Childress Klein Eyes Multifamily 'Missing Piece' In First For Its Galleria Office Park

Name: Paradigm Marketing & Creative
Price range: $

Mar 22, 2018

Press Release

Where once was planned a seventh office building at the Galleria Office Park, a prominent developer is shifting gears with a new apartment project for the first time in Atlanta.

Childress Klein Properties — one of the largest commercial development firms in the Southeast with more than $1B in assets — is planning a 283-unit apartment project connected to the Galleria office park on a pad site originally slated for another office building.

The high-end apartment market took off in the Cumberland/Galleria submarket thanks in large part to The Battery at SunTrust Park, the new Atlanta Braves stadium and mixed-use development where more than 500 apartments by Pollack Shores have been built and are now leasing.

Since 2012, 10 Class-A apartment projects totaling 3,100 units have sprouted up in the area, according to Haddow & Co. That is a massive jump from the period between 2000 and 2011, when developers only delivered 932 Class-A units in the area.

As of December, developers in Cumberland are underway with an additional 1,100 units and have another 1,700 units proposed in the pipeline, Haddow & Co. Vice President Ladson Haddow said.

“That's a whole lot for that area compared to what they've seen in the past,” Haddow said. "The market is averaging $1.60/SF for rents, with apartments at SunTrust Park gaining the most in the area at just over $2/SF."

How that could affect demand going forward remains to be seen. Pollack Shores Development Vice President Tyler Gaines said there has been a leasing slowdown this past winter, but the developer expects leasing velocity to pick back up come the start of baseball's regular season.

“Across the market in general, I think you got the tail end of the winter season, which is always a slower season, combined with all the new projects,” Gaines said. “If you're a renter right now, there are so many projects in lease-up that are beating each other up. And that's not unique to Galleria.”