Just a little over one mile past the Chattahoochee River, which serves as Buckhead’s Northwest border, sits a billion-dollar development that will soon add a plethora of dining and entertainment options for Buckhead’s residents. Since SunTrust Park was announced as the Atlanta Braves’ new home in 2013, it has been highly anticipated.
The Buckhead map in relation to the Braves’ Stadium – located 1.3 miles from Buckhead’s Northwest border.
Located just outside of the Perimeter at the intersection of Highways 75 and 285 in Cobb County, SunTrust Park is the first facility of its kind: a baseball stadium meets bustling community, where a Braves game will be just one of several attractions that draw visitors in come spring 2017, when doors officially open. In addition to the ballpark, the nearly $1 billion development includes The Battery Atlanta, a sprawling—between 700,000 to 1 million square feet of space—mixed-use community featuring retail, residential, and office spaces, as well as dining options from some of Atlanta’s most-acclaimed chefs, including Ford Fry (bringing Superica!) and Linton Hopkins. As Braves executive vice president of sales and marketing has said, “We’re building an experience that extends well beyond the confines of the ballpark.”
A Brave(s) New World
That’s one of the factors that motivated
restaurateur Linton Hopkins, a James Beard award-winning chef who owns
Restaurant Eugene, Holeman & Finch, and Linton’s in the Garden, to
open a steakhouse concept at the new stadium. A longtime and ardent
Braves fan, Hopkins was inspired by the opportunity to be not just part
of a sports complex—but a neighborhood. “This isn’t just your everyday
ballpark with an office building,” he says. “I applaud the Braves for
recognizing what the future of sport will be and developing a real sense
of community around the stadium. For us as a business, it also means
that we’re staying busy 365 days a year, as opposed to just the season.
And that makes us look good.”
It’s not just Cobb County that’s likely
to see economic growth as a result of SunTrust Park. Sitting mere miles
away, the development is expected to be an asset to Buckhead as well.
“You’ll certainly see some positive economic effect on Buckhead with the
Braves moving closer to our side of the city,” says Sam Massell, former Atlanta Mayor and President
of the Buckhead Coalition. “It means more people will be traveling
through Buckhead to go to and from the games and that’ll have a
favorable impact on retailers and restaurants here.” Hopkins, who owns
two restaurants in Buckhead, says he’s optimistic that game attendance
at the new stadium will likely bring more foot traffic to his Buckhead
spots, too. “I think there’ll be a trickle effect, without a doubt,” he
says.
Bob Voyles, CEO and principal at commercial real estate firm Seven Oaks Company, says he sees the Chattahoochee River as
“an invisible border” between Buckhead and the ballpark, and predicts
the development will have a “tremendous” impact on Buckhead. Voyles
notes the Cumberland market has already picked up, and five new
commercial construction projects are slated to bring new shopping
options for both Cobb County and Buckhead residents. “Folks who’ve
traditionally gone to Lenox
or stayed in the Peachtree corridor will soon have closer options in
both retail and dining,” he says. He’s also excited by the entertainment
options for business executives: Seven Oaks has purchased Braves season
tickets for clients and Voyles says that The Battery will offer
increased client entertainment options, as well.
Trickle effects can be felt elsewhere as
well. Comcast is building a nine-story building that will serve as its
new divisional headquarters in The Battery, a move that’s expected to
bring new jobs to the area. And then there’s the much buzzed-about real
estate factor. Ben Hirsh,
Buckhead real estate broker and entrepreneur, says that while home
values in the neighborhood aren’t expected to grow in direct correlation
to the stadium, demand in the market as a whole will see an incremental
uptick—particularly demand for housing within a two-mile radius of
SunTrust Park. That demand will be bolstered by the growing trend of
people leaving the suburbs to live inside the Perimeter: “People have
for years been moving from East Cobb and Marietta into Buckhead because
they’ve had it with the traffic,” Hirsh says. “Increased traffic on the
highways as a result of the stadium will definitely encourage more
people to teeter and ask, ‘Should I move in town?’ I think there’s going
to a segment in the population who—when they hit their first game day
traffic on the way home—might call me and ask to buy a house in
Buckhead.”
Showing the Buckhead map in relation to the Braves’ Stadium – located 1.3 miles from Buckhead’s Northwest border, the Chattahoochee River.
October 2016 Spring 2017
The first Braves game at Suntrust Park is slated for April 13. What do you think the impacts on Buckhead will be?
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