Below are various articles regarding Atlanta's Housing Market. 

Hotel operator buys site in Midtown

By KEVIN DUFFY
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 10/24/07

Streets of Buckhead project adds hotel, office/retail space

By KEVIN DUFFY
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 09/26/07

The Streets of Buckhead project is expanding across Peachtree Road to include the site of the old Three Dollar Cafe and adjoining land.

Ben Carter Properties and Barry Hotel Partners on Tuesday announced plans to build a Hotel Monaco, a Class A office building and 55,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space on 2 acres at the Pharr Road intersection. Ben Carter said the hotel will cater to businesspeople and families and won't be exceedingly trendy or expensive.

Ben Carter Properties / Barry Hotel Partners

A Hotel Monaco, shown in this artist's rendering, is planned on 2 acres at the Peachtree Road/Pharr Road intersection.

Construction is expected to begin next year and wrap up in 2010.

The bulk of the Streets of Buckhead project is on the other side of Peachtree Road, where demolition has been under way for awhile. The additional land means the development has grown to nine blocks.

A few years ago, the development site was the city's No. 1 party scene. But after outbreaks of violence, the city cracked down, making arrests and forcing bars to close earlier. Businesses suffered and became ripe for purchase.

Hotel Monaco is Streets of Buckhead's second confirmed hotel. Barry Hotel also is developing 1 Hotel and Residences, which will include 48 condos. A third hotel, an "ultra-luxury" international brand with about 100 rooms and 42 condos, will be announced soon, Ben Carter said. Plans for a Paces Plaza Hotel and Residences have been scrapped.

Hotel Monaco is part of the San Francisco-based Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants. Ben Carter is under contract to buy the additional land for the project from Brad Bradshaw and plans to sell the hotel portion to Barry. Carter said acquisition and development of the additional acreage will cost roughly $250 million. Investment in the entire Streets of Buckhead development is expected to top $1 billion.

That includes construction of about 350 luxury apartments by Wood Partners.

Streets of Buckhead plans also call for 80 high-end retailers. A new one was announced Tuesday — Loro Piana, which sells clothing and accessories.

Developers team up, build lofts south of Five Point station
Group aims to improve south central area of downtown

By DAVID PENDERED
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 11/27/06

Ben Silliman's neighborhood in downtown Atlanta might not be to everyone's taste, but it suits him so well that he bought a loft about three years ago.

The streets outside the loft he now shares with his wife, Heidi — in the SoMar building a few blocks from MARTA's Five Points Station — are busy with an eclectic mix of office workers, drunks and panhandlers. Inside their home, they are surrounded by the upscale trappings of young professionals and have balcony views of the state Capitol and downtown skyline.

"I wanted a loft and bought here because the price was 15 percent lower than Midtown, Buckhead and even Kirkwood," said Silliman, a graduate of Cobb County's Lassiter High School who works from home as a computer network consultant. The Sillimans soon could have lots of neighbors to help reclaim the community.

Three developers with track records of retooling blighted neighborhoods have teamed up to restore Atlanta's south central business district. They envision turning old office buildings into lofts and rental apartments, and constructing new apartment buildings and retail shops. The developers — Morsberger Group, Wood Partners and Miller Gallman Developers — have hung the name Railroad District on the area, a nod to its history as Atlanta's first business district and hotel row.

Morsberger plans to convert an old bank headquarters into 330 lofts priced at about $250,000, with occupancy in early 2008. Wood Partners plans to start late next year to build 325 units in the first phase of redeveloping the old Norfolk Southern Corp. headquarters. Miller Gallman owns about 12 acres in the southern portion of the district and plans to build residences and retail.

A.J. Robinson, president of Central Atlanta Progress, a group of business leaders, thinks the Railroad District will thrive. He called the area the last big piece of land close to downtown Atlanta still available for development.

"There were two areas of downtown that, when you looked at them in an aerial photograph, you'd wonder why they haven't taken off," Robinson said. "The rest of downtown was under constant renovation, but the two areas were sitting there waiting to be discovered."

One area, the emerging Allen Plaza, has been discovered in a big way.

The plaza, named for Atlanta civil rights era mayor Ivan Allen, is home to Southern Co.'s new headquarters. Ernst & Young's Atlanta office will open a new headquarters building next spring. And plans call for three towers of hotel rooms and condos to begin opening next summer.

Three-way collaboration

The development kicked off after Barry Real Estate Co. assembled the land and sold some to other developers, Robinson said. In contrast, the Railroad District involves three separate developers collaborating to create a neighborhood, said Bruce Gallman, of Miller Gallman Developers.

"We don't need to compete because there's enough market for everyone," said Gallman, who in the 1980s pioneered the conversion of old warehouses into lofts in nearby Castleberry Hill. "It's not like there's a finite number of 1,000 people that we're fighting for. What we have to do is plan what's going on in each block of the district so we can create an interesting place where people will want to live and spend some time."

Emory Morsberger, head of the Morsberger Group, took the lead in assembling developers and other landowners. Morsberger is the owner of the old bank building, which he purchased in 2002 to help sweeten his bid to develop City Hall East into residences and shops.

