Portman's Iconic MXD Sees Retail Transformation

Downtown Atlanta is attracting companies that are looking to employ Millennials—and many of them are opting for Peachtree Center.

ATLANTA—Peachtree Center is about to undergo a retail transformation. CBRE vice president of retail services Amy Fingerhut and retail assistant Sara Pepper will lead the charge at the mixed-use development John Portman designed in Downtown Atlanta. Peachtree Center will undergo a redesign aiming to attract new retailers later this year. The renovation aims to reflect the transformation of the downtown community that is being driven by tech-related business and renewed interest in a livable downtown. “The idea is to reimagine the space available and create life and energy in the heart of Downtown,” says Fingerhut. “With the area’s 12,000 hotel rooms, large volume of office space and major attractions such as the CNN Center, Georgia Aquarium, College Football Hall of Fame and more, the foot traffic near Peachtree Center will support the environment we are creating. Peachtree Center has the potential to become a destination at every hour of every day, and we want to realize that vision with our leasing approach.” Fingerhut has helped shape Atlanta’s r etail markets for 11 years and contributed to the city’s evolution into a leading urban r etail market. For example, she was instrumental in the leasing strategy at The Shops Buckhead Atlanta as well as within office towers such as Terminus 100, One Buckhead Plaza, Colony Square and 999 Peachtree. Downtown Atlanta is in the midst of development resurgence with many projects in the works, especially in the multifamily and mixed-use sectors. The area surrounding Peachtree Center already encompasses 107,532 office jobs and 10,302 hotel rooms, providing a solid base of customers for the center’s retail space. “Downtown Atlanta is teeming with office workers and new residents, causing an enormous demand for retail in the submarket,” says Marti Blackstock of Banyan Street Capital. “We want to contribute to the area’s evolution by establishing a new standard for shopping, dining and more at Peachtree Center, cementing it as a one-stop shop for office workers, native Atlantans and visitors every day of the week.” Downtown Atlanta’s retail scene is exploding. Cushman & Wakefield ‘s Dean McNaughton secured three top-tier restaurant leases at The Mall at Peachtree Center last summer, including Flex Mex at Tin Lizzy’s, South African inspired pies at Panbury’s and classic southern fried chicken at Gus’s World Famous Fried Chicken. As he sees it, the leases demonstrate the explosiveness of Downtown Atlanta’s retail market. “ Downtown Atlanta is undergoing a resurgence that is the culmination of a number of positive changes occurring simultaneously,” McNaughton tells GlobeSt.com. “First of all, you have Millennials as well as young sophisticates and empty nesters all desiring an urban lifestyle. As the submarkets to the east, west and north of downtown become more populated with new and renovated housing, we are seeing this growth spill over into the downtown submarket as well.”