$400M Project in Brookhaven

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By Lisa R. Schoolcraft Staff Writer The Sembler Co. plans two major regional power centers in metro Atlanta, including a massive project near Oglethorpe University. The St. Petersburg, Fla.-based developer will build a mixed-use center on Peachtree Road near Cross Keys Drive. To be called Brookhaven Place, the $400 million project will have 1,200 residential units, in a mix of apartments, mid-rise condominiums and townhouses. In addition, it will have 600,000 square feet of retail space, 15 restaurants, and a five-story, 150,000-square-foot class A office tower, said Jeff Fuqua, Sembler's president of development in Atlanta. "This is the largest piece of land that existed on Peachtree [Road] since they built the [Phipps Plaza and Lenox Square] malls," he said. "It's a true, mixed-use project on this site." Brookhaven Place should be complete in 30 months, Fuqua said. Sembler, which has also built Perimeter Place, Lindbergh Plaza, and Edgewood Retail District, wants to use many of the elements from each of those projects in Brookhaven, Fuqua said. "It will be twice the size of Lindbergh, but will have the feel of Perimeter." "This section of Peachtree is really great, but the commercial along that corridor is really ratty," he said. "This is going to change the dynamics of that whole corridor. This is going to do what Edgewood and Lindbergh do, spur a lot of other quality investment in the corridor." Dawsonville development Sembler is also planning a 626,699-square-foot power shopping center in Dawsonville, north of Atlanta, on the southwest corner of Dawson Forest Road and Georgia 400. Possible tenants for that center include Target, Kohl's, Ross Dress for Less, Marshalls, Belk, Lowe's, Best Buy, Michael's, Staples, PetSmart, and seven out parcels, according to the company's conceptual site plan. "This is a large-scale development near the Premium Outlet Mall," Fuqua said. None of the potential tenants have committed yet to the Dawsonville project but "we have a ton of tenant commitment." Sembler expects to close on the Dawsonville land at the end of the year and open the power center 15 months after that, he said. Sembler's plans in Brookhaven and Dawsonville highlight trends discussed in Marcus & Millichap's retail research report for the first quarter, which said retail is continuing to follow redevelopment in downtown areas of Atlanta. Retail is also following residential development into Atlanta's far suburbs, the report said. Development of new multitenant retail space should continue "at a brisk pace this year, reaching 6 million square feet after 5.9 million square feet were completed in 2005," the report said. The Peachtree Corners/Norcross submarket will be fastest-growing as big-box stores and retail centers are built in Buford, Lawrenceville and Lilburn, the report said. Development will also reach into the southern suburbs "with big-box retailers leading the charge" into areas such as Peachtree City and Stockbridge, the report said. Brookhaven Place will be developed on 50 acres Sembler bought May 1. The property is now occupied by the 523-unit Peachtree Garden apartments. Sembler Bell Brookhaven LLC, a joint venture between Sembler and Greensboro, N.C.-based Steven D. Bell & Co., bought the land from Richard Garber, CEO of Peachtree Garden Apartments Inc., for $66 million, according Alan Wexler, president of Databank Inc., an Atlanta commercial real estate research firm. That averages out to $1.3 million an acre. Breaking the mold Fuqua said he does not have retail tenant commitments at Brookhaven, but Target, a frequent big-box retailer in Sembler projects, won't be one of them. "But it's going to be upper-end retail," he said. "Probably the best retail mix we think you can have. We're going to break the mold on this one. We've learned a lot from other deals we've done around the country." Brookhaven Place "will be more vertical, with more parking deck than the others," Fuqua said. "We're taking the best elements from the projects we've done from Florida to here and putting them to use. This will be more lifestyle retail." Most of the residential units will be built by well-known residential developers, he said, "But we haven't signed anyone yet." But the Brookhaven Homeowners and Neighborhood Business Alliance has some concerns about displacing the working class residents at Peachtree Garden apartment for higher-end housing, said Kevin Hughley, the Alliance's president. "We try to look at what developments are coming to Brookhaven and that they not have a negative impact," he said. Peachtree Gardens is roughly 60 percent Hispanic and 40 percent African-American and all are working-class people "who don't make a bunch of money," Hughley said. Rent at the apartments run from $500 to $700 per month. "We hope that Sembler makes sure the housing will fit all income levels," he said. "The size of the project is going to be a concern, too, and the impact it will have on the neighborhood." The alliance is taking a positive view of Brookhaven Place "but we have concerns we think need to be addressed," Hughley said.