Atlanta sold him City Hall East but wouldn't take the bank building as partial payment, leaving Morsberger with a big empty building in a distressed neighborhood.

That's when he observed that the nearby Glenn Building had been converted to a trendy boutique hotel.

"We had a dinner meeting for all the stakeholders at BED restaurant in the Glenn Hotel so they could see what could be done with a dump building in a dump neighborhood in a short time frame," Morsberger said. "The Glenn Hotel is a home run and set the stage for me to show stakeholders in the Railroad District that you can turn a piece of junk into something great if you have a good plan and good partners.

"Every major stakeholder has agreed that this area is skid row, and nobody wants to continue with skid row," Morsberger said. "We still have a lot of work to do, but we have great people involved and this project is happening now."

It can't happen soon enough for Bruce Teilhaber, president of Friedman's Shoes. He's sold shoes for 50 years on Mitchell Street. He said the decline started when the bank and Norfolk Southern closed, taking with them workers who were the clients of nearby shops and restaurants.

"When I started, this was a really good business street," Teilhaber said. "It's been drunks and bums the past three years. They sleep next to the buildings and get up and pee on your car. And you'd better not leave anything in it because they'll break a window to steal it."

City taxpayers to pitch in

Atlanta plans to help pay for the rebuilding of the Railroad District. The city can provide money to developers to help pay for rebuilding sewers, streets, sidewalks and other infrastructure.

Atlanta would get the money by selling bonds in the Westside Tax Allocation District and repaying bondholders with property taxes collected on new development in the district.

"I think a lot of folks are excited that area's finally getting some buzz," said Cheryl Strickland, who coordinates tax districts for the Atlanta Development Authority, the city's development arm.

Mark Randall, a director of Wood Partners, said the key to making the Railroad District successful will be turning it into a pleasant place to walk.

That includes creating streetscapes and nice walkways. He expects the homeless will move on and Central Atlanta Progress will send in its ambassadors and street cleaners.

Randall said he's bullish on the Railroad District despite the national downturn in the housing industry.

"I don't underestimate the ability of our development community to overbuild the market," Randall said. "But the reasons people want to live in town aren't going to change."

Ryan Blain has picked the Railroad District twice as his home in Atlanta.

He's a consultant with Oracle and lived in the district before moving briefly to San Francisco. He picked the district again when he returned.

"I love it," Blain said. "It has the feel that makes you think you're in a larger city."

NOW YOU KNOW WHY IT PAYS TO LIVE IN THE CITY!

Plenty of Ga. counties have commutes among nation's longest

By KEVIN DUFFY
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 08/31/06

Those long commutes you hate so much? Take heart, your endurance has made Georgia a national leader.

No other state can boast as many counties in the U.S. Census' new top 100 list for commute times.

The data, collected in the annual American Community Survey for 2005 and released this week, show 15 Georgia counties among the leaders in piling up the minutes spent going to work. Second place New York has just 12.

What's behind the long commutes times? A willingness to trade time on the road for a good deal on a home.

"We don't have natural boundaries that limit growth," said Atlanta Regional Commission Chairman Sam Olens. "You can continue to have sprawl. And let's face it, we have too much sprawl."

The average commute time for the 10 core metro counties has changed little in five years, despite efforts to build live-work-play communities and to encourage workers to use mass transit, such as the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority's Xpress bus service. In 2000, the average commute was 31.77 minutes; in 2005, it was 31.48 minutes.

The 28-county region identified by the federal government as metro Atlanta ranks fifth nationally in commute time, at an average of 31 minutes. Even drivers in the Los Angeles area, long derided as a tangle of slow-moving superhighways, moved quicker than here, barely in the top 25 with 29 minutes.

Only metro areas in New York, New Jersey and Washington have longer commutes.

Olens also chairs the Board of Commissioners in Cobb County, which has the 14th longest commute time in Georgia, 29.7 minutes, according to the latest numbers.

"I feel my county is being invaded by Paulding County," he said about commuters.

Paulding's commute time, 36.5 minutes, is the second-longest in Georgia and 15th longest in the nation, according to the survey.

But that's a sprint compared to the nation's purported leader, Coweta County, home to about 110,000 people 35 miles south of Atlanta. Coweta's commute time is 51.6 minutes, the survey says.

"Why would I not be surprised?" asked Greg Tarbutton, Coweta's Board of Commissioners chairman. "I work in Jonesboro — OK — so I understand. It used to take me 45 minutes. Now it's an hour and 10 minutes — on a good day."

Others, however, are skeptical about Coweta's lofty status, including Census representatives, because its commute time is so far ahead of everyone else.

Second place Richmond County, N.Y., also known as Staten Island, lags Coweta by 9.6 minutes.

"It seems hard to believe," said Census demographer Phil Salopek.

But that number doesn't seem out of whack to Henry County commuter Gregg Gallagher, who drives north through the city.

"Given that traffic in this city is horrific, especially coming from the south end on the Downtown Connector, a commute of an hour or more seems the norm," he said. "I wish my commute were 32.1 minutes."

In the 2000 Census, Coweta's commute time was 29.7 minutes.

The nature of Coweta's work force and the small sampling size — less than 2 percent of the total occupied housing units in Coweta — may have led to an exaggerated commute time.

