Mixed-use development booming in metro Atlanta area
Is Atlanta’s love affair with the car over? If recent mixed-use projects in development across the metro area are any indication, autos may soon become optional. The drive to get out from behind the wheel and walk, bike or hop on public transit is fueling an array of new construction projects with live-work-play themes. While mixed-use developments have changed the metro area landscape in recent years, even more are rising both intown and in suburban communities. Developers are devising projects with retail and restaurant spaces, offices, recreation and residential components. And all include some element of travel that does not involve a car. That fact pleases the staff of the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC)’s Livable Centers Initiative, which has been working toward . “The basic premise of the [LCI] program was to get people out of their cars and create this environment where you can live, work and play in close proximity,” said Sam Shenbaga, ARC’s community development group manager. “That program has been successful throughout metro Atlanta, as we now have about 119 designated LCI areas where we want to create these dense, walkable communities. And it’s been happening as much in downtown, Midtown and Buckhead as Acworth, Woodstock and other outlying suburbs.” Establishing these projects may take longer in some areas, he added. “Midtown has had this idea for a long time,” he said. “But sometimes it’s slower to come to other areas where the idea of doing dense, walkable, mixed income projects might be new.” Still, Shenbaga said he is celebrating the successes. “Since the program began in 1999, vehicle miles traveled per capita has dropped by 13 percent, and while it’s not all from the LCI program, LCI has had a big role in making that happen,” he said. “Twenty-nine percent of commercial development and 69 percent of office development has been in these projects that get people off the roads and walking and biking more. They’re in communities with apartments, condos, grocery stores, parks and bike trails, so people don’t need to get in their personal vehicles for every trip.” ARC identifies two groups behind the push to abandon cars. One is the aging population that wants the lifestyle a mixed-use project brings, particularly the ability to walk to services, restaurants and recreation from a one-story living space. The second group, typically including millennials, is the next generation of workers who want to trade commuting time for communing time. That’s the allure of Alpharetta’s City Center project, a 25-acre redevelopment in Alpharetta’s downtown area that is adding 100,000 square feet of retail and 36,000 square feet of office space, along with apartments, single-family homes, parks and a dozen restaurants. This article was originally published in the Atlanta Business Chronicle on August 3rd, 2018 and written by H.M. Cauley. To read the article in its original publication, click...
read more120-room boutique hotel planned for Alpharetta
The hotel would sit in walking distance to the $85 million next phase of Alpharetta’s City Center project that’s bringing 105,000 square feet of restaurants and retail; three acres of green space and gardens; 36,000 square feet of office; and 168 apartments. It’s from the Atlanta development team of Morris & Fellows (retail and restaurants), MidCity Real Estate Partners (office) and South City Partners (apartments). So far the City Center has landed restaurants including a new location of Highland Bakery. Click here to read the original article in the Atlanta Business Chronicle....
read moreNew eateries highlight Alpharetta City Center’s next phase
More restaurants have signed on for the roughly $85 million next phase of Alpharetta’s City Center project. Japanese restaurant Jinya Ramen Bar, breakfast and lunch spot Never Enough Thyme and new concept Shade Street Food and Bar will join the 26-acre project that already includes a city hall, a library, a park and town green. The next phase is bringing 105,000 square feet of restaurants and retail; three acres of green space and gardens; 36,000 square feet of office; and 168 apartments. It’s from the Atlanta development team of Morris & Fellows (retail and restaurants), MidCity Real Estate Partners (office) and South City Partners (apartments). Click here to read the original article in the Atlanta Business...
read moreDataScan To Open At Alpharetta City Center
ALPHARETTA, GA — DataScan has officially announced that it will move its headquarters to the burgeoning Alpharetta City Center, a 26-acre mixed-use town center currently being developed along Main Street in the central business district. DataScan will occupy all of the office space — about 36,000 square feet — in a four-story, 46,000-square-foot building. This building will also include 7,500 square feet of ground-level space dedicated to retail uses. The historical architecture of the building will be unique to the other proposed new buildings to seamlessly complement the existing downtown. Construction is already underway, and the building is schedule to be completed in early 2018. Click here to read the original article on the Alpharetta...
read moreAlpharetta Software Company Anchoring City Center Project
A software company is anchoring the office component of Alpharetta’s up-and-coming City Center project. DataScan is moving its headquarters to a $13M, 46K SF building on the 26-acre mixed-use project being developed by MidCity Real Estate Partners. DataScan will occupy all of the office space. More than 7K SF in the four-story building will be street-level retail. Click here to view the original article in the...
read moreAlpharetta City Center breaks ground, reveals more tenants
The roughly $85 million next phase of Alpharetta City Center broke ground on Thursday, a project Mayor David Belle Isle called one of the biggest moments in the city’s history. An Atlanta development team of Morris & Fellows, MidCity Real Estate Partners and South City Partners recently completed the purchase of just over 4 acres, as Atlanta Business Chronicle reported earlier this month. The project will include 105,000 square feet of restaurants and retail (Morris & Fellows); three acres of greenspace and gardens; 36,000 square feet of office (MidCity Real Estate Partners); and 168 apartments (South City Partners). Click here to view the original article in the Atlanta Business...
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