GlobeSt.com UPDATE: North American Breaks Ground on Brownfield

ATLANTA-North American Properties is planning to transform a polluted, 40-acre former landfill site in North Cobb County into a $40-million, 330,000-sf Lakeside MarketPlace power center. The center is tentatively scheduled to open in spring 2006.

Elected officials in Acworth, where the center will be developed, have established a tax-allocation district and issued $6 million in bonds to pay for the landfill cleanup. "This brownfield redevelopment will transform the unstable landfill site into a vibrant shopping destination," says Stephen Lam, a partner in the Cincinnati-based development firm.

In a previous observation on the site, reported by GlobeSt.com, Lam said "Viable undeveloped sites in metro Atlanta are now harder to find. Many developers overlooked this North Cobb site due to the financial undertakings needed to stabilize the landfill and make this site structurally sound. If it weren't for the tax-allocation district, this site would not have been an option to us."

North American bought the 41-acre development site at year-end 2004 for $9.4 million or $229,268 per acre ($5.26 per sf), Craig Cheney, a Grubb & Ellis Co. broker who specializes in Cobb County commercial transactions, tells GlobeSt.com.

Lam says committed anchor tenants for Lakeside MarketPlace include SuperTarget, Circuit City, Ross Dress for Less, Petco, Books-a-Million, OfficeMax and Famous Footwear. Outparcels have been reserved for Fire Mountain, operated by Ryan's Restaurant Group; Taco Bell, Steak 'n Shake, Longhorn Steakhouse and Panda Express. Locally based Phillips Partnership designed the center.

Lam says that, like the booming East Cobb County of the 1980s, the North Cobb region is witnessing a population surge. The area's headcount has increased 25% since the 2000 Census to about 180,000, with average household income close to $80,000. The Atlanta Regional Commission recently named Acworth the fastest-growing city in Cobb County.