper, which is becoming a tourism mecca of sorts. Arguably, downtown's biggest draw is the Georgia Aquarium, Home Depot founder Bernie Marcus' $200 million gift to the city.

Downtown is home to other unusual attractions as well: The New World of Coca Cola, a museum dedicated to the brown bubbly beverage, which recently relocated to the area from Underground Atlanta, a six-block entertainment complex with restaurants, clubs and tourist attractions. Centennial Olympic Park and The Children's Museum of Atlanta are also within walking distance. "You can stay there and never have to rent a car," says David Marvin, owner and president of Legacy Property Group, an Atlanta-based real-estate developer.

Key to the area's return is the redevelopment of Centennial Park, built for the 1996 Olympic Games. The park "is 21 acres of blight turned into the largest urban park project in 50 years," Marvin says.

Legacy is focused on downtown development. Its six-acre, mixed-use Luckie Marietta District development opened in March. The development is home to a new Hilton Garden Inn, a Starbucks and Carvel/Cinnabon. An 8,000-square-foot Legal Sea Foods, the Boston-based chain's first entry into the Atlanta market, was scheduled to open in mid-August. A 20,000-square-foot sports restaurant, Stats, and an elegant upscale rooftop bar, as yet unnamed, complete with helipad, are on track to open by the third quarter of 2009.

When all is said and done, downtown Atlanta will be, or should be, a dream for visitors and the area's businesses. And Marvin says it's about time. "Atlanta has been looking for a true urban experience," he says.

In print: Atlanta's tiny Vinings is popular, thanks to its proximity to downtown and more-than-stable housing prices. But is there room for chain restaurants in the trendy area? Find out in the August edition of Chain Leader.