JLL announces 3379 Peachtree, a boutique Class-A office building in Buckhead, has secured two new tenants, taking the building occupancy from 60% to 90% and leasing more than two full floors of the building. Lucid Private Offices, an upscale alternative to casual co-working space, has leased a total of 30,000 square feet of space at the 126,000-square-foot building. JLL Atlanta Senior Vice President Claire Ross and Vice President Will Tyler handle marketing and leasing on behalf of the owner, Nuveen Real Estate.
Lucid Private Offices, represented by Cresa’s John Pelletier and CBRE’s Kush Mirani and Dale Lewis, is establishing its third Atlanta location at 3379 Peachtree, taking 30,000 square feet on two floors of the nine-story building. The Buckhead location comes on the heels of Lucid’s first location outside of Texas – in Alpharetta, GA – which opened in mid-February. The company is also preparing to open a second Cumberland location at the end of April. “We are very excited about our growth in the Atlanta area.,” said Tosha Bontrager, Executive Director at Lucid Private Offices. “In addition to solidifying our third Atlanta location in Buckhead, our Pennant Park/ Cumberland area location will open next month, and our first location outside of Texas, in Alpharetta, is filling up quickly.”
Following Nuveen’s acquisition of the property in 2019, the owner refreshed the brand and updated building features throughout, creating an amenitized office that emphasized a work and play environment – one that users would be excited to return to post-pandemic. Popular Atlanta eatery 5Church and Pinnacle Bank reside on the ground floor of the office tower, activating the newly renovated lobby.
JLL’s Tyler added, “Collaborating with Nuveen and reintroducing 3379 Peachtree to the office brokerage community has been a very rewarding process. The excitement built around this asset is ultimately a testament to the strength and continued desirability of Buckhead; 2023 is shaping up to be a year of exponential growth for the submarket.”
3379 Peachtree is nestled between Shops Around Lenox and Lenox Mall, the tower is a five-minute drive from GA-400 and walking distance from the nearby Buckhead MARTA station, with multiple points of ingress and egress. It’s surrounded by distinguished Buckhead hotels such as The Westin, Grand Hyatt, The Whitley and Waldorf Astoria, further contributing to the overall convenience of the office’s prime location.
“Our new location in Buckhead presents an extremely valuable opportunity for our business,” said Bontrager. “The building’s landscape allows us to provide our clients with upscale private offices and professional coworking spaces in the heart of Buckhead, with proximity to elevated shops and dining, as well as optimal accessibility. We are excited for this expansion and are looking forward to continuing our investment in the Atlanta market.”
Stan Benecki could have reason to take issue with the new zoning rules implemented under Special Improvement District 25 (SPI 25) for Tuxedo Park. SPI 25 was passed by the Atlanta City Council March 20 to curtail new development within the historic neighborhood. After all, it was his request to subdivide a near-three-acre property at 3655 Tuxedo Road for the development of two homes that spurred the new restrictions. However, Benecki says he supports the SPI’s passage, which creates stringent regulations on setbacks and other zoning mandates aimed at preserving the “park-like character” of the neighborhood.
“Clear rules are good for everybody,” Benecki said. “When they are gray, that’s not good for anybody – it’s not good for us, it’s not good for the city, and it’s not good for the neighborhood. A key of good zoning and planning is for anyone to be able to read regulations and understand what you are and are not allowed to do. I like the new rules and regulations. You know exactly what you can do, and before [the SPI], it was subjective.”
Benecki said he supports “the majority” of the SPI, save for the house setback regulation that requires any new homes to have a front yard setback that is equal to “one-half of the lot depth.” The ruling prohibits any improvements or construction on the front half of a property.
Though Benecki is heralding the SPI for laying out clear zoning requirements, his subdivision request that led to creation of the new rules isn’t a foregone conclusion. Benecki says he is appealing the decision that effectively killed his request, arguing the proposal met all zoning criteria when it was filed. His appeal went before the city’s Board of Zoning Adjustments at its April 13 meeting.
Benecki Homes’ request in late 2022 to subdivide the 2.7-acre property at the corner of Tuxedo Road and Woodhaven Road – which includes a Tudor-style home built in 1929 – into two lots led to a faction of neighbors speaking out against the application, including the Tuxedo Park Civic Association. The proposal met all zoning requirements in place at the time of the application, but neighbors filed an appeal to Atlanta’s Historic Preservation Studio. That office determined in January the subdivision would be rejected on the grounds it did not meet the traditional design and layout of the neighborhood. The decision was detrimental to Benecki Homes, which had already demolished a carriage house straddling the proposed property lines of the subdivision.
Benecki said the “whole goal” of the application was to develop the properties by-right by meeting the zoning requirements in place. Only after Benecki Homes had received a permit and demoed an existing structure did the City of Atlanta’s Office of Design’s Historic Preservation Studio rule against the request based on a letter penned by the Tuxedo Park Civic Association (TPCA).
