ATLANTA | Development Thread VI

[jwbab]

Originally Posted by ATLmangum

So does it look like the next project to kick off will be the Mark?

I expect the hotel at 15th and West Peachtree (Hampton Inn) to break ground any day now. They have all necessary permits and financing in place.

740 West Peachtree (Anthem) already started interior Demolition and will break ground this month.

The Mark is still early in the permitting process, Land Development permits were filed last week. If things progress as quickly as 740 West Peachtree, it should be fully under construction the middle to latter part of the year.

[sbrptree]

Originally Posted by Verge

That may have something to do with it-- but I think some legislators have seen the writing on the business wall in general. I think (hope) it has staying power--

Has nothing to do with Amazon (directly) and everything to do with business. This IS going to happen this year...albeit 30-40 years after it should have been implemented.

[Ant131531]

Originally Posted by jwbab

The 640 Peachtree Hotel group was not happy with the feedback they were getting from the DRC, so they decided at the last minute to not make a follow-up presentation. Apparently they are going to take their chances dealing with the city directly. Remember, the DRC's recommendations are advisory in nature and not mandatory. The city can approve variances even if the DRC recommends against.

The 14th and Spring presentation didn't go much better. The DRC complemented them on the Spring Street frontage (minus the elevator shaft that sticks out into the sidewalk zone mid-block), but pretty much ripped them apart on everything else. Like the 640 Peachtree project, I don't see the development group and the DRC getting on the same page.

I would not be disappointed if neither of these projects gets built as presented.

It was obvious to me the developer of the hotel proposal near the Fox was presenting the rendering as the development they were actually going to build. They're mad the DRC isn't letting them build any old crap there. Now they're trying to bypass the DRC and see if the corrupt fools in city hall will let them build there without the DRC approval.

It's Atlanta too so there's a decent chance they'll approve their plans. If the folks in city hall actually cared about their city, they would reject the hotel developer.

[aCallawayGA]

What Atlanta needs once it approves a regional transit system is a regional transit PLAN that is clearly defined, and can be funded and implemented according to the plan. Also hope they don't require $ collected in a county to stay in that county. Lines near job and activity centers in Fulton and Deklab will be utilized by people whose trips originated all over the region. Also hope they make a huge push for commuter rail. That should be a huge part of a regional transit system for a metro of nearly 6 million.

[Chris Creech]

[QUOTE=arctk2014;8085262]Like the winner for the competition...

Ooh you mean like the Calatrava 17th Street N. Midtown/Atlantic Station bridge instead of the DOT banana?

[Chris Creech]

But isn't Trump now wanting to dramatically slash public transit to pay for his infrastructure bill? He's also dramatically cutting the federal matching dollars. Here's a good reason I hope this doesn't happen.

Originally Posted by Atlanta3000

Bill could mean transit expansions across metro Atlanta


Can we all agree this is happening because of Amazon?

http://webcache.googleusercontent.co...nt=firefox-b-1

[Martinman]

Originally Posted by jwbab

The 640 Peachtree Hotel group was not happy with the feedback they were getting from the DRC, so they decided at the last minute to not make a follow-up presentation. Apparently they are going to take their chances dealing with the city directly. Remember, the DRC's recommendations are advisory in nature and not mandatory. The city can approve variances even if the DRC recommends against.

The 14th and Spring presentation didn't go much better. The DRC complemented them on the Spring Street frontage (minus the elevator shaft that sticks out into the sidewalk zone mid-block), but pretty much ripped them apart on everything else. Like the 640 Peachtree project, I don't see the development group and the DRC getting on the same page.

I would not be disappointed if neither of these projects gets built as presented.

This isn't surprising considering that the 14th and Spring developer typically does suburban development. Its disappointing news about the Peachtree Street hotel but again, not surprising.

As great as it will be to get those surface lots developed, bravo to the DRC for pushing for development done right. I was reading an article about pedestrian first planning and thought that is exactly the kind of approach we need in Midtown, Downtown and any other district that aspires to become walkable.

[Jacobguy]

Dirt moving on Opus? Appears to be recent?
https://instagram.com/p/BfMjz0rB6OD/ (from a local photographer, not me)

[sbrptree]

Originally Posted by Jacobguy

Dirt moving on Opus? Appears to be recent?
https://instagram.com/p/BfMjz0rB6OD/ (from a local photographer, not me)

A friend is part of the (new) sales team and says the project IS happening. The developer has deep pockets so pre-sale quotas not necessary for the project.

[pica]

Originally Posted by jwbab

The 640 Peachtree Hotel group was not happy with the feedback they were getting from the DRC, so they decided at the last minute to not make a follow-up presentation.