A little more than half of Coweta's workers commute to jobs outside the county, which means survey responses can be quite varied depending on the respondents' driving distance.

"A lot of the employment from Newnan and Coweta County is going to places such as the airport area, downtown and Midtown Atlanta, Cumberland Mall," said ARC senior planner John Orr. "And they're having to deal with a lot of the most congested areas in the region with their commutes."

Long commutes point out a problem common to popular outlying counties: Job growth can't keep pace with residential growth. In 2000, Coweta had a work force of about 44,000; an estimated 23,000 held jobs outside the county.

"We don't want to be a bedroom community," said Candace LaForge, president of the Newnan-Coweta Chamber of Commerce. "Our goal as a community is to create more job opportunities so our residents have choices."

While doubt surrounds the validity of Coweta's pace-setting commute time, traveling 40 miles from downtown Newnan to downtown Atlanta during morning rush hour does take an hour.

Traffic moves at a good clip until 22 minutes into the trip near Union City in south Fulton. Vehicles entering I-85 force traffic to slow to about 40 mph.

But then the pace picks up again, until I-85 and I-75 join 34 minutes into the journey.

Traffic becomes a crawl. Then it stops. From that point to the Edgewood Avenue exit, 5 miles and 18 minutes later, traffic flow is halting.

Olens said Georgia will continue to be a national leader in commute times unless more money goes to mass transit and state growth policy changes to discourage road projects that lead to sprawl.

Georgia Tech professor Michael Meyer suggested imposing variable tolls on lanes to encourage travel during off-peak hours.

"That's not a panacea by any means," he said, "but it certainly is one way of providing halfway decent service to people who can pay the toll."

In the meantime, the ARC is encouraging mixed-use development that gives people the opportunity to walk to work and shops.

"But short of that," Olens said, "our residents have the right to live wherever they want."

As Atlanta's intown continues to flourish, it's becoming the in place to live and play

By DAVID PENDERED
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 08/20/06

Susan Booth thinks she can see evidence of Atlanta's changing population most nights the Alliance Theatre opens its doors.

"I want to say I'm seeing a more casual approach" to a dress code, said Booth, the theater's artistic director. "We're seeing people who decided at dessert one night it would be cool to walk over and see a show, with less of a sense of grand preparation."

ON THE RISE Atlanta's population is higher than it has been in at least 25 years. 1970: 495,039 1980: 424,922 1990: 415,200 2000: 416,474 2006 451,600 Source: U.S. census; 2006 estimate by Atlanta Regional Commission

Booth reasons that those choosing to live in the city are taking advantage of their short commute home to go out on the town even during the week.

"They don't have to plan ahead," she said. "They can come home, decompress and decide what they want to do and go out and do it. They don't have to fight a battle with traffic and parking to get here."

Recently released figures show that the city added nearly 10,000 people last year, continuing a growth spurt that has pushed the population higher than it has been in at least 25 years. Those who follow Atlanta population trends say the newcomers are likely to be well educated, well heeled and well intentioned.

In some neighborhoods, the newcomers will be welcomed while in others their presence could be disruptive to familiar patterns.

Following a national trend, the move of affluent residents back to the core city probably will hasten just-emerging changes.

The rising population will affect Atlanta's cultural, social, business and political institutions in ways that are so fresh they just are beginning to take shape.

The changes will resonate for residents across metro Atlanta who travel to the city center for major sporting and cultural events and shopping, as well as with out-of-town visitors.

For example, Midtown could strengthen its position as the region's arts and cultural center as more boutiques and galleries open, which is expected as investors respond to the growing number of residents with disposable income.

Buckhead already is securing its stance as the high-end dining and shopping neighborhood with a construction boom of high-end condo towers. Boarded-up storefronts in eclectic neighborhoods such as East Atlanta and the region west of Atlantic Station are reopening as coffee shops and restaurants.

Ready for change

Atlanta's Beltline — a planned network of intown parks that is supposed to include mass transit — is expected to attract an array of new businesses projected to create more than 30,000 permanent jobs over the next two decades. Planners think the Beltline could spur development of nearly 5 million square feet of retail space, the equivalent of three Lenox Square malls; 7 million square feet of office space, equal to nearly seven of the 50-story 191 Peachtree Tower building in downtown Atlanta; and 1 million square feet of light manufacturing space.

Politicians are watching the city's newcomers for signs of the issues and types of candidates they'll support.

It's likely voters will gather behind candidates who present themselves as Mayor Shirley Franklin has — a person who promises to manage efficiently, said state Rep. Bob Holmes (D-Atlanta), a political scientist who has monitored Atlanta for more than 30 years.

"Shirley made the transition from [former mayors] Maynard Jackson, Andy Young and Bill Campbell as being 'our,' meaning black, mayor. Shirley was a 'nonracial' candidate who talked about making the city work," Holmes said. "I think the new residents will be looking for state lawmakers and City Council members who will be responsive and will look at governance as a partnership of the City Council, neighborhood associations, the Atlanta school board and state Legislature."

