Speaking at Bisnow's
Atlanta State of Office at the St. Regis this morning, Cushman & Wakefield's
John O'Neill said Atlanta is finally seeing
economic growth. The office market is
tightening. And despite the loss of the TSPLOST , we're
luring companies to Atlanta again: "We are coming out into hopefully the Golden Decade."
For a crowd of
more than 325, Hines'
John Heagy said our economy took such a hit that it's taken us a long time to crawl back. And Atlanta's
housing market needs to
recover more before we can say we're
firing on all cylinders.
The tone at this year's office panel was decidedly
more positive. We snapped Arnall Golden Gregory's
Phil Skinner (moderator and sponsor), Carter's
Bob Peterson, Ackerman & Co's
Kris Miller, John Heagy, Regent Partners'
David Allman, Cousins Properties'
Larry Gellerstedt, John O'Neill, and Seven Oaks Co's
Bob Voyles. The positivity comes, in large part, from activity in Buckhead and Central Perimeter, both
running out of big blocks (or as O'Neill joked, State Farm even bought the Downtown Atlanta Ferris Wheel).
The office market is performing best along Atlanta's
spine: from Buckhead up GA 400 to North Fulton. But as those markets tighten, others will benefit—including Downtown Atlanta, which Larry called
"one of the sleeper markets" over the next decade. Between the new Falcons stadium, the Atlanta Skyview, and the college football hall of fame, Larry says Downtown is seeing
$2B in new development. Add a growing Georgia State U—with students living there finally—and office Downtown is an "
attractive bargain." (To be fair, when college students are nearby, any place is a "sleeper market.")
Krissays Jamestown's Ponce City Market is perhaps the
"most adventurous" office development this cycle. "That's certainly
braver than Ackerman's willing to be," he says. Kris also calls the Ponce City Market project a "
bellwether" for Atlanta, given its leasing success with Athenahealth and Cardlytics.
