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TUESDAY'S
TOUR AND TIP
Key retailers like Moreland
Eight sign on for Edgewood project
A
major intown retail project near Little Five Points is moving forward and has
signed a raft of well-known tenants, its developer says.
Jeff
Fuqua, president of Sembler Co.'s development division, says eight retailers
have committed to space at Edgewood Retail District, located on 42 acres on
Moreland Avenue south of Little Five Points.
They
are Lowe's Home Improvement, Target, Kroger, Barnes & Noble, Bed Bath &
Beyond, Ross Dress For Less, Cost Plus World Market and Petsmart, he said.
"Target,
Lowe's and Kroger signed on almost immediately," Fuqua said. "That
lineup drew the rest." He still wants to sign another anchor and 60
smaller shops and restaurants.
Just
over a year in the making, Edgewood Retail District got final zoning approval
from the Atlanta City Council on April 21. Sembler plans to start construction
in late summer, with a March 2005 opening.
The
project is expected to have both retail and residential units, with plans for
350 townhouses, apartments, lofts and other units. Columbia Residential has
signed on to develop everything except the lofts in the former shoe factory
building.
The
development's closeness to intown neighborhoods, including Inman Park,
Edgewood, Candler Park, Little Five Points and Kirkwood, will be a prime
selling point.
Retailers
have scaled back development plans because markets are overflowing with
choices. Shoppers are also spending less. Some retail chains are facing
financial troubles and closing stores.
Still,
Edgewood Retail District has lured big names.
Fuqua
said the success of his company's Midtown Place development on Ponce de Leon
Avenue has helped, adding that the recently opened Whole Foods is already No. 1
in that chain's Southeast division.
"The
area is undeveloped," Fuqua said. "And there are lots and lots of
people."
Close
to 131,000 people live within three miles of Edgewood Retail District, with an
average household income of $63,234, according to Sembler. More than 322,000
people live within five miles and have an average household income of $59,070.
Few
national stores exist within three miles of the site.
"We
showed the site to a retailer who salivated over the project," said broker
Ruth Coan with the Shopping Center Group. "But the tenant could not be
accommodated because there's no room at the inn."
The
other major intown development seeking tenants in the subdued retail economy is
Atlantic Station, the massive Midtown project adjacent to the Downtown
Connector. It is scheduled to open this fall but has struggled to land tenants.
Atlantic
Station has signed Dillard's, a department store, and a 16-screen United
Artists theater in its planned 800,000 square feet of retail space. Officials
have said several other leases are near completion. Atlantic Station wants to
attract restaurants and entertainment retail, plus specialty shops such as
Williams-Sonoma and Banana Republic and a grocery chain.
Fuqua
downplays competition between the Edgewood and Atlantic Station projects for
tenants.
"Atlantic
Station is a different kind of project," he said.
Fuqua's
company is deeply involved in intown development. Midtown Place opened in 2000,
followed by Publix on Piedmont shopping center in 2001. Edgewood Retail
District is the largest development yet. His company is also redeveloping
Lindbergh Plaza.
BYLINE:
RENEE DEGROSS
DATE: May 3, 2003
PUBLICATION: Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The (GA)
Adams
Fairfield Realty
Chrissy Neumann
"Making You Feel At
Home"
www.castlesbychrissy.com
404.925.5335
fax - 770.565.4477