Holmes said that's what happened in the recent Democratic primary election in a House district that stretches from Midtown to south of Turner Field. Voters tossed out Doug Dean, a black representative who had served off and on since 1975, and replaced him with Margaret Kaiser, a white political newcomer from Grant Park.

Dean helped retool blighted neighborhoods around Turner Field. But Holmes said Dean lost touch with constituents. Kaiser said voters, both new residents and old-timers, told her they were ready for a change.

"This was not about me and Doug Dean or any issue of race," Kaiser said. "Voting in my election crossed every boundary — gay, straight, low income, high income, old, young, black, white, Asian. It was about them wanting a change and getting someone they felt would be accessible, proactive and accountable."

Leon Eplan, a former Atlanta planning commissioner who consults on transportation issues, said newcomers to Atlanta are probably predominantly white. They're young singles and couples without children, and empty nesters who've sold a big house in the suburbs and moved into the city for its amenities.

"The people who moved back into the city in the 1990s — where we do have [detailed] census figures — were predominantly white, middle-class people," Eplan said. "I think the next thing we'll see before the end of the decade is more black middle-class people moving into the city."

'A better place to live'

Atlanta's population has grown by about 35,000 people since 2000, according to a report this month by the Atlanta Regional Commission, the region's planning organization. Atlanta now has an estimated 451,600 residents, up from about 416,500 six years ago.

The growth seems to fit a national pattern, said Carol Coletta, president and CEO of CEOs for Cities, a national network of urban leaders who seek to speed reform of cities. Cities across the country lost residents starting in 1970, the census showed, and many began reporting trickles back starting in 2000.

"Cities are becoming much better places to live," Coletta said. "We're also seeing the development of a new and imaginative set of amenities. A great example is Millennium Park in Chicago, and your Beltline project in Atlanta has the same potential."

Begun in 1998, Millennium Park transformed a 24.5-acre tract of unsightly railroad track and parking lots into lush green space that has become a gathering spot for the region. The Beltline, by contrast, is a loop around the urban core that's expected to bring $20 billion in investments over the next 24 years.

CEOs for Cities recently released results of a survey of adults age 25 to 34. It showed a strong preference for living near the downtown of a big city. The 1,000 respondents were polled online in March by GMI, a Seattle-based company that has worked on indexes of world cities. Results were interpreted by a division of Yankelovich, a public-opinion research firm.

Atlanta ranked sixth of 20 top cities identified in the survey. The key factors for desirability include cleanliness, safe streets and neighborhoods, affordable housing and ample parks and green space.

Franklin said her city's growth is tied directly to growth of metro Atlanta.

"I don't think there's any question that as long as the region continues to grow, the city of Atlanta will continue to grow," Franklin said.

Sam Williams, president of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, said housing lenders helped set the stage for Atlanta's population increase by breaking some long-held taboos, offering loans for intown construction and to a younger demographic.

"When you make that kind of credit available, word gets around," Williams said. "Young people are networking on e-mail with the class they graduated with and saying they just bought a place, and someone in San Francisco says, 'That's nuts, how did you find a place that's affordable?' They say they bought a two-bedroom condo in Atlanta for $250,000, and that's how young people are moving into areas that once were undervalued."

New people, new money

The newcomers are bringing a lot of money to a city that has struggled to maintain its roads, sewers, parks and schools. Property taxes support a city budget that's risen 31 percent since 2000 — from $448 million to $589 million this year.

Gone are the days when Atlanta didn't have the political will to spend money on potholes because it meant other priorities would be sacrificed.

The new arrivals have boosted the average income of city residents.

The average income per person in Atlanta in 2004 was about 28 percent higher than that of those who live outside the city in the 20-county metro region — $34,304 compared to $26,905, according to an ongoing study of census reports by urban planning professors William Lucy and David Phillips of the University of Virginia.

As recently as 1990, the per-person income in Atlanta was 10 percent below the metro area.

Neighborhood clashes

Columbus Ward isn't so sure the newcomers are a fount of milk and honey. Ward says he's seeing a rising level of strife between new and older residents in his Peoplestown neighborhood, near Turner Field.

Ward helped start Peoplestown Revitalization Corp. in 1990 to restore the neighborhood.

"We have all these middle- and upper-income residents moving in and trying to organize different neighborhood groups and not wanting to work hand-in-hand with traditional neighborhood groups," Ward said. "You find a lot of them walk the neighborhood with their dogs and write down

code enforcement violations against some of the elderly on fixed income who don't have the money to do regular maintenance."

This is a bittersweet moment in the history of Peoplestown, the way Ward sees it. A neighborhood once so drug- and crime-invested that few wanted to live there has turned itself into a desired address. But some folks now attracted to Peoplestown want to change the ways of people who

lived there through the hard years.

"They seem to have an attitude that they're going to start their own groups, then get the county commissioners and City Council people to appoint them to different boards, and then they can run for public office," Ward said. "It's a threat to long-term residents who are dedicated to their neighborhood and don't know if the new residents intend to stay or came in because they didn't want to deal with the traffic and will leave when they can."

Holmes, the state representative, sees the situation a little differently from Ward.

Holmes was first elected to the state House in 1974, just three years after he'd moved to

Atlanta.

