Midtown’s 2017 boom: 40 major projects, 4,500 jobs, 18 percent dip in violent crime

Midtown Alliance recounts statistical reasons to pop bubbly as 2018 nears.

By Josh Green@JoshGreen1234 Dec 20, 2017, 2:33pm EST

Midtown’s West Peachtree Street at 14th Street is unrecognizable from a couple of years ago. Here, Atlantic House is on the left and Icon Midtown at right. — Midtown’s West Peachtree Street at 14th Street is unrecognizable from a couple of years ago. Here, Atlantic House is on the left and recently topped-out Icon Midtown at right.

Come late December the past few years, development dorks and density wonks have been singing the same happy refrain about one Atlanta submarket in particular: Midtown is on fire!

In 2017, crane sightings may have ramped up to yet another new level, as tall, block-altering Midtown projects spread more broadly to north of the High Museum and practically next door to The Varsity.

To add context to the development frenzy, the Midtown Alliance has compiled a year-end reflection of ‘17 highlights within the district’s official boundaries, which cover barely more than one square mile.

Some interesting statistical highlights, among the highlights:

4,500

That’s the estimated count of new jobs announced within Midtown proper since January. The bulk of those came with the unveiling of the glassy Anthem Technology Center, which, alongside neighbor CODA, promises to remake the feel and function of blocks to the south of Tech Square.

...

18 percent

That’s the decrease in violent crimes reported in the district against 2016 stats, per Midtown Alliance. Which could lend credence to the notion that more people—more eyes on the street, that is—can be a bad-guy deterrent.

Crane city: looking north, toward Midtown’s western flank, atop the new Modera tower in June.

33

That’s the number, as 2017 winds down, of major Midtown developments under construction (21 total) or proposed.

...

7

That’s the tally of sizable projects delivered this year, including the Post Midtown and AMLI Arts Center towers and shorter multifamily ventures such as Broadstone Midtown. Also included is the first piece of NCR’s global headquarters, a rather sculptural complex set to debut in coming weeks.

...

68,000

This could be a heartening number for those who fear (wisely) that so much building could portend a traffic chernobyl.

The Midtown Alliance’s Midtown Transportation team sold 68,000 discounted transit passes this year—a 13-percent uptick from 2016. Sure, the Interstate 85 meltdown helped pad that number, but Midtown Alliance said the carryover has been more permanent than some realize.

“November transit pass sales to Midtown employers are up +1,000 passes compared to April during the I-85 closure,” the report notes. “This is good news, as Midtown transit ridership continues to grow.”