ATLANTA | Development Thread V

[Dale]

Hello ? Peachtree Center Mall question ...

[Libertarian]

Do you want to see Peachtree Center addressed in that manner, or pay the electric bill?

[Orlando]

Originally Posted by Dale

Hello ? Peachtree Center Mall question ...

Dale,
I have know idea if that design is a current proposal or not. I found it from another thread in the forum. Though, there was nothing that I found that mentioned that info. But, here's the thread, and here's the website:
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=186145&page=3

http://www.kurtstruve.com/architectural.html

[Dale]

Originally Posted by Libertarian

Do you want to see Peachtree Center addressed in that manner, or pay the electric bill?

I'm so libertarian I'd send you screaming from the room. Consider those implications, given your username.

I was merely curious about the plans.

[Dale]

Originally Posted by Orlando

Dale,
I have know idea if that design is a current proposal or not. I found it from another thread in the forum. Though, there was nothing that I found that mentioned that info. But, here's the thread, and here's the website:
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=186145&page=3

http://www.kurtstruve.com/architectural.html

Thanks!

[Libertarian]

I'm so libertarian I'd send you screaming from the room.

Dale, it's great to be on this message board and discuss planning issues around what is truly one of the most intriguing and exciting metros in America. Looking at things from a libertarian angle I'm positive about Midtown and Downtown, but let's not overlook the fact that big ticket physical storefront retail is dead. The future will not have a place for the glitz and glamour of it. The breed is near extinct - KMart, Penneys, Sears, Circuit City, blah blah blah. Not to mention your typical dress shops. The burbs are struggling over what to do with the empty strips. We can argue what are the causes - internet, regulations, less real disposable income. My main message is that Midtown has some great vibe and excellent prospects as an upscale residential community with service business, but please don't spend too much time dreaming about some fantastic retail magnet, because it ain't gonna happen.

[echinatl]

Originally Posted by Libertarian

As a shopping venue, the Midtown Mile is just a dream - it's not configured to ever be a shopping district. If the model is the Chicago Mag Mile, that's obsolete too. The reason is simple....Americans are auto-centric and Midtown is simply not auto friendly and never can be. The Atlanta parking meter gestapo makes the case even worse. For shopping, the Westside works, Buckhead works, Perimeter works because there is no parking problem. Focus on food and entertainment.

Did you miss all the posts about how huge the parking decks are for every building that's discussed on here? There is a ton of parking available. I can find free parking within 10 minutes most of the time, and 5 dollar parking in a minute if I want to. It doesn't get any more auto-centric than Atlanta.

[Libertarian]

I can find free parking within 10 minutes most of the time, and 5 dollar parking in a minute if I want to.

Yes but people are not going to pay to park to go shopping when they can park free at nearby alternatives, and are not going to carry their purchases back to the free parking if its a 10 minute walk. The reality is that heavy duty shopping in Midtown would be a chore for the average American. It would help if there was free on-street parking available on the side streets, but every time I tried it I was ticketed due to one technicality or another.

[pdpmishap]

Originally Posted by Libertarian

Yes but people are not going to pay to park to go shopping when they can park free at nearby alternatives, and are not going to carry their purchases back to the free parking if its a 10 minute walk. The reality is that heavy duty shopping in Midtown would be a chore for the average American. It would help if there was free on-street parking available on the side streets, but every time I tried it I was ticketed due to one technicality or another.

I'm pretty sure most of these places have free 2hr/validated parking ala Atlantic Station or most other dense cities around. I actually prefer having validated parking since a big portion of the problem w/ AS is the # of people parking at Target to avoid parking in the deck where they have to either actually shop or pay a couple bucks to park. If Target started booting those cheap bastards, AS would probably have a more pleasant shopping experience.

