City of Snellville Breaks Ground on The Grove at Towne Center
Snellville, GA — The City of Snellville, along with co-developers CASTO and MidCity, is pleased to announce that Mid Cast Snellville has commenced demolition and broken ground on The Grove at Towne Center. The ceremony initiated The Grove’s $85 million first phase, which is scheduled to begin to deliver in 2022. The City of Snellville and Mid Cast team have been working for more than three years to plan and design the project. The groundbreaking event commemorated the first visible progress of the highly anticipated town center project. Attendees heard from key leaders of the project, including Mayor Barbara Bender, and witnessed a ceremonial groundbreaking. There was also a surprise presentation of a $500,000 donation from the Snell Family Foundation. A portion of the funds are expected to go toward a public art statue of City founders James Sawyer and Thomas Snell. “We’re ecstatic to begin visible progress on this long-awaited project,” said Snellville Mayor Barbara Bender. “This is a momentous occasion for the City and its residents.” The Grove at Towne Center will be a large scale, mixed-use town center property, comprising 18 acres between Oak Road, Wisteria Drive, North Road and Clower Street, in downtown Snellville. The Grove at Towne Center’s first phase will include over 50,000 square feet of retail, restaurant, office and entertainment space, and approximately 262 multi-family luxury apartments. In addition, the new Elizabeth Williams Library will be constructed and include a 2nd floor business development/accelerator space. For more information and updates on the Grove at Towne Center project visit www.snellville.org/the-towne-center-snellville. ABOUT CASTO CASTO, a fully integrated real estate organization since 1926, is a recognized leader in the ownership, management, acquisition and development of multifamily residences, mix-use properties, commercial shopping centers and office buildings. CASTO’s growing portfolio currently includes more than 26 million square feet of commercial property and more than 5,000 residential units located throughout the midwestern and southeastern United States. CASTO is headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, and serves a variety of clients from five offices in Florida, North Carolina and Ohio. To learn more about CASTO, visit www.castoinfo.com. ABOUT MidCity Real Estate Partners Founded in 2009, Atlanta based, MidCity Real Estate Partners acquires, repositions, and develops office, and mixed-use properties. MidCity is known in the Atlanta market for their work on Alpharetta City Center, which was named a 2018 Development of Excellence for Exceptional Merit for Context-Sensitive Town Center Development, by the Atlanta Regional Commission. Through MidCity Realty Corporation, an affiliate real estate brokerage company, MidCity offers a full range of advisory services. MidCity is the successor company to The Griffin Company, a 35-year-old full service commercial real estate development and construction company headquartered in Atlanta, GA. To learn more about MidCity, visit www.midcitypartners.com. ABOUT SNELLVILLE Snellville’s convenient Gwinnett County location, approximately 18 miles east of Atlanta and 45 miles west of Athens, has allowed it to prosper as a hub of commerce and retail in Northeast Georgia. Snellville’s roots extend to 19th century London when two friends traveled to America and later started Snellville’s rich history of commerce with stores of their own. Snellville is home to the award-winning Snellville Farmers’ Market, a world class Veterans Memorial and one of the most decorated police departments in the state. Snellville is known for its dedicated volunteers and its celebrated diversity. ...