"I was president of the neighborhood association and people were saying they didn't feel their legislator was really very active," Holmes said. "I ran and won. And I've had two opponents in 15 years because I do what I think is right, but more importantly I pay attention to my constituents."

Midtown's a hot spot
Condos sell at fast clip in ZIP 30308

By H.M. CAULEY
For the Journal-Constitution
Published on: 08/24/06

Janis Johnson is part of an Atlanta trend.

The attorney for Bank of America recently moved into one of the city's hottest ZIP codes, 30308, where new housing units have been selling as fast as they can be finished.

Jessica McGowan/Special (ENLARGE)

JESSICA McGOWAN / Special The Reynolds at 565 Peachtree St. is part of the Midtown condo market. People in the real estate industry say the market in the area is being driven by buyers wanting upscale amenities in their buildings and units, plus the convenience of intown living.

According to the Journal-Constitution's annual housing survey, comparing sales figures from 2004 to 2005, the Midtown district of 30308 has seen a whopping 1,720 percent increase in the number of new units. A distant second was the 30305 ZIP code in Buckhead, where new housing units increased by more than 200 percent.

For Johnson, being trendy wasn't part of the equation when she moved into a 950-square-foot unit at the Reynolds on Peachtree, a new luxury condominium complex across from the Bank of America Plaza and a short walk from the Fox Theatre.

"I was looking for convenience to my office and a way to avoid downtown traffic," she explained. "I did an exhaustive search of condos and found what I wanted right across from where I work. With gas at more than $3 a gallon, it was an excellent choice."

Johnson also compared amenities and finishes and was won over by the features at the Reynolds.

"There's a great workout facility, a pool, a cabana for entertaining and a very attentive concierge staff," she said. "And my unit has hardwood floors and 9-foot ceilings. Plus I liked the security of a controlled-access building."

Buyers looking for upscale accents in their buildings and individual units are part of the bigger trend that is fueling the intown market, said David Tufts, CEO of Coldwell Banker/The Condo Store.

"Move-up buyers, especially those who have already lived in a condo, want to move up to something more sophisticated," Tufts said. "The Aqua at 10th and Peachtree is a great example of that."

Aging baby boomers also play a part in the demand for bigger units and more sophisticated finishes, such as gourmet appliances, granite counters to oversized floor plans.

"That age group is a huge influence in the market right now, which is why we're seeing products that are much more diverse, much larger and more highly finished coming online," Tufts said.

Two other factors are making Midtown and Buckhead big housing destinations, Tufts said.

"The first is the national trend we're seeing of a return to urban living," he said. "With infrastructure getting better in Midtown, it's really taking off there. Things like the expansion of the High, restaurants and the arrival of Publix are making life there better."

Traffic also continues to be a key factor in many buyers' decisions.

"My favorite pun is that traffic is driving the market," said Tufts. "While there are no plans to alleviate traffic and our population continues to increase, why would people want to commute?"

Most of those move-up and baby boomers are looking for condos that afford a maintenance-free lifestyle without yards and house repairs. And condos are still more affordable than single-family homes intown.

"You can still find two-bedroom, two-bath condos with 1,400 or 1,500 square feet for around $200,000," said Todd Emerson, broker of the Harry Norman Realtors Buckhead office. "There's almost nothing available in a single-family home for $300,000 or below. And we're seeing more buyers, especially empty nesters, who want 3,000 square feet so they don't have to sacrifice the space they had in their former homes and can still have that grand piano in the living room."

Trump plans Midtown towers
'I'm coming to town,' celeb developer says

By WALTER WOODS
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 08/04/06

The Donald is coming to Atlanta.

Celebrity New York developer Donald Trump is teaming up with Wood Partners and Dezer Properties to develop two high-rise condo towers in Midtown Atlanta.

Artist sketch of proposed Trump Towers Atlanta.

The two towers - one 30 stories and the other 40 stories - are the first for Trump in Atlanta. The plans were announced Friday after months of speculation.

"I'm coming to town and we're going to build one of the great developments in Atlanta," Trump said in a telephone interview.

The project will be called Trump Towers Atlanta and will be located on 2.5 acres the intersection of 15th and West Peachtree streets in Midtown, across the street from the Arts Center MARTA station near the Woodruff Arts Center.

Construction is expected to begin early next year with the first phase to be completed by early 2009.

Trump said the $300 million project will be an architectural landmark that will reflect the quality of the Trump brand.

"It's a great location in a great city. I've loved Atlanta for years," Trump said. Atlanta "hasn't been recognized for its architecture the way Chicago and New York has. We're going to change that."

Trump Towers Atlanta will be expensive, though Trump and his team have yet to set a price point. The towers will feature units with 10-foot ceilings, boutique retailers and restaurants.

Trump will form a joint venture with Marietta-based condo developer Wood Partners. Wood bought the site in March for $21 million.

Wood Partners has built several local residential projects, often partnering with Atlanta-based developer Novare Group. Wood also took the condo tower concept to the metro suburbs last year with a 19-story project on Windy Ridge Parkway in Cobb County.

Miami-based Dezer Development is also a partner in the project. Dezer and Trump have worked together on other condo projects, including the Trump Grande hotel and condo complex on Sunny Isles Beach near Miami.

