Crane Watch: RIP Star Bar, new Phipps Plaza, even ClayCo maybe? + other real estate news
Everyday is a new day in Atlanta real estate
Welcome to my freemium newsletter by me, King Williams. A documentary filmmaker, journalist, podcast host, and author based in Atlanta, Georgia. This is a newsletter covering the hidden connections of Atlanta to everything else. For my dad, stay strong! I love you!
1. Popular Little 5 Points venue Star Bar is slated to be destroyed for a new development
Star Bar, the popular music venue is slated to be destroyed and replaced by a new three-story office building according to reports. Atlanta-based developers Third & Urban have purchased a 2.5-acre site starting at the intersection of Euclid and Moreland Avenue. The company specializes in infill development and urban renewal projects, making the site in L5P an ideal location to preserve and build a new site.
Star Bar for 30 years has been located in the former Citizens and Southern National Bank, which sits directly adjacent to the Point Center building, an art deco-inspired commercial building directly on Moreland Avenue. Third & Urban has stated that it will be keeping the 97-year-old Point Center building but intend to raise the old C&S Bank to make way for the new three-story building that will include a retail facing street level and a reinforced basement that could be used for the new home of Star Bar.
Third & Urban has also purchased the Montessori academy behind Star Bar. There are rumors circulating that state that the developer plans to have four smaller, five-story buildings surrounding the 95-year-old building at the corner of Moreland and Euclid Avenue in the parking lot, overlooking the Montessori academy.
Star Bar has indicated that they have been contacted by Third & Urban about potentially joining the new development, but have not stated whether they will join.
Little Five Points is not immune to gentrification
L5P despite its history is not a historic district with much protection of its venues. The purchase of the property is drawing concerns about gentrification, historic preservation, and changing the community character of the quirky area. For those who’ve seen the recent changes to Edgewood Avenue, there is growing concern about who is this version of Atlanta for?
The irony is that L5P, as well as the Candler Park neighborhood it sits on were some of the earliest places to gentrify in Atlanta nearly 50 years ago. L5P’s reputation for alternative culture, music venues, and free spirit attitude is in many ways what has drawn development. It’s the culture, cool, and commerce that brings the development, then displaces that audience, its textbook gentrification.
Textbook gentrification and development
The purchase of these properties is a textbook example of gentrification, according to the standards of the woman who coined the term and defined the discipline, sociologist Ruth Glass. Glass discusses gentrification in her 1960s works on London, studying the changes in former de-industrial districts into new commercial and/or residential venues alongside the role of residential changes.
2. The Ponce de Leon hangouts have been sold to_____
Portman Holdings, best known for its parking lots, has been identified as the buyer of the stretch of popular Ponce hangouts. While Cartel Properties has been identified as the purchaser of the adjacent properties on Ponce including restaurant 8Arm.
The purchases of these properties represent a hot market built upon by the Atlanta BeltLine, Ponce City Market, the new Murder Kroger (not ‘Beltline Kroger’), and ‘the cool’ generated by the tens of thousands of people who visit every week. These announcements have drawn a series of groans online concerning this current era of new real estate developments in the city alongside a general malaise about what the future is of Atlanta.
How we got here
What kicked off the announcement was restaurant 8Arm posting on Instagram that the business would be closing in July. The 8Arm post led many to infer that a rumored Buckhead developer purchased the large swath of land directly on Ponce De Leon.
That post prompted a ripple of other posts from other businesses regarding the potential closure. Several businesses at the time stated similarly to 8Arm that they would no longer be operating in the area. Residents and patrons quickly went on Twitter and Instagram to express their displeasure as the site was home to one of the few remaining social hangouts and nightlife districts in Atlanta. Currently, neither Cartel Properties nor Portman Holdings have made their plans available.
The move by Portman signals further corporatization of one of the most valuable spaces within the city. For those in commercial real estate, it signals the maturing of the market, for those who seek better social experiences and nightlife, it seems like the continued death of Atlanta.
‘East Midtown’ is coming
In Atlanta, being associated with Midtown equals a bigger ROI. This is seen in the real estate branded creations of ‘West Midtown’ and the ‘Upper Westside’. So with a new slate of more Class-A office and retail facing developments in the area, it shouldn’t be a surprise if a slow integration of a ‘new’ district in Atlanta emerges, to the tune of an ‘East Midtown’—it’s already on Nextdoor.