[clexmond]

I'm happy to see Midtown / O4W attracting some jobs away from the burbs: http://www.ajc.com/news/business/health-it-company-to-put-500-jobs-in-midtown/nWccT/

[scania]

Originally Posted by ATLaffinity

Not you. The Midtown poster who hates every single thing about Midtown.

Originally Posted by clexmond

It was just some racist rant that seems to have stemmed from some of the guy's neighbors. Like you said, being bearish about the changing demographics in Midtown right now is absurd. The area is getting wealthier and more educated every year and over time we'll see that reflected in more and more retailers choosing Midtown.

I think you have misread the post. There was nothing said about any neighbor being racist.

[scania]

Originally Posted by Nanosolar

Can you provide a link to that post? I don't see how anyone could be bearish on the changing demographics of Atlanta right now. Ideally the city will continue to attract college talent from around the SE.

#550
Posted: Feb 18, 2013, 8:31 PM
simms3_redux
Registered User

Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: San Francisco
Posts: 1,060
^^^LoL. People in Atlanta are so clueless!!!!

I just wasted way too much time for a response. I did the math...the most expensive mortgages in the building are under $1.50psf per month. These Tech students will be paying $3.20-$4.00psf per month to live there. Give these students a fucking break, they'll pay up for your condo there when you want out (that is IF Atlanta decides to try to retain jobs for Tech/Emory students in the city, LoL).

Atlanta almost made me racist. Atlanta blinded me to what's normal behavior. Only in Atlanta can the "young professional/upscale" areas like Midtown and Buckhead be so ghetto. I can only describe the city as ghetto chic. Where I live now is a 4 building highrise complex built in the 60s with a Safeway, a laundromat and a Baskin Robbins in the basement. The paint is peeling in the halls and is still lead-based I think (not to mention I signed an asbestos waiver, LoL). The carpets are a little moldy in the halls. I live in 450 humble SF, pay $2400/mo. That's not normal pricing, I know. What IS normal is the fact that all my neighbors are normal, non-threatening people who work or occasionally if they're elderly live on fixed-income. Lots of foreigners, lots of young profs, some families, and elderly. Haven't noticed what I would call a "pretentious" element or a "ghetto" element - practically ANYWHERE in the city. I haven't felt so safe in a city in so long, and yet longer-term residents here think SF is unsafe or seedy!!! Wow, perceptions.

The 3 biggest detractors to value in Midtown are:

1) Lack of job growth in Atlanta (and especially lack of ability to retain majority of Tech/Emory students)

2) Availability of empty lots (this increases criminal presence in meantime, reduces land prices, and makes new development easier, even without quality job growth)

3) The friggin ghetto culture Atlanta is so well known for. My God, it's like an asset-bubble in the city, except it's a bad culture bubble. So as opposed to stocks, when housing prices increased more people bought houses. In Atlanta, the flashier the area, the more ghetto it becomes. WTF Developers need to stop including marble lobbies, granite countertops, Viking appliances, private elevators, hoards of parking spaces, etc...just make stuff plain jane and advertise walkability. See if that even appeals to the hood-rich or the pretentious MFers who all live on credit. It'll drive them away like mad!

And then for REAL diversity, not just black and white, look to Tech and other college campuses. Get jobs for these people and try to get them into Midtown. THESE are the people you WANT as neighbors, not some of the folks ALREADY living in many of the buildings in Midtown/Buckhead.

I can vouch that the common denominator for all lower-value buildings in Midtown is proximity to vacant lots. I lived in 2 buildings on West Peachtree and 1 on 14th on the other side of Peachtree...guess which building was quieter, had what I would call a "normal" resident profile, felt safer, etc etc If a vacant lot is about to be built on across from Plaza Midtown, that's a good thing!!!

I don't give a fuck if it's student housing. I don't give a fuck if it's subsidized housing for families in legitimate need. I don't even give a fuck if it's subsidized affordable housing with qualifications that reduce the risk of criminal idiots moving in. I live near all this stuff now (even straight up projects), and like I said I haven't felt safer in a long time. I ride the fucking bus at 3 AM by myself...yea try that in Atlanta. If this development will reduce highway noise and make it more difficult for dealers to operate, and will increase street presence...it can only HELP your value.