The Trump site is near a number of high-profile projects, including the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra's proposed hall and 1180 Peachtree, the new mirrored skyscraper at Peachtree and 14th streets. The towers would be just across I-85/75 from Atlantic Station.

Trump and his son, Donald Trump Jr., picked the site because of its proximity to Atlanta's artistic center.

"We are in the heart of the cultural center," said Donald Trump Jr. We're going to give Atlantans "quality like they've never seen before."

Trump, New York's largest developer, has been moving aggressively into Southern markets in recent months.

He announced in August the Trump International Hotel & Tower New Orleans, a high-rise project next to the French Quarter. He unveiled plans for a 52-story condo tower in downtown Tampa in January.

Trump, a pop culture icon since the 1980s, started his Trump Organization in 1974 and has hotel and condo projects across the country, including Las Vegas and Chicago.

His reality show, "The Apprentice," in which Trump chooses a new employee from a cast of competing candidates, started in 2004.

Photo courtesy of the Georgia Department of Industry, Trade & Tourism

An urban jungle of skyscrapers rising from rolling hills and a canopy of old-growth trees, Greater Atlanta sprawls across a broad, 20-county, 110-municipality expanse, encompassing a busy downtown hub, thriving suburbs and rural charm. The financial and economic center of the South and Georgia' capital city, Atlanta is a sterling example of a quality education- and research and development-driven economy that turns out a topnotch work force of bright minds, feeding a diverse mix of employers from Coca-Cola to United Parcel. Atlanta is a staple on many "Top" and "Best" lists because of its high profile as an entrepreneurial magnet, transportation hub, domestic and foreign corporate headquarter mecca, export leader, professional sport town, travel and convention destination, and home-based business promoter. The cradle of the U.S. Civil Rights movement and birthplace of the nation's foremost civil rights leader, Martin Luther King, Jr., Atlanta is a city of transplants and tradition with a little something for everyone. The median single-family detached home price was $170,200 at the beginning of 2006 in the Greater Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA area and condos stood at $151,500, but home prices vary dramatically throughout the expansive region. For example, exclusive executive mansions in Buckhead easily crack the seven-figure barrier but starter-home condos and bungalows begin in the low $100,000's. Similar ranges exist for larger three- and four-bedroom homes in new subdivisions more than an hour from Atlanta proper. Rentals vary as well from $650 or $700 for a modest, two-bedroom, one-bath home to more than $2,000 for a similar home with an added bath in the right neighborhood with a view. From this urban kaleidoscope, we chose four neighborhoods that illustrate what the New South offers. Our picks include close-knit Decatur; Gwinnett county's historic Duluth; the city's cultural hub, Midtown, and one of the older yet newly-revived neighborhoods, East Atlanta Village.

Article from AJC on 5/19/06:

Hotel-condo-retail project in Midtown to target 'move-up' buyers

By JULIE B. HAIRSTON
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 05/19/06

Metro Atlanta's maturing condo market has spawned another Midtown "move-up" development on Peachtree Street.

Hines, a Houston-based developer, has teamed up with local real estate moguls George Rohrig and Robin Loudermilk for a hotel-condo-retail complex on the southeastern corner of Peachtree and Seventh streets.

Hines Vice President Kurt Hartman said designs are being drawn for a boutique hotel on the 60,000-square-foot site with a 40-story condo tower next to it. The two buildings would be joined at the base and include up to 20,000 square feet of street-level retail space.

The project seeks to attract an older, more affluent buyer than the young adults targeted by many of Midtown's surrounding condo projects. Prices have yet to be determined for the 300 units, which will average about 1,500 square feet.

Records show Rohrig and Loudermilk purchased the site at Seventh and Peachtree in 1998 for $2.3 million. Hartman said construction costs have not yet been determined, "but it will be a lot. I'll tell you that."

Sales and construction of the project will begin next year, Hartman said, with occupancy slated for 2008.

The Hines project will join two other condo towers being developed on the next block by Midtown trailblazer Jim Borders through his Novare Group.

And it will enter a growing list of condo projects aimed at move-up buyers and empty nesters who want urban ambience and sophisticated conveniences without giving up floor space.

Novare recently announced its plans for a move-up project on 17th Street at Atlantic Station.

Tivoli Properties is poised to open sales on its upscale project, Aqua, at 10th and West Peachtree streets.

Wood Partners is in talks with the Trump organization for this type of development at 16th and West Peachtree streets behind the Woodruff Arts Center.

And the Related Group of Miami is negotiating with neighborhood leaders in the Lenox area of Buckhead for a massive development of upscale residential towers.

Alan Wexler, president of Databank, a real estate tracking firm, said initial sales in the planned Midtown condo developments probably will be brisk because of the excitement so much construction generates.

"You can have several high-rises in an area, and people will buy because it's in an area of activity," Wexler said.

But clouds on the economic horizon — mergers, bankruptcies and layoffs, among them — could cause some delays in current construction plans.

"We are in the cusp of a possible economic correction," Wexler said. "My question is: How long would it affect projects like this? No one can say for sure."

