Gultch/CIM Group Development

[smArTaLlone]

https://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/...-downtown.html

The firm redeveloping The Gulch says it's seeing interest from an astounding number of retailers — enough to nearly fill the city's landmark shopping mall Lenox Square two times over.

“Right now, we have over 3 million square feet of interest from retailers across the country that we are actively talking to,” said Brian McGowan, president of Centennial Yards Co. “The demand has been enormous.”

Centennial Yards is the $5 billion project that's transforming 50 acres in Downtown, helping to "heal the hole in the city of Atlanta," as Atlanta Hawks CEO Steve Koonin recently said.

It will include about 750,000 square feet of retail, McGowan said. The project aims to bring tenants that serve neighborhood needs, such as a grocery store. It also wants to create a sporting and entertainment district lined by Mercedes-Benz Stadium and State Farm Arena that includes music venues, restaurants and shops.

[cparker73]

Originally Posted by smArTaLlone

https://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/...-downtown.html

If they're courting enough retailers to fill Lenox twice over, I wonder what this will do to Atlantic Station if Centennial Yards becomes the new place to shop and hang out in an open-air urban environment. If Macy's comes back downtown, and they score a landmark Apple Store, it's game over for Atlantic Station.

[shivtim]

Originally Posted by cparker73

If they're courting enough retailers to fill Lenox twice over, I wonder what this will do to Atlantic Station if Centennial Yards becomes the new place to shop and hang out in an open-air urban environment. If Macy's comes back downtown, and they score a landmark Apple Store, it's game over for Atlantic Station.

I think there's plenty of room. Atlantic Station wasn't the death knell for Lenox/Phipps. The huge amount of new restaurants on the Beltline wasn't game over for the restaurant scene in Midtown or Buckhead. The population of metro Atlanta and the City of Atlanta continue to grow. Centennial Yards will serve the growing population while also being a brand new option for people attending sporting events or conferences downtown.

[jayden]

Yeah I don't think a massive influx of retailers at CY would negatively affect AS that much.

[Labtec]

Originally Posted by cparker73

If they're courting enough retailers to fill Lenox twice over, I wonder what this will do to Atlantic Station if Centennial Yards becomes the new place to shop and hang out in an open-air urban environment. If Macy's comes back downtown, and they score a landmark Apple Store, it's game over for Atlantic Station.

A lot of people in midtown / Georgia Tech will still go to AS.

[SAV]

I can see it having everything or somehow similar to what Atlantic station has with maybe the addition of a Lowe’s or Home Depot.

[montydawg]

Originally Posted by SAV

I can see it having everything or somehow similar to what Atlantic station has with maybe the addition of a Lowe’s or Home Depot.

Being this is brand new, I think they are going to aim for more high end establishments, similar to Atlantic station when it opened. There is not enough density in ATL for Home Depot to open an urban format store.

[Martinman]

I am on the side of this having minimal impact on Atlantic Station. I think CY will have a bigger visitor factor than anything else in-town.

[bryantm3]

Originally Posted by montydawg

Being this is brand new, I think they are going to aim for more high end establishments, similar to Atlantic station when it opened. There is not enough density in ATL for Home Depot to open an urban format store.

I am hoping they have a lot of varied store sizes. It would be nice to have a lot of really small stores thrown in along with the usual bigger footprint retail like in midtown so small/local businesses can play alongside the big boys.

[Libertarian]

Originally Posted by bryantm3

I am hoping they have a lot of varied store sizes. It would be nice to have a lot of really small stores thrown in along with the usual bigger footprint retail like in midtown so small/local businesses can play alongside the big boys.

Sustainable diversity of retailers would be clutch.

[smArTaLlone]

The land development permit for 88 Elliott Street is now "ready to issue".

[alco89]

Originally Posted by smArTaLlone

The land development permit for 88 Elliott Street is now "ready to issue".

Still a bit disappointed in the scale of this one, but it's nice they're moving forward with filling in another dead space.

[MykelAtl]

Originally Posted by alco89

Still a bit disappointed in the scale of this one, but it's nice they're moving forward with filling in another dead space.