You can read my brief thoughts here as well as others in Atlanta regarding what could potentially happen to the location for the Atlanta Business Chronicle.
3. Atlanta is preserving something, this time it’s on Auburn Avenue—maybe
The Atlanta Downtown Neighborhood Association (ADNA), the Gorman Development Group, and property-owner Butler Street Community Development Corporation (BSCDC) announced that they are working on a deal to preserve a historic building in need of heavy renovation at 229 Auburn Avenue. The building in question is the first home of Atlanta Life Insurance Company, the last remaining Alonzo Herndon (Atlanta’s first Black millionaire) building on the street.
The building initially was met with concerns by historic preservationists concerning a new residential development slated for the area as the building was not rendered in any of the then plans of redevelopment, luckily that has changed. While the project is still pending, the potential of preserving the home of one of the few remaining nearly century-old buildings in the city is still a goal for BSCDC.
The Herndon Building that was located on the site was a portion of the then four-story building that was demolished in 2001 in hopes of a YMCA that was never built, leaving nearly 3/4th of the block an open parking deck. The site, alongside 229 Auburn Ave has remained in flux ever since.
This is the second Atlanta Life Insurance Building on Auburn Avenue as Georgia State University in 2012 bought the other, more famous Atlanta Life Building further up the street, albeit operates it today with little notification of Herndon or Auburn Avenue’s history as the Department of Urban Life. This announcement comes on the heels of a recent upgrade to the John Lewis mural on Auburn Avenue, as the parking lot right in front of it will now become a pocket park.
4. A nearly 100-year-old Buckhead mansion has been destroyed for a culdesac of spec homes
Atlanta’s dismal preservation efforts continue as a near-century-old Buckhead mansion has been torn down according to the property owner. The 94-year-old Whispering Pines mansion was one of the few remaining historic Buckhead mansions remaining in the area. The Athens-based real estate company responsible for tearing down the home, says the demolition was to make way for a culdesac of modern homes.
The Whispering Pines Mansion
The mansion was located at 660 West Paces Ferry, the home was built in 1928 for Harrison and Kathryn Jones. Harrison Jones was a lawyer for Coca-Cola, who eventually became Chairman of the Board at Coca-Cola until his retirement in 1952. The home was purchased in 1922. Shortly after he joined Coca-Cola, Harrison hired architects Pringle and Smith to design the home, which was completed in 1928.
The home was designed with inspiration from the Mount Vernon estate of George Washington. Both Harrisons are buried in Westview Cemetery. The home has been one of the crown jewels of historic Buckhead in addition to being the first historic mansion since the 1960s when a home was destroyed to make the Governor’s mansion.
Developers run Atlanta, even in Buckhead
What makes this case particularly interesting is how Whispering Pines alongside a home next door, 670 West Paces Ferry were both in talks with the developer for preservation efforts. The two homes were purchased by The Macallan Group, in 2021 before selling to the Athens-based Westlake WPH Holding LLC this year. The Whispering Pines mansion was a topic of concern last year, with this year seeing Atlanta city councilwoman Mary Norwood (District 8) becoming involved in the preservation efforts.
According to reports, it was Westlake WPH Holding that went ahead and destroyed the homes after acquiring them from Macallan. That leaves about 20 homes left in Buckhead that are approaching or are over 100 years old. The developer of the project now will be creating eight 1-acre single-family homes including a culdesac cluster of homes on the property. Construction continues as the city likely have to pivot to seeing about preserving the remaining 20 or so homes left in Buckhead.
5. South Downtown updates
Newport’s South Downtown development has announced it has completed its key renovations to the historic hotel row of properties it owns. While also welcoming its first tenant, Ohio River South has moved into the Sylvan Building, as well as plans for local Atlanta coffee chain, Spiller Park to take up a new location soon on Hotel Row. Additionally, the company has shown its updates for its 222 Mitchell Street site.
Newport has also released images of two new towers on the site, towers which will include the destruction of some historic buildings in the process.
222 Mitchell Street
222 Mitchell Street, the centerpiece of the section is also undergoing massive renovations. The space is being redesigned to be a complement to the redevelopment of Hotel Row across the street, as well as two adjacent developments, the old Norfolk Southern building, and Centennial Yards. 222 Mitchell Street also will be coming online at the same time as the new Underground Atlanta, a Five Points MARTA Station redevelopment, and new development in Castleberry Hills.
