Atlanta's downtown becomes a hot real estate market

March 9,2018

Source: Heather Martin, Atlanta Business Chronicle

After decades of outward expansion, the city of Atlanta is focusing inward again.

Renewed interest in urban working and living began in downtown-adjacent areas like Buckhead, Midtown and Old 4th Ward. Now as prices rise and space becomes scarce in surrounding submarkets, the city’s core is the newest frontier for urban commercial and residential development in the metro Atlanta region.

In the last 10 years, nearly $4 billion in completed real estate investment has been made in downtown Atlanta and another $4 billion worth of development being planned or under construction, according to JLL’s market research. Class A direct vacancy rates have fallen more than 2 percentage points to 18 percent in the last three years, and average Class A lease rates have risen by $10 per square foot in the same period. JLL market stats also indicate that downtown’s residential population has grown an average of 1.95 percent a year since 2010, with nearly 60,000 residents calling downtown Atlanta home.

“The magnitude of the investments is very impressive,” said Mike Sivewright, president of JLL’s Atlanta Region.

Read the complete article at the link above.