“Yes, we have traffic, but we will continue to attract young people to the city and the will want a well-paying career path,” Ford said. “They will continue to have those opportunities.”

Ford noted that it's not just the millennials who are propelling urbanization. Baby Boomers also have a desire urbanized living with amenities within walking distance. Many empty nesters are looking to move into the city and eschew suburban home ownership.

The desire for the live-work-play concept was just one of several trends driving CRE examined by the panel. Another key factor is research institutions such as the Georgia Institute of Technology.

“Georgia Tech is driving some expansion and over time it has collaborated with business and an innovation ecosystem has emerged,” said Ambrish Baisiwala, CEO of Portman Holdings, a locally based CRE Firm.

John “Sonny” Morris, co-founder and chairman of the law firm Morris, Manning & Martin commented on the swift “urbanization” of Atlanta. He said within five years, the city will have an entirely different landscape, spurred by development along the city's Beltline project, a network of parks, trails and transit along an old 22-mile railroad corridor that circles downtown.

“The Beltline is having an enormous impact on the development of in-town Atlanta and it's just beginning,” Morris said. “It will bring a tidal wave of development. Atlanta has a lot of different development factors making it atypical of the normal cycle we are used to over the past 25 to 30 years.”

For those who live in Atlanta's inner city, the multifamily construction boom is clearly evident. Just ask Toro, who lives in Midtown. Overall, he said Atlanta has never experienced a market like it is seeing today with increased level of activity in virtually every market sector and submarket. He also described Midtown as being a collision of technology and education, which is resulting in job creation. “When I look out my balcony, I see 14 towering cranes every day. There are some who have concerns about overbuilding in multifamily, but I, for one, have little concern.”

Asked by moderator Gary Farris, partner at Burr Forman, to look ahead two years into their crystal balls, panelists said education, technology and urbanization will continue to dominate CRE trends. But the big challenge continues to be transportation and massive traffic congestion.

Toro said the Georgia Legislature missed a big opportunity during its session early this year to deal with the transportation crisis.

“The one thing that is lacking is transit. A plan for half-penny sales tax to fund an $8 million expansion by MARTA was squashed by suburban legislators who want to continue their lifestyle, for lack of a better word. It wont' take many more abandonments of office parks by companies like NCR to show that the pattern is undeniable and transit is the key component to any city's survival. That's the cautionary tale.”

ATLANTA—It's about what's outside the front door.

That's how Mark Toro, partner with North American Properties here describes the key motivating factor for affluent millennials when choosing a place to live. That's true in Atlanta as well as in some of its toney suburbs such as Alpharetta on the city's north side. Millennials want to be able to shop, dine and be entertained within walking distance of where they live and in proximity of where they work.

“It's the experience on the street,” says Toro, one of the panelists on a Town Hall Power Panel examining the state of the CRE industry at RealShare Atlanta, held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel on Thursday. “We're not seeing the renter we saw in the last cycle when we had to rely on newly minted CPAs and resident doctors. We're looking at young people who can afford higher rent.”

Bruce Ford, Transwestern's president in Atlanta and other Southeastern markets, said Atlanta historically has been the top one or two cities in the Southeast for young people to move to after graduation. That luster will continue despite the city's notorious transportation problems.

“Yes, we have traffic, but we will continue to attract young people to the city and the will want a well-paying career path,” Ford said. “They will continue to have those opportunities.”

Ford noted that it's not just the millennials who are propelling urbanization. Baby Boomers also have a desire urbanized living with amenities within walking distance. Many empty nesters are looking to move into the city and eschew suburban home ownership.

The desire for the live-work-play concept was just one of several trends driving CRE examined by the panel. Another key factor is research institutions such as the Georgia Institute of Technology.

“Georgia Tech is driving some expansion and over time it has collaborated with business and an innovation ecosystem has emerged,” said Ambrish Baisiwala, CEO of Portman Holdings, a locally based CRE Firm.

John “Sonny” Morris, co-founder and chairman of the law firm Morris, Manning & Martin commented on the swift “urbanization” of Atlanta. He said within five years, the city will have an entirely different landscape, spurred by development along the city's Beltline project, a network of parks, trails and transit along an old 22-mile railroad corridor that circles downtown.

“The Beltline is having an enormous impact on the development of in-town Atlanta and it's just beginning,” Morris said. “It will bring a tidal wave of development. Atlanta has a lot of different development factors making it atypical of the normal cycle we are used to over the past 25 to 30 years.”

For those who live in Atlanta's inner city, the multifamily construction boom is clearly evident. Just ask Toro, who lives in Midtown. Overall, he said Atlanta has never experienced a market like it is seeing today with increased level of activity in virtually every market sector and submarket. He also described Midtown as being a collision of technology and education, which is resulting in job creation. “When I look out my balcony, I see 14 towering cranes every day. There are some who have concerns about overbuilding in multifamily, but I, for one, have little concern.”

Asked by moderator Gary Farris, partner at Burr Forman, to look ahead two years into their crystal balls, panelists said education, technology and urbanization will continue to dominate CRE trends. But the big challenge continues to be transportation and massive traffic congestion.

Toro said the Georgia Legislature missed a big opportunity during its session early this year to deal with the transportation crisis.

“The one thing that is lacking is transit. A plan for half-penny sales tax to fund an $8 million expansion by MARTA was squashed by suburban legislators who want to continue their lifestyle, for lack of a better word. It wont' take many more abandonments of office parks by companies like NCR to show that the pattern is undeniable and transit is the key component to any city's survival. That's the cautionary tale.”