“We demolished a perfectly great structure the city told us we had to tear down,” Benecki said.
Though the Historic Preservation Studio’s decision and the passage of the SPI seemingly killed the request, the tussle between Benecki Homes and neighbors opposed to the application is not over. The BZA took up the issue at its April 13 meeting in which Benecki argued the subdivision will retain the historic home and lead to the development of a new home fitting with the neighborhood. Benecki said the TPCA said it was “fine” with tearing down the existing 1929 home and building a new home in its place, but that’s not the direction he wants to take.
“They would rather have new housing than a split, they just don’t want any new development,” he said. “They’re going to fight it, but we meet all the zoning codes. I find it strange the Civic Association would rather have a new house there than keep an old, beautiful structure. And on the new lot, they won’t even be able to see the house. But I guess it’s their opinion they don’t want new houses at all.”
The BZA is a five-member, “quasi-judicial board” that hears applications for variances, special exceptions to zoning ordinances and appeals of administrative decisions. According to the city’s website, the board “takes into consideration the recommendations” of the Office of Zoning and Development staff, the appropriate Neighborhood Planning Unit and testimony given during its hearing in rendering its decisions.
The Tuxedo Park Civic Association did not immediately respond to a request for comment for this article.
Pickleball is America’s fastest growing sport, and that trend has taken hold in the Atlanta area. Buckhead residents are picking up the paddles in neighborhood parks and country clubs, and pickle ball-specific facilities are popping up around the city. The “pro tour of pickle ball”, the PPA Tour, even has a stop in Atlanta in May.
Atlanta has been slow to pick up the sport compared to other parts of the country, but now pickleball is picking up steam. Milos Vasovic, Director of Rackets at the Cherokee Town and Country Club, said, “I feel like [Atlanta] is becoming more part of the up and coming pickleball world, and I think it’s going to grow for sure.”
We explored this seemingly new phenomenon to find out where it came from, who’s playing, and where our readers can get in the game!
Pickleball is a racket sport that is played with solid paddles and a perforated plastic ball. The paddles resemble oversized ping pong paddles, and the balls are similar to a Wiffle ball with smaller holes. A pickleball court is smaller than a tennis court, but similar to a badminton court at 20 feet wide and 44 feet long. The net is a bit lower for pickleball as well. 36 inches at the posts and 34 inches in the middle, versus 42 inches and 36 inches respectively for tennis.
A pickleball court is the same size for single or doubles play. Many facilities that offer pickleball and tennis simply apply pickleball lines in addition to the tennis court markings, and use the same net placement. It is also easy to play 2 pickleball games at once on a tennis court by adding a court on each side of the tennis court’s net.
Pickleball was conceived in 1965 by Washington State Congressman Joel Pritchard and businessman Bill Bell. The men returned to Pritchard’s home on Bainbridge Island, WA after a round of golf to find their families looking for something to do. They explored the badminton court on the property, but couldn’t find enough rackets. After scrounging ping pong paddles and a Wiffle ball, the families began to play over the badminton net. The net was soon lowered to 36 inches, and pickleball was born.
The name pickleball was coined by Joel’s wife Joan. She said the game reminded her of a mismatched rowing crew, referred to as a “pickle boat”. There is also a story that the game was named for Joel Pritchard’s daughter’s dog “Pickles,” but apparently the dog was in fact named after the sport.
The sport grew among Pritchard and Bell’s friends, and became more widespread throughout the 1970’s. 1976 saw the first pickleball article in Tennis Magazine and the first known pickleball tournament in Tukwila, Washington. The United States Amateur Pickleball Association was formed in 1984, and the first official rulebook was published. By 1990, pickleball was being played in all 50 states.
Pickleball has been around for almost 60 years, but the sport really started to gain notoriety after 2010. According to the Association of Pickleball Professionals (APP) in 2022, there are 36.5 million pickleball players in the U.S., and the sport’s average growth rate is 158.6% over the past 3 years. The sport that has been popular in retirement communities in Florida for years is getting younger all the time. Recent statistics say the average pickleball player is 38 years old, and the fastest growing segment of players is 18-34 years old.
Mike Gottfried is the CEO of PCKL, an Atlanta-based pickleball equipment company. He was introduced to the sport in 2013 by his parents at their club in Florida. His parents and their elderly friends loved it, but he thought, “Okay, this is just old people tennis.”
Fast-forward to 2020 when Mike and his friends were looking for something fun to do while social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic. By 2021 he was playing pickleball 2-3 times a week, and soon he put his consumer product and marketing experience to work building a pickleball brand. Since starting PCKL, Mike has been pleasantly surprised by the growth of the sport. He saw opportunity in the market, but he says, “I never expected the sort of wave that I saw coming to be the tidal wave that it is in terms of the growth of the sport and the number of people playing, but here we are and pickleball is seemingly everywhere.” PCKL was recently named the official tournament ball for the Amateur Pickleball Association and the Southern Pickleball Association.