The artwork downtown is likely gone, no word on the art scene.
Unfortunately, it seems as if the very unique upside-down alligator mural on the old Star Hotel on the historic Hotel Row will also be painted over at least according to the renderings of the site. That mural was painted by Belgian artist ROA for the 2011 Living Walls street art conference in Atlanta, and since that time it has grown to be one of the more photographed locations in downtown Atlanta.
In addition, a Bell Hooks-inspired mural has already been removed to make way for the new developments taking place at 222 Mitchell Street. That mural, created by the Loss Prevention Arts Collective, then painted on the adjacent 222 Mitchell Street parking deck (which has now been removed), became a local favorite over the last three years. The piece was an homage to MLK’s ‘beloved community’, a guiding ethos of Atlantans for decades was created in anticipation of the 2019 Super Bowl for the now defunct WonderRoot’s Off the Wall project featuring local artists paint murals across the city, an idea first given real steam by Living Walls and their yearly conferences of the 2010s. The area prior to the purchase of Newport was beginning to form a new art scene and was home to several unofficially sanctioned events in the area.
The 222 Mitchell Street building had in recent years been used for movie sets including 2018’s Black Panther and 2019’s Shaft remake. The site now is hoping to be building off of the buzz of Newport’s revamp of Hotel Row + the adjacent redevelopment of the old Norfolk Southern Building happening across the street and the gargantuan real estate project Centennial Yards, (fka ‘the gulch’) happening less than 100 yards away which is aiming at being ready for the 2026 World Cup.
I would suggest reading my August 2021 newsletter to see why this is a big deal for real estate in Atlanta as well as this article on the controversy surrounding it.
6. Phipps Plaza new developments
Phipps Plaza continued brand refresh and renovation continues. Luxury retail brand Hermes is heading to Phipps Plaza as part of the multimillion-dollar renovation into a mixed-use live-work-play venue. Hermes was a part of Lenox Mall until 2009 when it then departed for the Buckhead Village District.
Phipps Plaza is pivoting into a lifestyle brand
Phipps Plaza has over the last few years begun a deliberate pivot into a lifestyle brand. The Simon Properties-owned mall has sold off portions of its land while reducing the overall square footage of the mall and its parking lot to allow for a larger mixed-use development. Phipps Plaza has seen an internal shuffle of the mall’s stores, placing a heavier emphasis on fewer stores, but more well-known (and higher price point) brands. Restaurants have moved to the front of the mall on Peachtree Road, while retail fills the interiors, with the back portion of the mall being sold off for residential development and the AMC Theaters anchoring the third floor of the building.
The Nobu Hotel and the ‘new’ Phipps Plaza
The new Phipps Plaza is anchored by residential, it’s less dependent on being a mall. This emphasis on less overall square footage of the mall comes with a new anchor of the upcoming Nobu Hotel. Nobu has been slated for Atlanta since 2018, while the overall plans for Phipps have included a pandemic setback in addition to a more competitive market in 2022 than it was in 2023.
Nobu, despite opening slightly later than planned will be joining a revamped Phipps Plaza that is being built as a post-mall destination. The pivot is directionally correct as online shopping, and fast fashion, meet a more price-conscious consumer, who are willing to spend more on brands and experiences versus traditional retail.
Mark Toro influences everything
The post-shopping mall experience has been the calling card of Mark Toro, the former North Atlantic Partners President who has overseen two of the most influential real estate projects in metro Atlanta over the last twenty-five years. Toro’s Atlantic Station, Colony Square redevelopment, and (the possibly Serenbe-inspired) Avalon as mixed-used real estate successes over the last 15 years. Toro’s building of local choice destinations of retail and dining has proven to be the standard, so much so that every new development of any merit has taken pieces of this model.
Experiences matter in retail
The pivot keeps Phipps, located across from another shopping center, and Lenox as the Buckhead shopping mall for the more affluent facing. The pivot helps maintain Phipps as the destination for those in Buckhead, as well as in neighboring cities that could impede its long-term brand. In the race to remake everything, others in the nearby north section of Atlanta are moving as well to become destinations.
This includes Brookhaven’s City Centre project, Downtown Chamblee, Doraville’s downtown (plus the big project), and a Buford Highway redevelopment (as well as the pending Plaza Fiesta redevelopment), which are all in various stages of development.
