Gultch/CIM Group Development

[Metrophile]

In a word: BARF.

[OTPandProud1974]

I think we can rule out heavy rail/Amtrack. That's plain.

But to think there won't be some form of rapid transit at the Gulch is naive. The fact that CIM will literally develop their own street grid -- elevated street grid at that -- opens the door to a lot of possibilities, from extending the street car to some form of people mover.

So far CIM has been incredibly silent on this. If Amazon chooses Atlanta, does anyone in their right mind think CIM wouldn't put some form of transit in there?

Check Bisnow's story with extra details: Three years to create an elevated street grid.

https://www.bisnow.com/atlanta/news/...elopment-92038

[Atlanta3000]

Originally Posted by OTPandProud1974

I think we can rule out heavy rail/Amtrack. That's plain.

But to think there won't be some form of rapid transit at the Gulch is naive. The fact that CIM will literally develop their own street grid -- elevated street grid at that -- opens the door to a lot of possibilities, from extending the street car to some form of people mover.

So far CIM has been incredibly silent on this. If Amazon chooses Atlanta, does anyone in their right mind think CIM wouldn't put some form of transit in there?

Check Bisnow's story with extra details: Three years to create an elevated street grid.

https://www.bisnow.com/atlanta/news/...elopment-92038

Thanks for linking to my favorite CRE Writer - Jarred Scheneke @ Bisnow.

Everyone read the article because Jarred has info that has not been reported on other sites/publications. First he states,

CIM is eyeing a $5B project that would encompass more than 9M SF of office, 1M SF of retail, 2,100 apartment units and 1,500 hotel rooms.

Which I believe is 1,100 more apartments in the original plan

The most important data point:

The first step for the project will be a three-year process of creating a new street grid 40 feet above the site's current elevation and in line with CNN Center, which will cost roughly $500M, the source said.

So now we see why Amazon signed a LoI for 900K sqft at 675 West Peachtree and why so many office projects have been announced in Midtown. If I am reading this correctly, it will take CIM Group 3 years just to build the infrastructure to support the development. Then it could take another 2+ years before an office building would be ready for occupancy. Net, net - 5 years.

Interesting.

[ThrashATL]

Originally Posted by montydawg

Any big city worth their salt has commuter rail

How long has Atlanta been worth it's salt? Maybe since the early 90s? Cities with effective commuter rail were cities of multi-millions of people for a century or more.

[ThrashATL]

Originally Posted by Atlanta3000

If we were not promised a LA Live like "entertainment district" or HQ2, what is depicted above would be fine.

This is a hugely disappointing fail. Kind of like that image we saw of Turner Field development and what they're actually going to do. Bait & switch. This looks like SimCity 3000 where all sorts of random ripp/rapp fills in big commercial zones.

[Atlanta3000]

*************CODE BROWN*************

Gulch developer in discussions with possible Fortune 500 corporation — but it's not Amazon

Link to Article:
https://webcache.googleusercontent.c...nt=firefox-b-1

The economic development prospect is considering moving its headquarters to Atlanta. The Gulch, which has been tied to Atlanta’s bid to land Amazon.com Inc.’s (Nasdaq: AMZN) $5 billion HQ2 project, is the leading contender for the unidentified company.

“There’s a prospect in play,” Chris Riley, chief of staff for Gov. Nathan Deal, said after an Aug. 20 meeting of the Rotary Club of Atlanta.

According to city and state officals familar with the deal, the corporate prospect is one of the reasons why CIM is urgently trying to get approval for the project’s financing through the various governmental entities.

It also doesn’t mean Amazon is off the table for the Gulch. The Internet giant has made national headlines this year in its search for HQ2, a new headquarters that could create up to 50,000 jobs.

“We don’t know anything,” Deal said. “They still stay in touch with our economic development team ... I think the more we show that other businesses have affirmed being in Georgia is important for them, I think that sends a louder message than us telling them.”

[atlwarrior]

According to city and state officals familar with the deal, the corporate prospect is one of the reasons why CIM is urgently trying to get approval for the project’s financing through the various governmental entities.

LMBO! For 600 Jobs! Boy Bye

[skyscraperpage17]

Originally Posted by atlwarrior

According to city and state officals familar with the deal, the corporate prospect is one of the reasons why CIM is urgently trying to get approval for the project’s financing through the various governmental entities.

LMBO! For 600 Jobs! Boy Bye

Yeah, at first glance, it's a huge gigantic "meh."

But depending on the company, maybe it's a bigger deal than it appears.

[atlwarrior]

Originally Posted by skyscraperpage17

Yeah, at first glance, it's a huge gigantic "meh."

But depending on the company, maybe it's a bigger deal than it appears.

That’s true! I think Google and Starbucks are looking at Atlanta.

[skyscraperpage17]

Originally Posted by atlwarrior

That’s true! I think Google and Starbucks are looking at Atlanta.

Google is reportedly looking at Atlanta for a 5,000 job operations center, not a HQ.

Of course, that's a big difference from 600 jobs with some unknown company (where, I might add, the average salaries may be much lower).