Great article on MSN.COM-Real Estate dated April 13, 2006 stating Atlanta IS NOT part of the housing Bubble and one of the top cities of future growth:

Housing bubble: Top 30 cities to watch

• 10 cities that will top out
• 10 cities where prices will deflate

Ah, prognostication. It's a time-honored profession and one that's hard to beat in terms of job security. In what other profession can you get it wrong half the time and still be considered pretty good at what you do? If "Bob in accounting" had that kind of track record, he'd be out on the street before the second-quarter earnings were revised. But prognosticators can't possibly be faulted for not knowing what hasn't happened yet.

All of this is a fitting introduction to our forecast of the changing real estate market in the U.S. over the next few years -- 10 markets where housing prices and values will continue to remain strong (below), 10 markets where appreciation will pretty much top out and the 10 markets that are most likely to experience a decline. We talked to experts, studied public and private databases, analyzed market trends and examined the analyses of many others -- often contradictory.

The resulting lists are not intended to be numerical rankings, which would result in lists of markets located almost exclusively in California and Florida.

Nor are they intended to be be-all, end-all lists. In a recent quarterly metro-area, single-family home price report from the National Association of Realtors, a record 72 markets had annual increases in the double digits for median prices for existing, single-family homes. Only six areas had price declines out of 145 metropolitan statistical areas surveyed.

Plus, many reports we reviewed noted strong housing appreciation in the Gulf Coast areas impacted by the 2005 hurricanes. That's completely understandable. When a significant portion of the housing stock has been destroyed, the law of supply and demand dictates that the remaining houses will dramatically increase in value. We chose to leave those markets out because we felt the gains didn't reflect normal market conditions and would likely experience significant, unpredictable shifts during the next two years.

Finally, these are the markets Bankrate feels are most worth watching and are not intended to be lists on which to base your investments or take to the bank in any other sense. As Ingo Winzer, president of Local Market Monitor, a Massachusetts-based real estate analysis firm, says, "I thought that based on previous observations on price cycles, (prices) would have peaked two years ago, and they didn't. There is always some factor that comes up that you hadn't anticipated. It makes forecasting extremely difficult."

10 bubble blowers -- appreciation should continue to grow

Boise, Idaho: Besides having a happy-sounding name, Boise is consistently mentioned as a small, but strong real estate market. Forbes magazine ranked it first on its 2005 list of the best places for business and a career; John Burns Real Estate Consulting puts it almost at the bottom of its list of markets headed for a potential housing bubble.

John Schleimer, a real estate market consultant to major builders, says that both Boise and parts of the Idaho Falls panhandle will "hold up very well" housing appreciation-wise.

"They're getting a migration of people fleeing the blue states," he says. Annual housing price increases have been a modest, but steady 4% to 6% over the past couple of years, with a significant -- but not out-of-proportion -- increase of 14% in the last quarter of 2005.

El Paso, Texas: Real estate market watchers have noted for some time now that Texas is a value buy. Local Market Monitor recently released a listing of overvalued and undervalued markets. Four of its 10 undervalued markets were in the Lone Star State, with El Paso the most undervalued market in the nation (the other undervalued Texas markets were McAllen, Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston).

"If I was an investor in real estate -- and I'm not -- I'd carefully consider Texas markets," Winzer says. "They had a big boom and bust about 10 years ago. They're at the end of that. They haven't been great markets for awhile, but quite likely, as economies improve there, people will move there, especially since prices are relatively modest."

Fortune ranked El Paso third on its list of markets set for strong appreciation in the next two years; another Texas market, San Antonio, was first.

Albuquerque, N.M.: This is another city at the bottom of John Burns Real Estate's Housing Cycle Barometer, a measurement of cities that are susceptible to a housing bubble. It's also high on Fortune's list of markets that should experience growth in the next two years and had a healthy increase (18% according to the NAR) in 2005. Locals say the area attracts Californians trying to escape high housing prices; once they discover the mild year-round weather, they don't want to leave.

Seattle, Wash./Portland, Ore: The overall news out of the Pacific Northwest isn't great. The area lost jobs in the tech bust and is still recouping. But in terms of housing price appreciation, the thing these cities have going for them is a restriction in supply. Tight controls on development have prevented the normal progress of builders going farther out from the city core to find cheap land in the suburbs. Hence, demand stays high for available units. (Forbes Magazine lists Seattle as the most overpriced place to live in the country; Portland was third on the list.)

"Portland and Seattle have really benefited from California's growth," says Richard Gollis, principal of San Francisco-based real estate consultants The Concord Group. "Portland is starting to see the next generation of housing product, which is large-scale, high-density projects in downtown. The same thing is happening in Seattle. People who moved there 20 years ago for the tech market are older now and have a different lifestyle."

Salt Lake City: Nothing drives housing like a stable economy and job growth. Salt Lake City has both. Job growth is up about 4%, unemployment is low, the housing costs-to-income ratio is moderate and Utah builders give buyers a lot of house for the money. Local Market Monitor reported an 11% increase in appreciation in the market between 2004 and third-quarter 2005, and Money magazine ranked it 20th on its list of 100 markets for growth over the next two years.

