Speaker: Buckhead Suffering, But Opportunities Abound

by Sheila Ryan

David Allman, Chairman of Regent Partners, knows Buckhead well. He has been in commercial real estate much of his career, and his company built the Sovereign – the tallest building built in Atlanta in 20 years.

Allman told the Buckhead Rotary Club that Buckhead has been in a boom time for much of the past five years, but that like much of the country, it has suffered the softening of the real estate market. There are currently four empty or nearly empty office buildings, empty hotel rooms and many condos for sale. Allman predicts that we will see more foreclosures in 2010 than in 2009.

Even though Buckhead has seen softening, Allman says it is still a great area in which to live, work and invest. Category by category, Buckhead still does well. The current conditions have led to a great value including hotel rooms for half price and condos priced at 50% from their peek.

One bright spot in the Buckhead community is the CID, Community Improvement District, a self-taxing area formed to help fund improvements. Ten years ago, Buckhead formed the CID to address traffic in the area. This resulted in the Peachtree Boulevard project, the transformation of a 1.7-mile stretch of Peachtree, with a new landscaped median, better turn lanes, bike lanes, and wider sidewalks. A second phase will start next month and be completed by November 2012.

Current ambitions of the CID include:

• Connecting I-85 N to GA 400.
• Converting the emergency lane where GA 400 meets I-85 S into a traffic lane to ease congestion.
• Completing the northern concourse of the Buckhead MARTA station to provide easier transit access to Piedmont and the Tower Place area.
• Expansion of the 'buc' shuttle service

Looking forward over the next 10 years, the CID is focused on traffic and transportation and the quality of life issues. In an effort to improve the quality of life in Buckhead, the CID will work with the government, neighborhoods, and local businesses. The CID is also looking at a green space initiative that will take distressed real estate and transform it into green space.

Allman says threats to the Buckhead area continue to be traffic, public education, property taxes and oversight of the APS. Opportunities that exist include lower real estate rates that will allow people to move in town and transportation funding that will link growth patterns and traffic patterns. There is also an opportunity to attract the international community and green spaces to the Buckhead Village area. The CID will continue to work with others on these threats and opportunities to maintain the vibrancy of Buckhead. The price is right for living and working in Buckhead today.