News
THE CP SKINNY
August 23, 2012
| Just an old sweet song keeps Central Perimeter on our mind. And it's also on the mind of some of the industry?s brightest talent, who we'll hear from on Tuesday at our Future of the 400 Corridor at The Retreat at Perimeter Summit. | ||
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| The experts see things bouncing back for one Central Perimeter, one of the key GA 400 submarkets. Seven Oaks Properties' Bob Voyles (right, with Harry Conley, getting ready to play Godzilla) says that Perimeter Summit's three Class-A buildings are 96% leased, but it'll get several floors back in 2002 Summit over the next two years. That may not be bad considering big blocks of space in CP are dwindling with fewer options for large tenant relocations. And new product is still a ways off. ?The likelihood of doing something that's not 100% or at least 75% leased… is pretty remote," Bob says. | ||
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| ?We're absolutely seeing 2012 as a much better year,? says Hines Interests? John Heagy, another panelist. (Ready to grab a ticketnow?) Not only are the big blocks of office space finally getting leased up, but sublease space has dwindled, John says. ?Spec buildings are certainly not going to be built in Atlanta in the near future,? he says, but companies are seeking ?fresh new office space.? And when it comes to economic development recruitment, John says Hines has been spinning things a new way: "We have to get beyond the simplistic pitch that Atlanta is a cheap place to do business—it's a new world with location professionals and corporate decision-makers focused today on value. | ||
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| Ackerman & Co's Pat Chesser says his firm is teed up for any new Central Perimeter development with its Abernathy 400 site that can accommodate two buildings and 750k SF. ?The problem is although there is tightening in Buckhead, you still see attractive inventory at attractive pricing,? Pat tells us. And there's plenty of allure for Central Perimeter-based companies to look uptown: the panache of the Buckhead market and being closer to the CBD. But CP does have free parking, which can save a company upwards of $3/SF on rents. (It can also get you some cash in Monopoly.) | ||
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| PM Realty Group's Bill Weghorst (another 400 Corridor panelist) tells us that North Fulton has been slower to recover than Central Perimeter in some ways, but activity has picked up in the past six months. And unlike Perimeter, North Fulton has quite a few blocks of big space available, especially in the Mansell Road area where Cox Enterprises vacated space in its consolidation into Central Perimeter. ?Backfilling those big blocks of space is challenging.? |
