Pardon the self-aggrandizing, but we've been touting the awesomeness of 2014 in Atlanta since the beginning of 2013. But hey, it wasn't rocket science. With the debut of two national museums, the (scheduled) opening of a streetcar network and the unveiling of one mixed-use behemoth after another, 2014 has been a transformative year, to say the least. Considering the massive mixed-use projects alone, one real estate expert goes so far as to call metro Atlanta's recent developments "extremely unique," possibly making the city a "national anomaly." In an interview with Globe St., Brian Leary, president of Crescent Communities' commercial and mixed-use group, notes that Atlanta has opened three major retail destinations — Buckhead Atlanta, Avalon and Ponce City Market — in the span of a year. And all three, in Leary's estimation, have the potential to be blockbusters.
Leary says the Big Three of 2014 (with apologies to Krog Street Market) exhibit high-grade designs and construction. Coupled with relatively low gas prices, the holidays should provide a jolt to the Buckhead and Alpharetta destinations, and even the few stores open at the Old Fourth Ward mega-project. Posits Leary: "These will all be very well received and will experience the type of traffic that will see back-ups blocks away as people flock to an experience very rarely delivered in the Atlanta region."
Talk like that makes the Recessionary doldrums of 2010 seem far, far away.
· Why Atlanta May be a National Anomaly [Globe St.]
· Top 10 ATL Projects Finishing/Starting/Progressing In 2014 [Curbed]
Loading comments...