Phipps Plaza is pivoting towards a post-mall future at a time when other malls including Northlake Mall, North DeKalb, and Gwinnett Place Mall are all attempting to do the same. Phipps benefits by becoming the first mall-to-destination renovation in the metro Atlanta area. In doing so, retaining occupying the tier-1 social status of high-end retail in the metro while also giving the brand a needed refresh.
7. John Portman’s downtown buildings are up for auction
Several downtown buildings created by renowned architect John Portman are up for sale. Six office towers and an underground shopping mall at Peachtree Center are now up for sale after a recent foreclosure by the property owner. The towers and mall have been icons in the development of Atlanta’s skyline since the 1960s.
The project was being overseen by Miami-based company Banyan Street Capital, who defaulted on a $127 million dollar debt on the project. The debt was accrued as a part of a heavy renovation to the facility that started prior to the pandemic. The company was betting on a growing in-town Atlanta market and the then-growing trend of national office retail reaching astronomical heights. Prior to the pandemic, the towers reportedly held a daily occupancy rate of near 72%, while the current post-pandemic occupancy rate has been reported now as closer to 55%.
Downtown needs housing and other amenities, it killed a complete streets project aimed at starting that
The Peachtree Center towers renovations were supposed to be a start of a new day in the redevelopment of downtown Atlanta. Those renovations included a complete streets project that started directly in front of the center. The project in its short weeks in existence showed improvements in foot traffic and sales, as they trended up 11%. The project was abruptly stopped as the Republican-supporting developer Richard Bowers, who has an office downtown across from the Peachtree Center towers was upset that it slowed down traffic to his parking space. Bowers threatened the city with legal action and pressed his relationship with state lawmakers if city leaders didn’t comply. Bowers won, while the city has not stated if they will try again.
8. Questions are arising on a new multi-hundred million dollar Clayco development
Roman United, the developer of the tentative $800 million dollar real estate project recently held its ribbon cutting in Lake City. The site in question is at the old Bruno’s (then Ingles, now abandoned) grocery store on Jonesboro Road across from the Georgia National Archives and within walking distance of Clayton State University.
The devil is in the details…
Questions have emerged regarding the project as the projected two-year timeline seems almost improbable considering its scale. The developers of the project are now being scrutinized for what is being seen as a lack of previous work, including what could be seen as falsified reports of previous projects (the website currently doesn’t allow any inquiries into past projects).
Additionally, no requests for building permits have been filed yet but the county has agreed to spend $4 million dollars to cover some construction costs. The county has also entered an agreement that would lease the 26-acre site for a rate of $10/year for the next 50 years, should the project come to fruition.
The project claims to draw its architectural designs from Detroit-based firm Yamasaki, it must be noted, that the company folded in 2010, then sold away the name. Yamasaki was the firm of famed Japanese-American Minoru Yamaski, an architect famous for his work in crafting the original World Trade Center, Federal Reserve Bank in Virginia, and the Pruitt-Igoe housing projects in St. Louis. Yamasaki died in 1986 but the firm lived on for two decades until the downtown of the 2008 financial crash. While also, the project has not specified its source of funding.
The project is a big one for anyone, especially Clayton.
The project is slated to be an entertainment complex that would include a 7,500-seat amphitheater, a 27-story condo building, a 25-story luxury hotel, and nine additional towers. The location is less than ten miles from Hartsfield-Jackson and is attempting to be an anchor of suburban redevelopment south of I-285.
Clayton County leaders want to be in the big leagues too
In the eyes of Clayton County boosters, everything south of Hapeville has been in a relative stasis of development in comparison to that of other counties and the city.
Overall, Clayton County is in a TBD moment of development as most of the proposed projects are still yet to break ground. This includes its historic Morrow district (which saw a massive fire this summer that may have been arson), Jonesboro Road’s TBD plans dating back to 2005, plus the gigantic, but still yet-to-launch Aerotopolis Atlanta (aka Airport City) project. That project would see a series of large commercial and mixed-use developments aimed at creating a mini-city anchoring the Atlanta Airport. The two biggest benefactors are College Park and the city of Hapeville, both of which have their own master plans for long-term development in addition to Airport City’s master plan, a plan that may get scaled back from its original ambitions.
Atlanta is changing by the day, now is a good time to take a picture before it’s too late.
-KJW