New Urban Community Aims for the Familiar [ By Jim Jacoby ] Atlantic Station will ultimately offer 1.5 million square feet of fashion, dining and entertainment space, as shown in models at left. Residents have already moved in to 56 townhouses, shown above. From the beginning, Atlantic Station's mission has been to create a new community in the heart of Atlanta that will feel inherently familiar--a neighborhood with such a sense of place that visitors will swear they've been there before. The soul of this brownfield redevelopment emerged years before construction, or even the environmental reclamation it required, commenced. Having long since dismissed the easiest development path - which would have focused on getting in and out as quickly as possible - the developer felt it was important to make a lasting contribution to the City of Atlanta and its built environment, which meant focusing on the values of connectivity and, indeed, community. In the process, transportation, creativity and environmental stewardship have formed the underlying foundation of the development's mission. Atlantic Station will eventually encompass 12 million square feet of retail, office, residential and hotel space, interwoven with more than 11 acres of public parks. If this sounds altruistic, perhaps it is, to a degree. But attracting the $2 billion that will ultimately be invested in Atlantic Station has not been accomplished purely out of idealism. Creating connectivity and community is about creating value. Bringing about that sense of ownership actually began with the creation of a stakeholder involvement plan and led to approximately 1,450 meetings at various levels in the planning process, including everyone from national environmental organizations, such as the EPA and Sierra Club, to local planning boards and neighborhood associations. In fact, in one instance, after tracking down a representative of a national environmental advocacy group who had not responded to any of the company's attempts at getting feedback on Atlantic Station plans, the representative responded that he did not understand why we were contacting them, as he was sure that his group was not currently thinking about suing us! Crucial to creating such a sense of neighborhood is a strong development team consisting of the best environmental specialists, residential builders, retail leasing professionals and myriad others who posses the right mix of expertise, share the common vision. Successfully redeveloping an underutilized brownfield, which had been the object of countless development plans, has required patient capital. From the developer's perspective, there could be no better partner than AIG Global Real Estate. Additional capital - in the form of construction loans - is being provided by SouthTrust Bank, Regions Bank of Atlanta, Compass Bank of Birmingham and Detroit-based Comerica Bank. After removing 100 years of industrial contamination from 138 acres of soil, $150 millioin in public and private investment was needed to bring infastructure up to 21st century standards. Analyzing the Right Mix Determining the mix of uses for Atlantic Station stemmed from the redevelopment's mission. We needed simply to remind ourselves that so-called "New Urbanism" is, in fact, nothing new. The notion of cities has existed for centuries. And, it has included places for people to live, work and play. More specifically, the company analyzed market demand for specific segments - i.e., hotel, retail, etc. - noting, for example, that there is the least demand for office space but that office space is anticipated to have the highest value long-term. In the process, the company has been sensitive not only to the mix but also to the sequence in which various uses would be introduced. In site planning, enough retail square footage has been co-located to create the critical mass necessary to create a sense of place on opening day. The plan provides opportunities to have loft office and residential space directly above shops and restaurants. The greatest density of office space (six million square feet) will surround the retail town center and central park and will provide a daytime population of close to 30,000 employees. Timing issues will ensure that the various uses will work well together. Atlantic Station's mix of day and night populations will create efficient parking and a sense of security in the almost 24-hour-a-day community. Horizontal and Vertical Progress Long before any vertical construction at the former Atlantic Steel industrial site could begin, significant - indeed, unprecedented - horizontal construction in the form of remediation and infrastructure had to be done. After removing 100 years of industrial contamination from 138 acres of soil, $150 million of infrastructure public and private investment was needed to bridge the enormous gulf between what was in place from the turn of the last century, when the Atlantic Steel Mill opened, to the present. Replacing sewer lines, originally constructed out of brick, with state-of-the-art sanitary and storm water systems; installing underground electrical and fiber conduit throughout the site; and restoring access to the city street grid were the first building blocks of this new community. What appeared to passing observers to be the redevelopment's first vertical construction, the three million square feet of concrete used to create the 38-acre parking facility that will serve as the foundation of The District -- Atlantic Station's central residential, retail and office area -- will actually be subterranean. The three stories of parking will be soon subsumed by truly vertical surrounding construction, such as a first Class-A office tower. The 21-story building, opening in April of this year, is more than 60 percent leased to tenants SouthTrust Bank and law firms Arnall, Golden & Gregory and Burr & Forman. Atlantic Station will ultimately comprise 1.5 million square feet of fashion, dining and entertainment space. With almost a million square feet of retail space already committed, construction of the more than a dozen buildings that will house the multitude of retailers and restaurateurs that will call Atlantic Station home is set to begin shortly. Retailers in The District, and IKEA on the western edge of Atlantic Station, are slated to open in the spring of 2005. This iconic Swedish furniture retailer is opening its first Southeast location on 15 acres purchased here. The redevelopment's extensive list of retailers also includes: Dillard's department store, which will build a three-level, 225,000-square-foot store to be the flagship for the Southeast. A two-story, 16-screen Regal Theatre. A 30,000-square-foot Publix Urban Market. Home furnishings and accessories retailers Pier 1 Imports and Metropolitan Deluxe. Numerous restaurants from fast-casual to fine dining. Employees of and visitors to these offices and retail businesses, not to mention Atlantic Station's 10,000 residents, will enjoy 11 acres of green space, including three distinctive parks: A central park in the heart of The District, flanked by restaurants and retailers; An elliptical park in the heart of The Commons, surrounded by residences, featuring artifacts from the former Steel Mill, surrounding a two-acre lake; and A linear dog park that will feature an off-leash area for man's best friend that will be "serviced" by six non-functional fire hydrants. The market response to this vision, planning and now execution has exceeded expectations because of location, amenities, accessibility, visibility and the lifestyle it affords residents, employees and visitors alike. Just how strong has the response been? In an office market with plenty of capacity, the first building is more than half leased. During a three-night reception last October, eager residential buyers reserved 104 condominiums with- in Atlantic Station. Interest in the condominiums flourished following the pre-sell parties--resulting in the condominiums' developer releasing another 125 units for pre-sell in mid-November; 53 of those homes are expected to be ready for occupancy beginning in April. Residents have already moved in to 56 townhomes, with construction starting soon on 46 duplexes and single-family homes. Atlantic Station is acting as a catalyst for development in surrounding neighborhoods. Jim Jacoby is chairman of Atlantic Station, LLC and president, chairman, CEO and founder of Atlanta-based Jacoby Development, Inc.