Hollywood – June 10, 2014

We are very pleased with the response we received from our recent newsletters.  In this issue, we are excited to tell you more about the city of Atlanta and some of the incredible developments happening here.

Atlanta market intro

Atlanta has long been considered the capital of the Southeast, but the changes happening in the metropolis this year truly highlight its position on the national and global stage.   Atlanta has emerged as one of the nation’s largest and most rapidly growing commercial centers.  From national museums to sports complexes and cultural attractions, several areas of the city are undergoing significant transformations that speak to Atlanta’s vibrancy and its role as a hub for the region.

Some of the real estate projects underway in Atlanta include: 

Two new sports complexes – Both the Atlanta Falcons (NFL) and the Atlanta Braves (MLB) are projected to move into new homes by the 2017 season. The Falcons’ new stadium is set to break ground this year on the Georgia World Congress Center campus and features a modern, angular design and will ring in at an estimated $950 million. The Braves’ stadium will be located in Cobb County and will cost an estimated $1 billion.

Two cultural centers – The National Center for Civil and Human Rights, a museum and educational center focused on the history of the civil rights movement and related issues, will open this month. The center chose Atlanta because of the city’s central role as an “incubator for the American Civil Rights Movement.” The College Football Hall of Fame will call Atlanta home after many years in South Bend, Indiana. The 94,000-square-foot facility will open this fall on the Georgia World Congress Center campus.

Transit improvements – The city is investing in a 17-year transit, trails and parks project called the Atlanta BeltLine. The project will connect 45 Atlanta neighborhoods, and it will bring 33 miles of trails and 1,300 park acres to the city.  Also, in downtown, phase one of an east-west Atlanta Streetcar line linking Centennial Olympic Park with the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site will open this summer with future plans for Streetcar expansion.

Mixed-use and office projects – Ponce City Marketis a restoration of the old, 1.1-million-square-foot Sears and Roebuck building, and it will include retail and restaurant space in addition to office and apartment space. Another large development,Buckhead Atlanta, covers six city blocks and offers over 1 million square feet of mixed-use space, including 200,000 square feet of office space and 400,000 square feet of residential.

Looking ahead
Experts predict positive growth in the Atlanta market for 2014. Colliers International wrote in its Atlanta Market Report for Q1 2014, “The current momentum of activity taking place in Atlanta is expected to remain favorable going forward. Office leasing demand continues to be strong; stimulated by tenant expansions, new business and headquarter relocations.” Office vacancy rates dropped in the first quarter of 2014, pointing to a healthy year for the market.

On the residential front, the Metro Atlanta apartment market is now the hottest in America, according to the April 2014 Market Trends Report from Axiometrics Inc.  Atlanta has the highest growth among major population centers, Axiometrics’ statistics show. The market’s rate of effective rent growth more than doubled in the past year, from 3.3 percent in April 2013 to 6.9 percent in April 2014.

Atlanta was ranked on the Hot Spots 2025 list of international cities that will remain competitive in the decade to come, and its international airport (the world’s busiest) and investment in infrastructure were called out as specific assets for the city.

Another report from IBM Global Business Services also ranked Atlanta as one of the most competitive cities in the nation and the world. In the survey, the metro area ranked No. 3 in the country for number of international headquarters (No. 14 in the world). It also ranked in the top 10 in the United States for shared service centers, software development, financial services and life sciences research and development (it ranked in the top 30 internationally in all of those categories). Metro Atlanta is primed for additional positive growth and continues to be a market we are watching closely for our investors.

We wish you a great summer and look forward to speaking with you soon.

Sincerely,

PointOne Holdings