At Buckhead condo conversion, can a branding switch help cure sales lull?

Once known as Park at Peachtree Memorial before transforming into Portico Buckhead at the beginning of the year, this 1920s apartment-turned-condos community has yet another new moniker.

Please welcome the Enclave at Peachtree Memorial—a branding switch that developers hope will restart sales that’ve cooled off, despite the project’s status as a relatively rare condo conversion in recent years.

According to Cameron Pimm, a principal with development company Tenth Street Ventures, the new name better represents what the community is. “The new [marketing] team [led by Allen Snow] thought that the new name was more fitting of the quiet street in the heart of Buckhead,” he told Curbed Atlanta via email.

The community contains 50 units, all with two bedrooms and two bathrooms, ranging in square footage from 821 to 1,357. Floor-to-ceiling renovations incorporate open concept layouts, gourmet kitchens, and updated fixtures.

Some units also come with screened-in patios or balconies. In addition, community amenities include a gym, club room, community garden, dog park, and outdoor plaza.

Pimm’s team believes the rebranding could be the push the development needs to spur buyer interest.

Touted as affordable housing with prices starting in the $200,000s and topping out in the $450,000s, coupled with relatively low HOA fees, the community experienced great interest when first unveiled in January, but saw that wane in the ensuing months.

“Our sales were initially strong and fast-paced when we first hit the market, and then we hit a lull due to not having enough units renovated and ready to move in,” Pimm said.

Currently, there are 34 units remaining, all of which are expected to deliver early next year.

“We would tell people they may want to hurry as it’s rare to find intown properties at this price point,” Pimm said. “We’ll be working with first-time homebuyers and have other incentives to encourage folks to buy soon and lock in these low prices.”

Here, a fresh look at these apartments turned condos:

UPDATE: December 5, 12:15 p.m. In response to reader concerns about flooding problems in the area, Cameron Pimm, Tenth Street Ventures principal, provided the following statement this week:

“We invested in larger, heavy duty pumps and we rebuilt the cistern so that now the infrastructure is in place to deal with Atlanta’s heavy rainstorms. The new system is effectively preventing flooding into the condo units. Last year in 2018, when Atlanta had one of its heaviest rainfalls in history, the system was effective at keeping water at bay. In fact, in 2018 it rained 20.32 inches more than the 30-year average rainfall of 49.71 inches, and the new infrastructure we installed prevented any flooding of the condo units. We also took the precaution of including flood insurance in our below-market HOA fees.”