That proposal was complete garbage. Does anyone know a good address to send a gift basket to the DRC?

[BlueSangha]

Originally Posted by sbrptree

A friend is part of the (new) sales team and says the project IS happening. The developer has deep pockets so pre-sale quotas not necessary for the project.

Did your friend say what the real floor count was?

[Atlanta3000]

Detailed 14th & Spring Presentation

I like it!

https://www.midtownatl.com/_files/do...inal_s-(4).pdf

[alco89]

Originally Posted by Atlanta3000

Detailed 14th & Spring Presentation

I like it!

https://www.midtownatl.com/_files/do...inal_s-(4).pdf

They've done almost as good as they could with all the difficulties of the site being surrounded on 3 sides by a substation, billboard property (ugh!), and electrical easement.

[arctk2014]

Originally Posted by alco89

They've done almost as good as they could with all the difficulties of the site being surrounded on 3 sides by a substation, billboard property (ugh!), and electrical easement.

Sounds like the biggest remark from the DRC was to accommodate the planned 13th street extension per Midtown's Transportation Plan. The developers hedged their bet on presenting a plan without the street connection but I'm sure they already had a scheme prepared to accommodate this.

[ATL_J]

Originally Posted by sbrptree

A friend is part of the (new) sales team and says the project IS happening. The developer has deep pockets so pre-sale quotas not necessary for the project.

Not to say this isn't true, but would just like to point out that the developers have a lot of incentive to push this narrative in an attempt to drive deposits and covert those to actual sales. Even with deep pockets, they're going to get debt financing for leverage (or necessity) and I haven't heard of a lender that doesn't require some sort of pre-sale requirement.

I've mentioned before, developers use a lot of tactics to make the project feel "real" to prospects - such as clearing dirt, but that doesn't mean they have the ability to go vertical. I question the depth of the luxury market and will be curious to see if Opus actually pushes through.

A better bet would be to focus on move ups and entry level condos, but the reality of construction costs is severely limiting at those price points.

[arctk2014]

Originally Posted by ATL_J

Not to say this isn't true, but would just like to point out that the developers have a lot of incentive to push this narrative in an attempt to drive deposits and covert those to actual sales. Even with deep pockets, they're going to get debt financing for leverage (or necessity) and I haven't heard of a lender that doesn't require some sort of pre-sale requirement.

I've mentioned before, developers use a lot of tactics to make the project feel "real" to prospects - such as clearing dirt, but that doesn't mean they have the ability to go vertical. I question the depth of the luxury market and will be curious to see if Opus actually pushes through.

A better bet would be to focus on move ups and entry level condos, but the reality of construction costs is severely limiting at those price points.

Based on the multiple turnovers of the sales team it sounds like they aren't always "in the know" either.

We can all speculate on hearsay on here, but there have been plenty of projects that have stalled even after construction started on foundations. [ex Streets of Buckhead, Prospect Park (now Avalon), and Skyline at Lindbergh]

[DNR]

I think that I am beginning to come to terms with this new 14th & Spring Street project. Even though there is not much to brag about in terms of building height, the overall design seems to be of some quality and is somewhat interesting. The parking screening is interesting and I sort of like the tall glass lobby at the base of the residential portion – although there could probably be more street interaction.
One of my favorite features of this new development is that the buildings may offer to block some of the view of the monotonous western facade of the underwhelming Icon apartment building from the interstate. ( Is it me, or do the long squiggly lines on the parking deck screening seem thinner on the Spring Street side of the building than on the West Peachtree side?)

At first, I was disappointed that there was not going to be some trophy tower on this prominent site but I like the “tapered” effect of having shorter buildings along the interstate with maybe the idea of increasing building height as you move further along towards Peachtree Street.

[Atlanta3000]

Originally Posted by arctk2014

Based on the multiple turnovers of the sales team it sounds like they aren't always "in the know" either.

We can all speculate on hearsay on here, but there have been plenty of projects that have stalled even after construction started on foundations. [ex Streets of Buckhead, Prospect Park (now Avalon), and Skyline at Lindbergh]

Also the Proton Therapy Center.

With that said, the developer could provide enough Equity funding w/o pre-sales to meet a Lender's debt funding requirements.

[Atlanta3000]

Originally Posted by DNR

.
( Is it me, or do the long squiggly lines on the parking deck screening seem thinner on the Spring Street side of the building than on the West Peachtree side?)

YES YES YES - I have thought the same thing too!

[arctk2014]

Originally Posted by Atlanta3000

Also the Proton Therapy Center.

With that said, the developer could provide enough Equity funding w/o pre-sales to meet a Lender's debt funding requirements.

Unlike the others, the Proton Therapy project is moving forward.