I had to go to street view to see if the height is in context to the surrounding buildings. It really should be four levels all the way at the very least to match the building across the street. The lot doesn't look like it will provide for better parking capacity so that's what is probably keeping the lower hight since parking & the almighty automobile trump neighborhood context when building in Atlanta. And I guess that even applies to the urban core Is Centennial Yards really going to end up with a vast underworld for parking yet still be plagued by parking podiums??? Glass half empty out of the way the building really does look great & the entire development is going to be amazing!

[Martinman]

I'm confused by this complaint. To me, it seems to be the perfect scale for the Castleberry Hill neighborhood.

[bryantm3]

They are probably taking a risk to develop that lot in the first place. The sight line across the gulch will be gone. I think mimimal would have been better: a plaza park with a viewing platform and seating, a spot for some food trucks, and a better connection to the Mitchell Street bridge.

Any news on those buildings they wanted to put behind Norfolk Southern?

[smArTaLlone]

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

Steve Selig, president and chairman of Selig Enterprises Inc., told Atlanta Business Chronicle Monday his firm is 100% behind Centennial Yards Co.'s efforts to develop the southern portion of the district, part of a much larger area known as The Gulch. Selig said he's been in talks with the firm about future development of the area, a project rebranded as Centennial Yards.

"We have talked to them about what they are doing and if there may or may not be a spot for us along the way in their development," he said.

Selig Enterprises controls multiple properties within a block of the area known as the Gulch, which is the 50 acres of mostly vacant Downtown parking lots that the $5 billion Centennial Yards project would fill in. That includes retail project Five Points Plaza, historic office duo 75 Marietta St. and 84 Walton St. and retail strip Broad Street Plaza.


Downtown, which includes 17 different neighborhoods, is home to 81,000 residents, according to research from Jones Lang LaSalle Inc., and has seen its core population grow 28% over the past decade.

[jayden]

All for Selig joining CY but I'd prefer they focus on Midtown Exhange first.

[smArTaLlone]

https://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/...-downtown.html

Tony Ressler is obsessed with the success of Centennial Yards.

The billionaire hedge fund manager told Atlanta Business Chronicle that the $5 billion project could add 10,000 residents, 30,000 jobs, hotels, 1 million square feet of office space and an entertainment district to Downtown that might rival The Battery Atlanta in Cobb County.

He loves the plans. And yet, he suspects everyone at CIM Group LLC views him as a pain in the butt.

“I complain every day that it's not moving faster,” Ressler said.

There are good reasons for this.

Ressler and his group of investors own 40% of Centennial Yards, which will fill the 50-acre Gulch in the heart of Downtown. His brother, Richard Ressler, is also principal and co-founder of CIM, which is the project’s controlling investor and master developer. And State Farm Arena, the home to his Atlanta Hawks, sits directly in the Gulch’s shadow.

As of right now, there is no Downtown, Ressler said. Filling that hole will not only change that, but transform the entire metro area for the next 50 years.

“A vibrant downtown is critical," he said.

Centennial Yards Co., the local development arm of CIM Group, aims to build that vibe with a sporting and entertainment district lined by Mercedes-Benz Stadium and State Farm Arena that includes music venues, restaurants and shops. MARTA has also made redesigning the nearby Five Points train station a priority project, with its completion set for 2026.

The Atlanta Braves' 2.3 million-square-foot Battery development in Cobb County that surrounds Truist Park is the model, Ressler said. The aim is for fans to come Downtown two hours early, stay two hours after.

“We do intend to build a bigger version,” Ressler said. “I'm not saying a better version. I hope it's a better version, but it's going to be different. It's going to have a different vibe and a different feel. And I think we have a lot of other things, frankly, they don't.”

[bigstick]

Agree, it is not moving faster...

[cparker73]

Originally Posted by bigstick

Agree, it is not moving faster...

The story doesn't dig into what the hold up is. Is it permitting from the city? Financing? Landing an anchor tenant? Waiting on Amtrak? (we wish)? What exactly are the challenges?