How To Start A Building

Owners of Perimeter Summit are considering high-end housing near the Villa Christina.

Seven Oaks Properties Bob Voyles told an audience of more than 300 CRE pros at our thirdannual Future of Central Perimeter eventthat the firm is eyeing--along with an unnamed institutional partner--the development of either condos or luxury apartments at the Perimeter Summit property, which will complement and help otherretail elements in the park, particularly Villa Christina, he says. So far, the project is very preliminary. (We've been saying the same thing about building shelves in the garage for eight years.)

Another project update for Central Perimeter is Northpark. Hines Interests John Heagy says the project (at least the office portion) has passed muster of a Sandy Springs committee. And now on June 18, it goes before the mayor and council for full approval.

That led to discussions about just what will it take to get a new office building started in Central Perimeter, especially since big blocks of space are running out there. The consensus: Rents above $30/SF(at a time when they hover in the low- to mid-$20 range) and pre-leasing as much as 80% of the building. Were kind of in some uncharted territory here from a rate standpoint, John says, adding that any underwriters will want serious skin in the game from the developer. (Our friend Shylock gave us a pound of flesh once... would that work?)