[ATLaffinity]

Man, Simms seemed like he snapped. At least he won't encounter rampant materialism...in San Francisco.

[Mikeuke]

yeah that was weird. Any way, here is a twitter feed for the $98 million Engineered Biosystems Building on 10th Street:

https://twitter.com/georgiatechEBB

Yeah, Tech is having a real rough time

[atlantaguy]

Dale & Orlando - Re: the proposals for Peachtree Center (which is Downtown, Orlando) those were pre-recession proposals by the former owner.

PC is now owned by Orlando-based Eola Capital (hope all of these Orlando references aren't too confusing), and I'm not sure if they still endorse these grand facelift/renovation concepts in the renderings that Orlando stumbled across.

I can report that PC is still for all practical purposes the very heart of corporate Downtown. The office towers there have a huge and diverse array of tenants, and it also connects to the largest and most convention oriented hotels in the region. They have recently replaced the former Brooks Brothers space fronting Peachtree with a new and very busy CVS, as well as a former SunTrust branch further back into the plaza area with Kaiser Permanente's new Downtown center. They seem pretty committed to updating things overall, but they have given no clue if they are still interested in such a grand expansion as pictured in those renderings.

Hope this helps.

[atlantaguy]

Originally Posted by clexmond

I'm happy to see Midtown / O4W attracting some jobs away from the burbs: http://www.ajc.com/news/business/health-it-company-to-put-500-jobs-in-midtown/nWccT/

Even more good news is the local smartphone app company that is seriously looking at consolidating several local offices into PCM taking much more space than athenahealth, along with massively growing their local workforce. They also just snagged $200 million in new funding yesterday.
PCM is hot, and is still over a year away from completion.

Very exciting times here, despite what a recently relocated doom & gloom former resident claims.

[bryantm3]

Originally Posted by Libertarian

As a shopping venue, the Midtown Mile is just a dream - it's not configured to ever be a shopping district. If the model is the Chicago Mag Mile, that's obsolete too. The reason is simple....Americans are auto-centric and Midtown is simply not auto friendly and never can be. The Atlanta parking meter gestapo makes the case even worse. For shopping, the Westside works, Buckhead works, Perimeter works because there is no parking problem. Focus on food and entertainment.

...someone is stuck in 1962...

[clexmond]

Originally Posted by atlantaguy

Even more good news is the local smartphone app company that is seriously looking at consolidating several local offices into PCM taking much more space than athenahealth, along with massively growing their local workforce. They also just snagged $200 million in new funding yesterday.
PCM is hot, and is still over a year away from completion.

Very exciting times here, despite what a recently relocated doom & gloom former resident claims.

Honestly, as excited I am about PCM working out, it confuses me a little that companies aren't banging down the door of Midtown office buildings for leases. I work (and live) in Midtown and the walk-ability and availability of amenities is far better than any other office submarket I've worked in. And I don't think it can be argued that the area around PCM is better in either of those aspects.

[bigstick]

Pinewood Studios from the UK building huge complex.


http://thecitizen.com/articles/02-27-2013/pinewood-studios-equals-major-economic-benefits

[micropundit]

Thr boutique hotel is on schedule to open Summer 2013 in former Days Inn space.Management company Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide Inc., submitted a building permit application with City of Atlanta Thursday for Phase II of the project, at 300 Spring Street (a permit application for $1,435,000 to remodel the hotel’s rooms was filed late Dec., 2012).

The contemporary Aloft will spend an estimated $8,175,000 adding additional square footage, enclosing balconies, making parking lot improvements, adding a patio, common area renovations, and a bar.
http://www.whatnowatlanta.com/2013/02/28...i-plans-for-downtown-renovation-project/