OliverMcMillan declares Buckhead Atlanta under way

OliverMcMillen officially declared the centerpiece of Buckhead Atlanta under way this morning sometime after BuckheadView reported activity at the site indicated the long-stalled project had finally come to life again.(See story below this posting).

OliverMcMillan’s Hunter Richardson talked to reporters as Balfour Beatty workers began cleaning up the site, according to an early afternoon report by BIZNOW online real estate report. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution followed with a story online at 1:41 p.m. which also confirmed the report earlier today by BuckheadView.

OliverMcMillan's Hunter Richardson talks to the press on
Tuesday at the Buckhead Atlanta development site. The
photo is by BIZNOW online real estate report. 

The first part of the project—80k SF of street-level retail, a parking deck, 15k SF of loft office space and 370 units of luxury apartments in two buildings—has a target delivery of late 2013, according to the BIZNOW report, but Richardson had earlier said it might run into early 2014.

Richardson told BIZNOW OliverMcMillan is funding this portion of the project “out-of-pocket” with hopes to get financing this fall. That announcement by Richardson substantially confirms an earlier rumor reported last month by BuckheadView that OliverMcMillan was having trouble arranging financing. Richardson denied that rumor at the time BuckheadView reported it.

While the firm confirms Hermes will take a portion of the retail, Richardson Tuesday as usual  declined to identify other tenants other than to say, "We're signing deals." Designers of the current project include Smallwood Reynolds and Pappageorge Haymes out of Chicago.

BuckheadView also was the first to report last month that OliverMcMillan had all of the permits it needed from the city to begin construction work on Buckhead Atlanta, quoting sources in the city’s Planning Department.

Today the construction cranes came back to fife over the project as Richardson had recently promised they would during August.

New aerial  rendering of the proposed Buckhead Atlanta development.  

Once an ambitious plan known as the Streets of Buckhead and patterned after Rodeo Drive and Worth Avenue, the project has been scaled back by new developer OliverMcMillan. "We are firmly convinced that this project can happen," said Richardson, the development director for the project.

“For years, we have anticipated the start of construction on the transformative Buckhead Atlanta, which, when completed, will be a sign of Atlanta’s resilience and innovation,” said Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed. “A rejuvenated Buckhead will not only attract the nation’s top developers and retailers but thousands of new consumers and residents. I congratulate OliverMcMillan and everyone involved and wish them well on this project.”

Located on 8 acres across six city blocks, Buckhead Atlanta is designed as a completely walkable community that will connect two main arteries of Atlanta at Peachtree and West Paces where local residents and bustling life collide.

Dist. 7 City Councilman
Howard Shook

“Construction on Buckhead Atlanta marks the rebirth of this vibrant area,” said Atlanta City Councilman Howard Shook.  “This is a huge step forward for the Buckhead Village and for Atlanta. The added sidewalks and pedestrian focus will be a big attraction for businesses, employees and residences. I could not be more pleased with this project.”

The project stalled in 2009, leaving partly-finished construction dotting an 8-acre bowl in the heart of Buckhead. After months of behind-the-scenes preparations, cranes started removing debris from the gaping dirt hole at the middle of the project on Tuesday. Soon, they'll start piecing together the bones of the buildings.

Early Tuesday morning, BuckheadView was told and reported there would be an announcement later in the day related to the restart of real work on the Buckhead Atlanta development.

For BuckheadView's report from early Tuesday morning, see the story posting below this story.