Trends and developments affecting the heart of metro Atlanta will be covered in this special section of Atlanta Business Chronicle. Market reports generally seek to cover the most geographically relevant core Atlanta industries, which include commercial and residential real estate, finance, health care, hospitality and technology.

DOWNTOWN MARKET REPORT

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BUSINESS IS OUR MIDDLE NAME

ISSUE DATE: March 25

SPACE DEADLINE: March 15

MATERIALS DUE: March 16

BONUS DISTRIBUTION: Central Atlanta Progress Annual Meeting

Redevelopment of prime real estate that is currently home to four Atlanta landmarks — Underground Atlanta, the Boisfeuillet Jones Atlanta Civic Center, the Georgia Dome, and Turner Field — stands to, over time, pro-vide a high-density, mixed-use boost to downtown.

Out of the four, only Underground Atlanta has, at press time, made it past the RFP process with a developer selected. But there’s a good chance that all of them could “be spoken for” by someone during the next fi ve years or so, according to A.J. Robinson, president of Central Atlanta Progress.

By being redeveloped into major new activity hubs, the impact of these proj-ects would have a dramatic impact on downtown.

“Th e scale of each is massive, and there is the potential to create a tremendous amount of density in each of these proj-ects, making them all destinations,” said Robinson. “And the really good news is that timing is with us, as these proper-ties will be coming on the market dur-ing a particularly strong real estate cycle.”

Strategic locationsWRS Inc. is currently doing its due dil-igence before closing its $25.75 million deal to buy Underground Atlanta, down-town’s long-time, long-underperforming shopping, restaurant, and entertainment venue, later this year.

Th e three-level/225,000-square-foot complex is seen as a likely venue for rede-velopment as a dense mix of retail and residential uses.

Th e Mount Pleasant, S.C.-based devel-oper has the right ideas for Underground,

according to Th ad Ellis, senior vice president of Cous-ins Properties Inc.

“I think the fact they [WRS Inc.] have committed to developing above-ground as well as underground is ter-rifi c news. I’ve just got to believe there

is demand for retail and multifamily at street level,” said Ellis.

With its strategic location, redevelop-ment of Underground “has the opportu-nity to be a catalyst for change, not only in its immediate area, but also for the south downtown central business district,” said Courtney Knight, managing director of redevelopment for Invest Atlanta, the economic development arm of the city.

Strategic loca-tion is also a quality of the 20-acre site of the Boisfeuillet Jones Atlanta Civic Center, Knight said.

“There will be no 20-acre site that close to downtown, Midtown, and the Old Fourth Ward, each with its own

unique characteristics and dynamics, ever available again in this city,” Knight said.

In redeveloping this site, “It is very important that what goes there creates a live/work/play environment,” that cap-tures what is happening in each of these areas, he adds.

In October, Invest Atlanta issued an RFP seeking proposals from develop-ers to buy and redevelop the Civic Cen-ter site into an urban activity node com-bining residential, retail, offi ce and other uses, creating “an economic anchor that activates the site, drives demand for new development, and facilitates the

long-term integration of the downtown and Midtown business districts and the Old Fourth Ward neighborhood.”

Invest Atlanta is currently evaluating fi nalists, according to Knight, with ten-tative plans to provide a recommendation of a “Preferred Respondent” for approval by the Invest Atlanta Board of Directors in April.

The (doomed) DomeIn January, the Georgia World Congress Center Authority released a request for qualifi cations (RFQ) for an 800- to 1,200-room convention hotel that would sup-port activities and events at the Geor-gia World Congress Center (GWCC), Centennial Olympic Park, and the new Atlanta Falcons stadium.

Th e hotel would be located on por-tion of the GWCC campus that is now the site of the Georgia Dome, the 1.6 mil-lion-square-foot stadium at Northside and Georgia Dome drives.

“A new hotel built on the western side [of the campus] will help balance the complex’s uses and make downtown Atlanta even more marketable,” said Becky Ward, senior vice president with architecture-design fi rm tvsdesign.

Having more conveniently located hotel rooms would bring more activ-ity to the GWCC, “which would be a very good thing for Atlanta. The eco-nomic boost that conventions and visitation bring is very significant,” according to David D. Marvin, pres-

ident of Legacy Property Group LLC, a developer whose downtown Atlanta

JOANN VITELLI

Becky Ward of tvsdesign says the hotel proposed where the Georgia Dome now stands will help make downtown Atlanta even more marketable. Th e Dome is slated for demolition after the new Atlanta Falcons stadium opens in 2017.

Prime timeICONIC DOWNTOWN LANDMARKS SET FOR REDEVELOPMENT

CONTINUED ON PAGE 2B

BY MARTIN SINDERMANContributing Writer

DOWNTOWN MARKET REPORTINDUSTRY FOCUS • MARCH 27-APRIL 2, 2015 • SECTION B

ThadEllis

CourtneyKnight

“Th ese properties will be coming on the market during a particularly strong real estate cycle.”A.J. ROBINSON,Central Atlanta Progress

David D.Marvin