read moreSnellville picks MidCity as developer for $85 million Towne Center project
Snellville is partnering with two developers on an $85 million first phase of its new town center, the latest suburban Atlanta city embracing the chance to create a vibrant downtown. The Grove at Towne Center will be led by a joint venture of Casto, a more than 90-year-old real estate company based in Columbus, Ohio, and MidCity Real Estate Partners, an Atlanta firm that brought walkable, mixed-use development to downtown Alpharetta. The first phase is set to begin in 2020, depending on the development team’s ability to secure construction financing in coming months. It will include 250 apartments and over 50,000 square feet of retail, restaurant, office and entertainment space. Paths for pedestrians and cyclists will also connect to the Snellville Greenway. The Market Center will anchor the project. Early ideas for the building include a brew pub and upscale event space. The Commons area will also allow the city to create a public gathering space for festivals and other events. The Grove at Towne Center is a microcosm of widespread downtown revitalization underway across the country, with local examples in Alpharetta, Duluth, Suwanee, Lawrenceville and other cities. As more people return to downtowns, it’s also a reminder of how many regional power retail centers and malls that flourished in the 80s and 90s are under pressure to stay relevant with consumers. “Historically, in areas of the Northeast, the Midwest and Europe, the town center was everything,” said Kirk Demetrops, president of MidCity. “There was a 20-year trend where land was cheap, and the power centers and the malls were in vogue. There’s still room for those. But, the town center is coming back as a place that brings people together.” “We’ve been working on this for a year,” Demetrops said. “It’s a really good match for us.” This article first appeared in the Atlanta Business Chronicle on August 27th, 2019 by Douglas Sams. To see the original article, click...
read moreSnellville signs on to $85 million development with 250 apartments
Snellville leaders signed an agreement Monday to build an $85 million mixed use development as part of the Towne Center project. The Gwinnett city is entering a public-private partnership with commercial real estate company Casto and developer MidCity Real Estate Partners. The project is intended to be just the first phase of a greater development called The Grove at Towne Center. Towne Center is a separate city project intended to create a walkable space in Snellville’s center where people can live, work and enjoy recreational activities. Snellville and Gwinnett County will contribute a combined $30 million to the Grove project, city spokesman Brian Arrington said. That will cover a market building, a parking deck, a county library, work on roads and stormwater systems, and upgrades for walkability and a greenway. The Grove will include both public and private buildings, according to the city. Among them will be a new post office; the U.S. Postal Service agreed in July to move the Snellville post office from its current location on Oak Road to a city-owned former bank branch. The current post office is on land that will become the Towne Center Greenway. Plans for The Grove also include space for a library and a town green. The private buildings include space for 250 apartments and more than 50,000 square feet of commercial space that could be used for shops, restaurants or office space, according to plans released by the city. There will also be a facility called the Market Center, intended to be the project’s “anchor,” according to a city release. What will go inside has not been decided, but one suggested use for the two-story building is having a brewpub on the first floor and an event space on the second, Arrington said. Towne Center has been in the works for years, with pieces incrementally being approved by the Snellville City Council. In addition to The Grove, the city has OK’d plans for a network of walking and biking trails that will make up the Towne Center Greenway and an 88-unit senior living center that will be close to the project’s core. This article was first published in the Gwinnett County section of the The Atlatna Journal-Constitution on April 28th, 2019 and is written by Amanda C. Coyne. To read the original publication, click...
read moreWinter Construction leaving 50-story downtown tower for Chamblee
Winter Construction is leaving a 50-story downtown tower for creative office space in Chamblee. The nearly 60-year-old Atlanta company is relocating from 191 Peachtree to a small warehouse at 5616 Peachtree Road that is being renovated in downtown Chamblee. The Chamblee building will be converted into loft office space. Winter will serve as general contractor for the project. It plans to move into the building by February. “It’s the latest example of a company moving out of a class A space because they wanted a different kind of environment,” said Kirk Demetrops, president and founder of Atlanta-based MidCity Real Estate Partners. Winter’s decision comes a few months after consulting giant McKinsey & Co. said it was relocating from downtown to a $200 million project on the Atlanta Beltline’s Eastside Trail. Other companies have also moved from traditional office towers in parts of the city such as Buckhead. A joint venture between MidCity and Anchor Capital Partners acquired the 42,500-square-foot building, which is in a part of Chamblee transforming into a walkable area filled with restaurants and connected by a trail system. The joint venture paid almost $3.5 million for the property. Plans call for renovating the industrial building into a 36,500-square-foot creative office project. Chamblee is in the midst of a renaissance because it has embraced the development of apartments in vibrant mixed-use projects, Demetrops said. Many of the city’s older industrial buildings are being retrofitted, and they are attracting both companies and new restaurants to fill that space. Chamblee is also benefitting from the ongoing redevelopment of the former giant General Motors plant. The planned $2 billion Assembly Yards project is just north of where MidCity and Anchor are renovating their building. Cushman and Wakefield was the broker in the relocation of Winter to Chamblee. Patterson Real Estate Advisory Group arranged the construction loan and JV equity financing. First Citizens Bank is providing the construction loan. This article was first published in the Atlanta Business Chronical on August 19th, 2019 by Douglas Sams. To read the original publication click...
