[RobMidtowner]

Crown jewel of Midtown Mile
Atlanta Business Chronicle - April 13, 2007by Jill Lerner FriedmanStaff Writer
Byron E. Small
Scott Leventhal: “We think the luxury market for that location of the Midtown Mile is great,” the developer says.
View Larger One of the most breathtaking additions to Atlanta's skyline in recent years will be a 700-foot-tall illuminated wave shooting into the sky.

The Mandarin Oriental will feature a dramatic three-story spa and residences topping $10 million.

Planned at 1138 Peachtree St. in Midtown -- a stone's throw from another still-new architectural gem, the King & Spalding tower -- the Mandarin will be the tallest structure built in the city in nearly 15 years.

"This building will be an icon and a treasure for the city to enjoy and will absolutely be the crown jewel of the Midtown Mile," said Scott Leventhal, CEO of Tivoli Properties Inc., which will develop the hotel and luxury condo tower.

Atlanta-based Smallwood, Reynolds, Stewart, Stewart & Associates Inc., whose other hotel projects include the Ritz-Carlton Jakarta and the Westin Grand Bohemian Hotel, is the designer.

The Mandarin will join a swell of new high-end hotel and condo projects including Trump Towers Atlanta, St. Regis, The Mansion on Peachtree, the W Atlanta Downtown Hotel & Residences and Sovereign in Buckhead.

The 50-story tower will front Peachtree Street, between the 1100 Peachtree office tower and the Atlanta Woman's Club, just south of the intersection of 14th Street and Peachtree.

The building will have around 200 luxury hotel rooms, 70 residential units, a three-story spa and six stories of above-ground parking.

The space allotted the hotel and residences will be about equal.

A small street lobby off Peachtree opens to a shared lobby and internal motor court.

The main hotel lobby will be several floors up from the street.

There will also be an auto entrance on Crescent Avenue.

Leventhal said Atlanta-based Tivoli, which is also developing condo properties Aqua in Midtown and Mezzo in South Buckhead, has been in discussions with Mandarin Oriental for a long time, but he would not confirm the hotel operator has signed on to the project.

He added that the flag that ultimately flies from the building will definitely be a five-star operator.

Hong Kong-based Mandarin Oriental, known for its fan logo and five-star luxury, is in the process of moving its U.S. development offices to Atlanta from New York City, and is relocating at 10 10th Street, at 10th and West Peachtree streets, not far from 1138 Peachtree.

One of the most distinctive amenities at the property will be a three-story spa, 20 stories up, that will be suffused with natural light and awash in views of the Atlanta skyline.

"This will be one of the most dramatic spas in the world," Leventhal said.

The residences, which will average 3,000 square feet, will range from more than $1 million to more than $10 million.

"We think the luxury market for that location of the Midtown Mile is great," he said.

Although Atlanta is teeming with luxury condo projects, Mandarin Oriental may have an edge.

In February, more than 90 percent of the luxury condos at CityCenter's Mandarin Oriental Las Vegas sold in 14 days, generating more than $600 million, according to MGM Mirage, developer of the CityCenter community.

The Mandarin Oriental Las Vegas will feature roughly 227 condo units situated atop a 400-room hotel tower.

Tivoli has amassed an impressive record of its own -- and equally impressive funding partners -- since its founding in 2004.

The 84-unit Aqua is more than 90 percent sold and Leventhal expects to be sold out in the next two months.

Prices range from the $400,000s to $1.8 million, and the first units will deliver in August.

Mezzo, which just opened its sales office and will be completed next year, features 94 units in the same price range as Aqua.

Developer Jorge Perez, CEO of Miami-based The Related Group, and John Williams, founder of Atlanta-based apartment developer Post Properties Inc. (NYSE: PPS), are equity investors in Mezzo; and Perez has bought the first unit.

As for the Mandarin, Leventhal said he hopes to begin construction in the beginning of 2008 and deliver and open the building in fall 2010.