Submarket Spotlight
Central Perimeter market thinking over long term
Atlanta Business Chronicle - by Martin Sinderman
The Central Perimeter's evolution into a showcase of mixed-use development is being accompanied by the steady, if unspectacular, performance of its office market.
"I'd say the office market is relatively flat," said CB Richard Ellis Inc. First Vice President Tom Miller, whose Atlanta-area leasing assignments include Lakeside Commons and Glenridge Highlands One.
"The majority of deals we are seeing are either intra-market moves or existing tenants expanding."
"I'd use the word 'tepid' to describe the market," said Cushman & Wakefield Senior Director Gary Waddell, who represented Alcatel USA Marketing Inc. in its 11,000-square-foot move from Midtown to Lakeside Commons last year.
During the latter portion of 2005, Arby's Restaurant Group Inc. leased 112,000 square feet at 1155 Perimeter Center West for its new headquarters.
Meanwhile, SAP America Inc. took about 44,000 square feet at 20 Perimeter Summit Blvd.
Other deals include a 31,784-square-foot renewal by CIT Group Inc., a commercial/consumer finance group; a 26,740-square-foot renewal and expansion by health insurer Humana Inc., and a 17,295-square-foot new lease by information security services provider Vigilar Inc., all at the 900 Ashwood building.
And in a relocation from an owned facility in the Decatur area, Huddle House recently took 12,152 square feet in the Palisades building for its corporate headquarters.
Office space users like the Central Perimeter because of its location, according to Transwestern Commercial Services Senior Associate Peter McGuone, who handles leasing at 900 Ashwood.
They also like the fact "that landlords up here are aggressive, and understand they have to do something to compete with Buckhead and downtown for tenants."
The changing complexion of this area from suburban office to a dynamic mix of uses is also attractive to office tenants, said Newmark Knight Frank Managing Director Mike Kotzin.
"There are a lot of exciting things going on here," said Kotzin, who represented engineering/construction consultant Lockwood Greene in its 62,000-square-foot move from downtown to the Central Perimeter's Sterling Pointe II in 2004.
Notable items on the list include the influx of high-density apartment and condominium housing to the area, he notes, while The Sembler Co.'s retail/residential development, Perimeter Place "has really created an interesting dynamic" in the market.
As previously reported by Atlanta Business Chronicle, a planned move by Cingular Wireless LLC from Glenridge Highlands Two has been put on hold pending resolution of the proposed AT&T Inc. buyout of BellSouth Corp.
Meanwhile, sources report that insurance claims services manager Crawford & Co.'s current search for office space is focused on buildings in the Central Perimeter.
A lot of the action over the long term, though, is likely to encompass more than office buildings, particularly on the 26 acres owned by Equity Office Properties Trust (EOP) at Hammond Drive and Perimeter Center West, adjacent to the Dunwoody MARTA station.
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