read moreMidCity Real Estate Partners Nominated for Award from Urban Land Institute
MidCity Real Estate Partners is nominated by the Urban Land Institute as a finalist for the award of “Excellence in Town Center Development” for our work on the Alpharetta City Center. Learn more about the project here.
read moreKirk Demetrops brought Main Street to the suburbs
Like many cities, Alpharetta had to adapt. For decades, the expansion of regional shopping centers stole the vibrancy of its main street. Merchants struggled to thrive, as downtowns became a pass-through on the way to the stores and restaurants at suburban regional malls. Today, it’s a much different story. In the age of Amazon, what once involved driving to your favorite store to shop now takes just a moment on your smart phone or laptop. For Atlanta’s largest owners of retail space such as DDR Corp. and Simon Property Group, it’s been a challenge to keep their projects relevant. For cities such as Alpharetta, it’s created an opportunity for rebirth. People want to spend time again in once forgotten downtowns. Some visit new restaurants popping up on town squares. Others take advantage of new greenways and open spaces. A little over four years ago, Kirk Demetrops, founder of Atlanta MidCity Real Estate Partners, pursued a new project called Alpharetta City Center. Demetrops assembled a development team that included South City Partners, Morris & Fellows and Hedgewood Homes. Today, the project includes 75,000 square feet of restaurant and retail space, 36,000 square feet of office, 168 apartments and 42 single family homes — a “mini-town” that brought Main Street back to life. “Demand has been phenomenal,” Demetrops said. “Alpharetta, deservedly so, set a high bar for us. “The partners I brought in really delivered spectacular product. Most of the project is 100-percent leased or owned, including a corporate headquarters and eclectic group of retailers and restauranteurs.” MidCity, which has developed more traditional office projects along Georgia 400, continues to look for more opportunities for downtown redevelopments. Demetrops joins a number of developers, architects and urban designers that are bringing new, walkable projects to the region. What led you to your career? I started my real estate career one month after graduating from undergrad, celebrating 30 years in the business earlier this year. Initially, I thought the industry was compelling by combining business/finance to a hard asset. As my career transitioned to development 20 years ago, I really found that I could use my “visual” strength as person to lead the creation and execution of a development/redevelopment. Who has been your greatest influence in your career or job? In 2000, Joel Griffin met with me (and my partner at the time) and offered to buy our company, Forum Realty. Forum was early in Atlanta, with the idea of redevelopment and going back in town to look at opportunities. Joel gave us the backing and infrastructure, and let us go to work. We did interesting deals all over, from Grant Park to Alpharetta. Joel had many tremendous qualities, but I mostly remember his positive attitude, which was infectious. What has been your biggest challenge? The development business is cyclical, and the Great Recession certainly emphasized that reality. However, I think our biggest challenge is time. The deals we are pursuing are complicated, with many moving parts and partners. Many take two to four years to put together. This adds a significant level of additional risk. What has been your most rewarding moment in your career? As a developer, we get to see our end product and can look back at the steps taken to get there. I really like figuring out the form and function of a development, the right mix. I consider MidCity a “custom” developer that brings a unique solution to the development/redevelopment of a property. In the 1990s, so much development in North Fulton was clustered along Georgia 400. How does the city-center trend in Alpharetta, Duluth, Suwanee, etc. underscore important changes in suburban Atlanta land use patterns? I think everyone wants...
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