Raleigh, N.C.: This city is right in the middle of the region that appeals to what real estate market consultant Schleimer calls the "halfbacks." Those are people from northern states who moved to Florida, didn't like it and then moved back, but only halfway. The halfback region includes Georgia, the Carolinas, parts of Mississippi and Tennessee. The seasons are more like what they were used to up North, without the harsh winters, and they're closer to friends and family. John Burns Housing Cycle Barometer has Raleigh dead last on its list of markets that are susceptible to a housing bubble, and the NAR shows a healthy appreciation of 7.4% between 2004 and 2005. The median house price of $185,200 is well below the national average of $213,000, giving it nice room to grow. Fortune predicts the region will do just that, by about 5% per year over the next two years.

Philadelphia: Major northeastern cities may be the least expected on a list like this, so we were somewhat surprised to see Philadelphia show up in a favorable position on several reports. The NAR quarterly report showed a 12% increase in appreciation between 2004 and 2005, high enough to encourage people to buy homes, but not at such a dizzying rate as to spark panic purchases. The housing-cost-to-income ratio, at 31%, is quite favorable compared to other large northeastern cities (53% in Washington, D.C., and Newark, N.J., and 72% in New York City) and while job growth is small, it's moving in the right direction.

Atlanta: Home to several major corporations and the country's busiest airport, Atlanta also is the second-largest housing market in the nation. Housing prices have enjoyed steady appreciation without the skyrocketing increases that have pushed other large markets toward a bubble. Commuters who have tired of long commutes have sparked resurgence in in-town development close to transit; the mixed-use development Atlantic Station has gained national attention as a true urban village with easy accessibility to jobs and cultural activities in downtown. Fortune predicts about 4% growth in values for the next two years.

Little Rock, Ark.: Surprised to see Little Rock on this list? If so, join the club. It's not exactly on a lot of radar screens as a hot real estate market. But it popped up in a favorable way on just about every ranking related to housing appreciation, from the NAR's note of a very respectable 7.7% change from 2004 to 2005 to Fortune's prediction that that kind of increase should hold fairly steady for the next two years. Local Market Monitor positions it as one of the most undervalued markets in the country. At an average price of $155,900, housing there is running a good 17% below where it could be, Winzer says, making it a great value.

Cincinnati, Ohio, and Birmingham, Ala.: These two were too close to call. The NAR's median price appreciation list gave a clear nod to Birmingham (4% increase from 2004 to 2005, to Cincinnati's 0.7%), but Cincinnati kicked its butt on the Housing Cycle Barometer that predicts a market's susceptibility to a housing bubble. (Cincinnati was 30 spots lower on the risk assessment.) Pricing in both markets is running about 12% under what the experts say it should be, giving them both plenty of room for nice, steady growth. The forecasters see that in the future for both markets.

He's part of joint venture that plans two 20-story condos

Earvin Johnson is dribbling some of his magic into Midtown's comeback.

The smiling basketball legend is part of a joint venture investing in Plaza Midtown, a Spring Street condo tower and Publix-anchored retail complex breaking ground today.

Birmingham developer Daniel Corp. and Atlanta's Selig Enterprises plan two 20-story towers for the site, with 452 high-rise condos and 70,000 square feet of street-level retail. Plaza Midtown's shops should open next fall, the condos in early 2006.

Magic's venture is putting $12.5 million — and his star power — into the $103 million project, said Al Worthington, Daniel's president. "It's the first time for us to do business with an ex-professional basketball player," he said.

The project's site, which Daniel bought for $9 million last summer, once contained a liquor store. It is bordered by overgrown lots and the Cheetah adult nightclub.

It's an ideal spot for Johnson, who's been trying to revive parts of urban America with intown retail and quality middle-class housing, said Bobby Turner, managing partner at Canyon-Johnson Urban Fund, one of Johnson's partnerships. Condos at Plaza Midtown will sell for $180,000 to $400,000.

He's "the Donald Trump of urban revitalization," Turner joked.

"This is an exciting example of the kind of economic development that Atlanta is embracing as the future of our city," said Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin in a statement. "The city welcomes entrepreneurs like Magic Johnson who understand the value of investing in urban areas around the country, and especially here in Atlanta."

Johnson has backed an Atlanta movie theater and a number of Starbucks, Burger King and Washington Mutual sites, each in urban areas with few retail options. He's made similar investments in Miami, Los Angeles and other cities.

"The Plaza Midtown is a prime example of the type of urban infill development that we are trying to promote," Johnson said in a statement. "[It] will bring about even further revitalization to the already vibrant Midtown Atlanta community."

Plaza Midtown will take up a full city block in Midtown, the emerging district that follows Peachtree Street from the Fox Theatre to the Brookwood Station bridge over I-75/85.

The area has had some success trying to shake its history as a neglected section once known as a hippie hangout. A community group, Midtown Alliance, has cleaned the sidewalks, hired a private police force and lured corporations, retailers and restaurants.

In 1997, 66 percent of Midtown was vacant; today it's 35 percent, said Midtown Alliance Chief Executive Susan Mendheim, who grew up in the neighborhood.

"And there's now a major grocery store going into [Midtown's] center," she said, noting it will be the first time since the 1940s that neighborhood residents would be within walking distance of one.