[Atlanta3000]

Originally Posted by atlwarrior

That’s true! I think Google and Starbucks are looking at Atlanta.

The ABC article says this is a HQ relocation and it sounds like it is not a local Fortune 500 moving from suburbs to downtown. Google and Starbucks would be expansions - not HQ relocation.

Note even a 600 employee Fortune 500 company office can equal 4 times that many direct and indirect jobs. Most Fortune 500 companies hire countless consultants for all parts of their businesses, require their largest vendors and suppliers to have local offices, hire local legal services and external auditors, company's customers and suppliers visits drive travel and hospitality sectors....etc. The bottom line - a 600 employee Fortune 500 provides a better jolt to the local economy than a 600 person IT Operation Center. Make sense?

[Atlanta3000]

Originally Posted by skyscraperpage17

Google is reportedly looking at Atlanta for a 5,000 job operations center, not a HQ.

Of course, that's a big difference from 600 jobs with some unknown company (where, I might add, the average salaries may be much lower).

TBD - but I would think the average salary at a 600 person Fortune 500 company (could) be higher than a 600 person IT Operations Center.

[skyscraperpage17]

Originally Posted by Atlanta3000

TBD - but I would think the average salary at a 600 person Fortune 500 company (could) be higher than a 600 person IT Operations Center.

It depends on the type of company. If it's a tech, finance, entertainment or health care HQ, then maybe. If it's a retail or restaurant HQ, maybe not so much.

A significant portion of the staff will be made up of administrative workers (such as Executive Assistants, Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, Buyers, etc.), which are decent but not particularly high-paying nor high-skilled jobs. The lower the company's market cap and profit margin, most likely the less generous they will be with their compensation.

An IT operations centers with 5,000 employees, meanwhile, will be staffed with mostly engineers and computer scientists that will no doubt command high salaries / benefits.

[atlwarrior]

Originally Posted by Atlanta3000

The ABC article says this is a HQ relocation and it sounds like it is not a local Fortune 500 moving from suburbs to downtown. Google and Starbucks would be expansions - not HQ relocation.

Note even a 600 employee Fortune 500 company office can equal 4 times that many direct and indirect jobs. Most Fortune 500 companies hire countless consultants for all parts of their businesses, require their largest vendors and suppliers to have local offices, hire local legal services and external auditors, company's customers and suppliers visits drive travel and hospitality sectors....etc. The bottom line - a 600 employee Fortune 500 provides a better jolt to the local economy than a 600 person IT Operation Center. Make sense?

Correction received- I need coffee. I wonder who it might be?

[Atlanta3000]

Originally Posted by Atlanta3000

*************CODE BROWN*************

Gulch developer in discussions with possible Fortune 500 corporation — but it's not Amazon

Link to Article:
https://webcache.googleusercontent.c...nt=firefox-b-1

I just went back and reread this article and I am going to call bullshit on this:

According to city and state officials familiar with the deal, the corporate prospect is one of the reasons why CIM is urgently trying to get approval for the project’s financing through the various governmental entities.

There is no way in hell Atlanta Public Schools, the Mayor, the City Council would be designing $900 Million to $1.75 Billion incentive packages, eliminating the Eastside TAD in favor of the Westside TAD - for a 600 person corporate relocation. This has to be about Amazon as well or we need to have all of them removed from office for gross incompetence.

[smArTaLlone]

https://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/...aordinary.html

The project is unprecedented for south downtown and one of the largest ever proposed for metro Atlanta. It would create up to 15 city blocks with roads, sidewalks, bike lanes, gathering spaces and parks in what was once the commercial heart of the city at the turn of the 20th century.

Gulch developer CIM Group’s most ambitious plan would add up to 9.3 million square feet of office space. That’s four times the size of State Farm Insurance Co.’s Dunwoody campus. It could fill the 50-story Bank of America Plaza seven times over. It is equivalent to more than half of downtown’s existing 15 million square feet of offices.

Even one of the more-modest scenarios CIM unveiled to Atlanta’s City Council Aug. 21 includes a plan for 1.8 million square feet of office space. That’s more space than downtown has added since 2005, according to data from real estate services giant Jones Lang LaSalle Inc.

I wonder if this timeline would even work for Amazon.

CIM will initially fund $500 million in infrastructure improvements that include bringing the Gulch up to street level — a remarkable show of confidence in the project.

The 40-foot platform could take at least three years to build.

[montydawg]

Originally Posted by atlwarrior

Correction received- I need coffee. I wonder who it might be?

It is not Starbucks. They have 5000 employees at their headquarters.

[atlwarrior]

Originally Posted by montydawg

It is not Starbucks. They have 5000 employees at their headquarters.

That was already mentioned and I received the correction.

[pica]

A host of prospective companies have recently looked at Atlanta for major corporate expansions. That includes online music streaming giant Pandora Media Inc., Whole Foods Market Inc. and Starbucks Coffee Co

It also doesn’t mean Amazon is off the table for the Gulch.

Amazon and its new subsidiary, Whole Foods.

[ThrashATL]

Athens/Atlanta commuter rail would be the best first bang for the buck and to prove if it would work at all. If that line doesn't work, none of them will.