Reshaping the Midtown Skyline

BlindFatSnake · #1 Posted **Sep 25, 2009, 6:09 PM**

If you had a hand in deciding which "cluster of towers" would be built after the recession, which "cluster of towers" would be on your wish list to close the gaps in the Midtown skyline? I labeled this fun exercise as Three Play. I chose 3 towers in close proximity to one another, and wanted to know which towers other forumers would choose to build to complete the Midtown skyline.
Please give your reasons for choosing: skyline appearance, street level activity, urbanity, architecture, etc...

Feel free to add (or suggest) other clusters that I may have missed.

alleystreetindustry · #2 Posted **Sep 25, 2009, 10:07 PM**

this is quoted from the atlanta business chronicle article a while back:

While Shailendra Group and Skidmore Owings & Merrill debate the best design for 1400 Peachtree, one thing is already clear.

“This will have a skyline presence,” said architect Gary Haney, with Skidmore’s New York office.

“When you fly over Manhattan and see [The Empire State and Chrysler buildings] you say, “Oh, that’s Midtown. Those are the icons.”

Think the same way about 1400’s impact on Atlanta’s Midtown skyline, Haney said.

need i say more? mandarin is a great project, but i have a lot of hope behind som with the 1400 peachtree project. they are wonderful.

and to be honest, most other parts of midtown are already under way to becoming what it takes to become a real urban environment. north midtown just needs a spark and then the city has it in the hole (despite the fact downtown needs work).

smArTaLlone · #3 Posted **Sep 26, 2009, 3:38 AM**

I agree with you on 1400 Peachtree probably being the best project but I voted for the Mandarin cluster because of what it would add to Midtowns main cluster as well as the potential to create a critical mass of retail.

cybele · #4 Posted **Sep 26, 2009, 3:34 PM**

I voted for the Fox Plaza area. That could become a very urban landscape and fill a major missing link. If the streetcar becomes reality and is done right this could be a charming part of the city.

atl2phx · #5 Posted **Oct 20, 2009, 12:55 AM**

i'm not so sure this recession is going to end with a return to the booming construction of speculative projects like those listed in this poll unless the project(s) snag a major commercial tenant or hotel flag.....those reliant on residential, well, that's another story.

i can't find the article (either the ajc.com or abc), but i did read that starwood bought most of coro bank's portfolio of investments (novare, etc...) and is likely to reset the pricing of many condo projects in the atlanta market. just my opinion, but we'll probably start seeing new (lower) price thresholds within the next few months as they push hard to move the inventory of thousands of empty condos.

KB0679 · #6 Posted **Oct 20, 2009, 2:01 AM**

Mandarin

smArTaLlone · #7 Posted **Oct 20, 2009, 4:28 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by atl2phx

i'm not so sure this recession is going to end with a return to the booming construction of speculative projects like those listed in this poll unless the project(s) snag a major commercial tenant or hotel flag.....those reliant on residential, well, that's another story.

i can't find the article (either the ajc.com or abc), but i did read that starwood bought most of coro bank's portfolio of investments (novare, etc...) and is likely to reset the pricing of many condo projects in the atlanta market. just my opinion, but we'll probably start seeing new (lower) price thresholds within the next few months as they push hard to move the inventory of thousands of empty condos.

According to the article, 1,539 Corus backed condos are unsold.

Starwood consortium wins Corus Bank assets

cybele · #8 Posted **Oct 20, 2009, 11:36 PM**

I bet they could sell those off pretty quickly if they're priced right and they can get a lender lined up to make mortgages.

atl2phx · #9 Posted **Oct 21, 2009, 12:18 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by cybele

I bet they could sell those off pretty quickly if they're priced right and they can get a lender lined up to make mortgages.

heck, at the risk of embarrassing myself (i'm no finance guy), but if starwood is buying @ $.40 on the dollar, they should be able to drop prices drastically.

take novare; given their already low pricepoint in the market (even the atlantic is relatively low), couldn't starwood tolerate discounts as much as 20% and still have decent margin?

i'm sure that type of pricing would draw all kinds of buyers, college students, investors, urban professionals, city workers (i.e. police, teacher, etc....).

sabino86 · #10 Posted **Dec 23, 2009, 7:17 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by atl2phx

i'm sure that type of pricing would draw all kinds of buyers, college students, investors, urban professionals, city workers (i.e. police, teacher, etc....).

Yes, that would be nice...

cybele · #11 Posted **Dec 23, 2009, 7:23 AM**

Well I don't know anything about high finance either but if it were me I'd discount them about 40-50%. So long as they're just sitting there they're worth nothing to you, in fact they're a big drain. You've got debt service, property taxes, maintenance and so forth.

Once you start selling a goodly number of them and pick up some momentum then you can start working the prices back up. In the meantime you've at least started whittling down your debt and carrying costs.

netdragon · #12 Posted **Mar 16, 2010, 6:29 AM**

None of the above. Stop building towers in midtown before it becomes a dark desolate place with no sunlight creeping in and no view from any of the condos. I'm all for them filling in now with 4-6 floor buildings there and starting to develop more highrise in Cumberland/Vinings. I'm all for more lofts being built in "Midtown West". I'm all for more highrise between 17th street and Lenox. Put a fork in midtown - it's getting overdeveloped.

BlindFatSnake · #13 Posted **Mar 16, 2010, 5:49 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by netdragon

None of the above. Stop building towers in midtown before it becomes a dark desolate place with no sunlight creeping in and no view from any of the condos. I'm all for them filling in now with 4-6 floor buildings there and starting to develop more highrise in Cumberland/Vinings. I'm all for more lofts being built in "Midtown West". I'm all for more highrise between 17th street and Lenox. Put a fork in midtown - it's getting overdeveloped.

Oh, I see... You want developers to bend to your portfolio of monopoly money and adhere to your lego-building-blocks theory to ensure they go belly up... Umm, NOT GONNA HAPPEN...

The market and current zoning will dictate what gets built... but, since we're dreaming - why not building a single row of skyscrapers all the way to Chattanooga. Then we'll be the envy of other world class cities

Just kidding, dragon man. Besides, none of this $hit is gonna get built - not now, not tomorrow, not next year, not ever. We might as well dream another dream. George Bush's monopoly money has stunted America's growth for the next decade.

Just a thought: How many supertalls have been built in the U.S.?

Now China and other foreign countries are kicking sand in our faces, and there's not a damn thing we can do about it but watch and be envious.

We might as well don a seersucker suit, patten leather shoes and a top hat while dancing a diddy as the rest of the developed world catapults itself ahead of these United States of Corruption.

pawelra · #14 Posted **Mar 17, 2010, 11:37 PM**

I'm afraid that you right.
None of them is going to be build.