Developers launching $150 million project in West Midtown

Developers are moving forward with a $150 million project that will bring 175,000 square feet of office space to rapidly changing West Midtown.

Developers Jim Meyer of Atlantic Capital Properties and Mack Reese of Gateway Ventures have secured about $60 million in construction financing from Preferred Office Properties that will allow the office development to proceed as a spec project, or one started without tenants signed to leases. It’s a sign of confidence in the emerging office market in West Midtown.

“With all that is happening around Georgia Tech, all that is happening in West Midtown, and the favorable current leasing fundamentals, it’s perfect time for this project,” said Jim Meyer, with Atlantic Capital Properties.

The project will rise at Howell Mill and 8th streets where many of the city’s top chef-driven restaurants are huddled, including Bocado and The Optimist.  

The project, known as 8West, will also rise next to a 264-unit apartment tower developed by Trammell Crow Residential.

Atlantic Capital Properties, Gateway Ventures, Cartel Properties and Harvest Capital Group are both developers and investors in the 8West Office component of the project. BL Harbert International is the contractor.

The new Atlantic Capital-Gateway Ventures project will bring significant changes to West Midtown, an area that still has the familiar low-rise brick buildings and landmarks such as The Goat Farm and Northside Tavern.

For much of the past decade, the area has been transforming from a foodie and entertainment district into a place where people want to live and work. New projects also include Star Metals at Howell Mill, Brady Avenue and 11th, where coworking company Spaces signed a 56,121-square-foot lease. Another new project is The Interlock, which just landed WeWork.

Each new development is proposing nearly 200,000 square feet of office space. Asking rents are exceeding $45 per square foot. For comparison, just a decade ago, $35 a foot was considered top of the market in Buckhead, one of South’s wealthiest neighborhoods.

The trends have created a micro office market in West Midtown.

Stephen Clifton and Zach Wooten with PMRG are leasing 8West office space.

Sams, Douglas. (2018, Dec 12). Developer Launching $150 million project in West Midtown. Retrieved from Atlanta Business Chronicle.