Atlantic Station Staffs Up for Repositioning

ATLANTA-North American Properties has put together a team to guide the development of its Atlantic Station, a 138-acre mixed use center in Midtown Atlanta. North American Properties and CB Richard Ellis Investors are repositioning Atlantic Station, including a new retail mix, an improved guest experience, an emphasis on local restaurants and alliances with the center’s Midtown neighbors, as well as an improved parking experience and a redesigned security operation.

The new leadership includes international retail turnaround expert Tony Miles as general manager, former Cousins Properties Senior Vice President of Development Ron Pfohl as director of Leasing, and Liz Gillespie, former head of the retail innovation team at Jones Lang LaSalle, as director of Marketing. The trio joins Mark Toro, Atlantic Station’s managing partner, who came to the community after the joint venture of CB Richard Ellis Investors.

“An A-team like this doesn’t come together on every project, every day, and that’s a reflection of two things,” Toro tells GlobeSt.com. “One, the market. In a down cycle, there’s talent available. But more importantly, I think our team sees the enormous potential of Atlantic Station. There is probably no center in the country located so close to an underserved, affluent, young, educated class of consumers.”

CB Richard Ellis Investors came into the picture in December, when it formed a joint venture with North American Properties to purchase the 586,000 square foot retail centerpiece of Atlantic Station. Then, in January, CBRE Investors acquired a group of assets in Atlantic Station, including 271 17th Street, a 534,000-square-foot trophy office building; a parking garage with nearly 7,000 spaces; and 14.25 acres of land. CB Richard Ellis Investors also acquired Icon and Park District, two trophy-quality multi-family apartment communities in Atlantic Station, in November.

Toro, who founded the Atlanta office of North American Properties in 1996, was the former VP of Development for Cousins Properties and has delivered more than 19 million square feet of commercial space over his 26-year career in real estate. He is a resident of Midtown and serves on the board of the Midtown Alliance.
 
“Job One for us is listening to those consumers to get it right,” Toro says. “We’re asking Atlantans at community meetings and via social networking to help us make Atlantic Station more attractive to Atlanta’s young, affluent, creative class. Change like this will take time, but we’re driving to make Atlantic Station a unique retail and entertainment destination like you would find in the best cities in the U.S.”