Milos Vasovc says there is more crossover between pickleball and golfers than there is with tennis players at the Cherokee Town and Country Club. Of the 110 players in the Club’s pickleball league, only 40% also play tennis. The club’s golfers are his target audience for pickleball. Milos says that many tennis purists see pickleball as too easy, but it offers golfers and other club members an entry into racket sports that doesn’t have the steep learning curve of tennis. “I always tell people when you play tennis, you’ve got to give yourself three years to become okay.” Milos says, but with pickleball, “everybody can play in 10 minutes.” He credits pickleball’s underhand serve and smaller court with helping to make the sport easy for beginners.
Milos came to the Cherokee Town Club from southwest Florida, “the hotbed of pickleball.” One of his initial goals as the Director of Rackets was to grow the sport of pickleball in the community. He was hoping for 40-50 players in the club’s house league, but they ended up with 110 players on 6 teams. The league plays each Wednesday for six weeks, then the top 2 teams play a house league championship. This year the Cherokee Town Club will host a pickleball Grand Slam tournament, pitting their league players against club teams from Ansley Golf Club, Capital City Club, and others.
In addition to league play, the Cherokee Town Club will host a pickleball member and guest event for the first time. Milos said there will be programs for kids as well. “We’re going to start our first ever Junior pickleball program. We purchased 10 brand new movable pickleball nets that we put on the courts, so every facility looks a little nicer. And I purchased 50 pickleball paddles that we give away to the kids who participate in the program to help them get started and get involved in pickleball.”
Many of our experts mentioned the social nature of pickleball in one way or another. Mike Gottfried explains, “The game lends itself to our short American attention spans. The games are quick, they play to 11, win by 2.” He continues, “It’s social, it brings a lot of people together. So if you had a group of 4, 8, 12, or 16 people, you can rotate in and play, and not be sitting and waiting on the sidelines for hours and hours.” Of course some players are more advanced than others, but Mike adds, “I’ve seen it in all forms and formats, but I think the core of pickleball is still driven and oriented around fun.”
Like bowling alleys and golf-entertainment concepts such as Top Golf, pickleball allows friends to get together around a sport where everyone can have fun regardless of their skill level. Several new pickleball facilities are coming to Atlanta from companies with experience in similar markets. The Painted Pickle is coming to Armour Yards this summer from the team behind the upscale Painted Pin bowling and entertainment venue on Miami Circle. The Painted Pickle will include 8 indoor courts, along with a restaurant and full bar. Alpharetta regulars may be familiar with the golf-entertainment venue Fairway Social. The company is working on the upcoming Pickle and Social in Gwinnett County.
There are several opportunities to play pickleball in and around Buckhead, including private clubs, public parks, and neighborhood courts. Homes in Buckhead with private pickleball courts are now starting to appear in the market. The following is a list of pickleball hot spots in and around Buckhead. If you know of a great court we missed, please drop your favorite in the comments. Also, please let us know if your neighborhood tennis courts are home to a pickleball community.
155 West Paces Ferry Road, N.W.. Atlanta, Georgia 30305-1365
The private Cherokee Town Club has 10 pickleball courts. The club league has a six-week season on Wednesday nights. The pickleball program includes staff pickleball pros, pickleball clinics, a junior program, and pickleball grand slam events.
1160 Moores Mill Rd NW, Atlanta, GA 30327
YMCA members enjoy 8 pickleball courts, clinics, open play, and league play. Pickleball pros are on staff to help with training and events.
https://ymcaatlanta.org/sports/adult-sports/pickleball
705 Hammond Dr, Atlanta, GA, 30328, USA
Hammond Park is in Sandy Springs, but this pickleball hot spot is worth checking out if you’re interested in the sport. The 8 public courts are regularly buzzing with activity, and you can always find a friendly game.
1359 Ellsworth Industrial Blvd NW suite b, Atlanta, GA, USA
The Atlanta Pickleball Center is the go-to indoor pickleball club in town. The facility features 10 indoor courts, league play, trainers, and lessons. Courts are available for reservations.
https://www.atlanta-pickleball.com/bookings
5200 S Trimble Rd, Sandy Springs, GA 30342
This public park has gone all in for pickleball! The 6 dedicated outdoor courts have permanent lines and nets.
290 Chastain Park Ave NW, Atlanta, GA 30342
The Chastain Park Tennis Center has 1 court available for pickleball. Court reservations include the pickleball net.
2125 Northside Dr NW, Atlanta, GA 30305
The Betsy Grant Tennis Center offers pickleball reservations on their 4 platform tennis courts.
https://bitsygrant.playbypoint.com/
308 Peachtree Hills Ave NE, Atlanta, GA, 30305, USA
Peachtree Hills Park has 3 outdoor tennis courts with permanent pickleball lines. Players have access to restrooms, water, and lights.
2720 Shady Valley Dr NE, Atlanta, GA, 30324, USA
Public park with 3 outdoor asphalt courts. Pickleball lines are overlaid on the tennis courts.
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