Cobb: Options abound for future Cobb development
by Martin Sinderman
Where’s the next notable new development going to take place in Cobb County?
The list of hot potential development sites in Cobb is led by land in the Atlanta Galleria, the project that, along with Cumberland Mall, kicked off the development surge that, over the course of the past 40 years, has grown to become the Cumberland/Galleria market.
Started in 1982, 10 years after Cumberland Mall, and located inside Interstate 285 at its junction with I-75, the mixed-use Atlanta Galleria is currently composed of Cobb Galleria Centre, a 324,000-square-foot convention center; a 521-room Renaissance Waverly Hotel and a 278-suite Sheraton Suites; and six office buildings totaling some 2.4 million square feet.
Two development sites totaling 8 acres remain, said Gordon Buchmiller, managing partner – Atlanta for Childress Klein Properties, which handles leasing at most of the park’s office buildings. Options for development of these parcels include combinations of office, hotel and residential uses.
To the southeast, a spring opening is planned for a 149-room Hyatt House Hotel in Overton Park, a 34-acre mixed-use community, anchored by One Overton office building, that is currently under development by Hines. Three restaurants are slated to accompany the hotel.
A second-quarter start is planned by Atlanta-based Newport Development LLC on a 294-unit, mid-rise apartment building targeted at the upper end of the rental market. These developments flank a 3-acre site slated for Two Overton Park, a planned 380,000-square-foot to 400,000-square-foot office building, according to John Heagy, senior vice president for Hines. Construction will begin “as the market allows,” he said.
On a highly visible, 3-acre site at U.S. 41/Cobb Parkway and Cumberland Boulevard, market conditions will also determine a start date for Riverwood 200, according to Bob Voyles, principal and CEO of developer Seven Oaks Co. LLC. Also on the site, a fall opening is slated for the 314-unit Walton Riverwood apartment community, a development of Atlanta-based Walton Communities and GE Asset Management.
This will be accompanied by approximately 25,000 square feet of retail being developed for third-quarter delivery by Iron Tree Retail LLC, a unit of Atlanta-based Iron Tree Capital LLC.
Much of the space is already committed, said Iron Tree CEO Joel Murphy.
Other major sites available in the market include a 3.5-acre tract, zoned for up to 450,000 square feet of office space and high-rise condominiums, at City View, a 17-acre mixed-use development by Pope & Land Enterprises Inc. located across Cumberland Boulevard from Riverwood.
Taylor & Mathis Inc. has a 46-acre site at Chastain Meadows Parkway and Big Shanty Road in Kennesaw. Taylor & Mathis also has a 13-acre site at TownPark, a 243-acre office park on Chastain Road.
Five sites to watch in Cobb:
- Nearly 8 acres in two sites in the Atlanta Galleria. Eventual development as office and/or hotel and/or residential condominiums.
- Nearly 3 acres in Overton Park. Planned development of a 380,000- to 400,000-square-foot office building to accompany One Overton Park.
- 3.5 acres at U.S. 41/Cobb Parkway and Cumberland Boulevard. Development of a 350,000-square-foot office building planned; construction of 25,000 square feet of retail and a 314-unit apartment property under way.
- Approximately 46-acre site at the corner of Chastain Meadows Parkway and Big Shanty Road. Sites available for light industrial/single-story office development in the 230-acre Chastain Park.
- A 13-acre site available at nearby TownPark. TownPark is a 243-acre office park and mixed-use development on Chastain Road between I-75 and I-575; 200,000-plus square feet of office space can be built.
