Who's Circling Braves New Stadium?
The Braves RFQÂ for a stadium and mixed-use project drawing a lot of attention in Atlanta circles. But who will pursue it? (Rumor has it the Seattle Mariners bid $300M on it for no reason at all.)
Numerous sources confirm interest among Atlanta's who's who. This is a sample of the names evaluating the RFQ: Greenstone Properties, Ackerman & Co, Carter, Cousins, and OliverMcMillan. While it hasn't been confirmed, many observers say Jacoby Development and North American Properties will likely consider proposals. (The site sort of looks like Megamind, if he were turned to the left. Could this whole thing just be viral marketing?)
Greenstone Properties is an interesting name because its principals (Chris Schoen, above at a Bisnow event, and De Little) have mixed-use stadium experience. The firm developed the new stadium for the Fort Wayne TinCaps (a minor league San Diego Padres affiliate) in Indiana. Most recently, it teamed with the City of Augusta to develop a $144M Augusta GreenJackets (San Francisco Giants affiliate) stadium mixed-use project bordering the Savannah River off the 13th Street bridge. That could include a 200-room hotel and conference center, restaurants, townhouses, apartments, retail, and office space, according to reports.
Another contender with pedigree in stadium projects is Carter. It currently is master planning and developing The Banks in Cincinnati (above), a massive riverfront, mixed-use project that will include 400 hotel rooms, 1M SF of office space, 400k SF of retail, and 3M SF of residential sandwiched between Paul Brown Stadium to the west and the National Underground Freedom Center and Great American Ball Park to the east along the Ohio River. Qualification documents are due to the Braves by Jan. 10. As one source notes, this type of project doesn't leave much room for profit making and instead is viewed as a resume builder.
