ATLANTA | Development Thread V

[thepope117]

Originally Posted by micropundit

The AJC is reporting that Mayor Kasim Reed will announce Wednesday morning that WRS Inc. Real Estate, a development firm based out of Mount Pleasant, S.C., is under contract to purchase Underground Atlanta. President and CEO Scott Smith told the paper that he hopes to close on a deal sometime next year and start with construction on a mixed-used development with a grocery store and apartments no later than 2016. WRS is under contract to purchase the nearly 12-acre property for $25.75 million, and plans to convert the multi-tiered subterranean shopping complex into mixed-use development with a grocery store and above-ground apartments.

Scott Smith, President and CEO of Mount Pleasant-based WRS Inc. Real Estate, has confirmed to The AJC that he expects to close on the deal in mid-2015 with hopes to begin construction by 2016 at the latest.

http://www.ajc.com/news/news/breaking-news/underground-atlanta-under-contract-with-new-owner/njTGS/

After going through their portfolio i am somewhat depressed. Its Walmarts and suburban shopping centers as far as the eye can see. however they do seem to be making a pivot toward more urban development with their horizon development plan appearing promising.



If they go with something like that i would be pleased.

[Buck]

Hey, a grocery store downtown is a grocery store downtown!

[RocketSurgeon]

I'm not worried. A lot of developers have portfolios like that (take John Wieland for example)... that's just how things were done until recently. Times are changing and developers are going to change with them. Besides, there's no way they're going to put a strip mall in the middle of Downtown. It's not even vacant. All they can do is make it even more dense than it already is.

I'm just glad someone is willing to buy it, because it's not exactly a prime piece of real estate. It's easy for us to dream big and say it has all sorts of potential--we love our city, and anything can have potential--but I don't think I'd be willing to bet very much actual money on that. Given how much the area is still struggling and how bad of a reputation Underground has, it might take a couple tries to get it right. In that case I wouldn't want to be the one who tried first. Even if the first hangs in there, I'm sure it will be several years before it's viable. I think any residential component is going to depend on all that open air drug dealing and everything else that goes on around Metro Mall being cleaned up, which the APD has so far seemed unwilling to do.

By the way, that photo is quite a blast from the past... I'd forgotten about that whale mural. I wonder why they painted that over?

[johnandahalf]

Heights at West Midtown (507 Bishop, at 17th)















Photos by me.

[ATLcubs]

West Midtown has been quietly en fuego. Doesn't get as much attention because there really aren't any highrises, but I couldn't begin to tell you how many units have been built over there in last couple of years.

[johnandahalf]

Originally Posted by ATLcubs

West Midtown has been quietly en fuego. Doesn't get as much attention because there really aren't any highrises, but I couldn't begin to tell you how many units have been built over there in last couple of years.

Between Heights (above), the Fuqua proposal for the SE corner of 17th & Northside, and the other apartments going up on the NW corner of 17th & Northside, there will be thousands of residential units under construction adjacent to that one intersection. I wouldn't be at all surprised if our landlord at 500 Bishop St had already received offers on this property.

Semi-off-topic question...does anyone know anything about a Home Depot being proposed at Bishop & McCaslin? There was a lumber yard there, across the tracks from the Target in Atlantic Station.

[ATLcubs]

WRS is primarily a retail developer – developing 30 retail anchored shopping centers with more than seven million square feet of space since 2001. Smith said that he already is talking to multi-family developers about building the residential towers on the property.

http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/news/...lantas-sale-to-wrs-inc-is-a-big-day.html

Sounds like they're planning some highrises at Underground, that would be nice

[thepope117]

Originally Posted by ATLcubs

WRS is primarily a retail developer – developing 30 retail anchored shopping centers with more than seven million square feet of space since 2001. Smith said that he already is talking to multi-family developers about building the residential towers on the property.

http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/news/...lantas-sale-to-wrs-inc-is-a-big-day.html

Sounds like they're planning some highrises at Underground, that would be nice

I have a feeling were going to see 2 downtown skyhouses

[ATLcubs]

Originally Posted by thepope117

I have a feeling were going to see 2 downtown skyhouses

If it means fixing Underground Atlanta, I'm fine with it.

[joecool]

Originally Posted by ATLcubs

If it means fixing Underground Atlanta, I'm fine with it.

Me too!

[RocketSurgeon]

Originally Posted by johnandahalf

Heights at West Midtown (507 Bishop, at 17th)

I'm worried about what that wall is going to do to the street. It'll be interesting to see what the end result looks like.

[joecool]

Is there a rendering for this? I was a little worried after seeing that wall too. Not saying there has to be retail, but lets hope it's at least pleasing to the street. Leasing office, gym, club house... something other than just a wall with bushes.

[GeorgiaPeanuts]

Originally Posted by joecool

Is there a rendering for this? I was a little worried after seeing that wall too. Not saying there has to be retail, but lets hope it's at least pleasing to the street. Leasing office, gym, club house... something other than just a wall with bushes.

A building will be from that wall to the sidewalk.

[mayhem]

That wall doesn't front the street guys. If you look you can see the water connections sticking out in front.

[ATLcubs]

Originally Posted by mayhem

That wall doesn't front the street guys. If you look you can see the water connections sticking out in front.

And the elevator shaft is built into its side

[RocketSurgeon]

Originally Posted by mayhem

That wall doesn't front the street guys. If you look you can see the water connections sticking out in front.

Oh... that's obvious when I look closer, but I didn't even notice it in my own photo

[daharris80]

Originally Posted by RocketSurgeon

Oh... that's obvious when I look closer, but I didn't even notice it in my own photo

The relation between the wall, front slab and street is much clearer in this overhead shot taken in late November:

[shivtim]

Proposed new lab building at CDC on Clifton Road. Approximately 400,000 sqft.

[Newnan_Eric]

Originally Posted by shivtim

Proposed new lab building at CDC on Clifton Road. Approximately 400,000 sqft.

I'm curious, where did you find these? CDC has a long-range master plan for a while so these might just be massing studies. But, then again they could be making a push to finish the build-out on the Clifton Campus. It all really depends of getting Federal Funding.

In reality, the first thing they'll do is the East Parking deck (on top of the surface lot in the SE corner - that'd by to the left of the smokestack in the second photo). Then they have two buildings identified to go in where Buildings 1, 1-South, and 6 were demolished a couple of years ago. One will be the lab building shown above, the other will be another office building facing Clifton Road. They show one other office building on their master plan, but it is an overbuild on top of an existing parking deck. I doubt they'll ever do that one.

Anyway, it'd be interesting to see if they can get this lab building moving. With Emory Point across the street, that area has really changed in the last few years.

[Atlanta3000]

Originally Posted by shivtim

Proposed new lab building at CDC on Clifton Road. Approximately 400,000 sqft.

There is no way that is a 400,000 sqft building. Three Alliance center is 500,000sqft and it is 30 stories.