Atlanta Restaurant Real Estate
This Week on The Street (A more or less regular compilation of news, factoids and observations.
April 18, 2017
Some Random Thoughts on Highway Delays, Holiday Breaks and the Real Estate Calendar.
Atlantans sit poised on a major precipice, ever since the bridge collapse on I-85 three weeks ago. How can I use the roadwork as an excuse for being late for the next few months and not feel guilty about it…
In all seriousness, the re-configured commuter routes have already had significant impacts on day to day life on everything from adding more time to commuting to where we shop, eat, drink and recreate on route.
MARTA has seen a sharp spike in ridership and while long term optimists see this as the catalyst for renewed interest in regional expansion, and state funding to make it happen sooner rather than later, we’re not sure that will occur
Last weekend’s grand opening of Suntrust Park seems to have gone better than expected.
Perceived as a traffic nightmare when first announced, initial reports indicate traffic wasn’t worse than driving to the Ted, in downtown Atlanta, and the parking and Uber drop off and pick up spots all worked as intended. Arguably, there was less traffic on the roads because of the Good Friday/Easter holiday but so far so good
Does anyone have a recollection of when Spring Break became a thing, another acceptable delay on the work calendar. In Metro Atlanta, spring break starts in early to mid March-when many of the area’s private schools take a one week break-stretching into late March/early April when their public school counterparts do the same. The result is a three week trough, almost, but not as bad as that which occurs around the “holidays” delaying conference calls, e-mails, proposals and all the other “stuff” that happens to move deals along.
As it is, the real estate calendar is short enough. Consider this. There’s a 2- 3 week lull during the holidays, long weekends wrapped around the federal holidays-Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labor Day and Thanksgiving. Throw in early departures for Good Friday and Halloween and before you know it a month or so disappears.
Good luck trying to find a lot of brokers on Friday afternoons, many are frequently gone to pursue leisure activities-golf, tennis, boating or “leave to beat the weekend rush” heading to the 2nd house. Sometimes it’s surprising we get anything done at all…
The next big event looming large for retail brokers is RECON, next month in Las Vegas. It will be interesting to see the mood of the floor in light of the recent announcements of retail closings, with more slated to come in the next few months.
We noted an interesting factoid over the weekend that there are now more laid off workers in the retail sector –almost 90,000 – than the total that work in the coal mining industry.
And finally, Jeff Langfelder, a co-founder of The Shopping Center Group, Inc. and an early mentor died in early April. Jeff was also Home Depot’s first vice president for real estate and had a significant role in that company’s early success. He had a near encyclopedic knowledge of major intersections and locations across the country which never failed to impress clients (and made a huge impression on me.) In later years he co-founded the Sandy Springs Farmer’s Market which continues to thrive today. He’ll be missed.
Recent transactions for the Shumacher Group Inc. include
Leases:
Local Pizzaiola- Memorial Drive, Toco Hills, & Sandy Springs
Land Acquisitions:
Bojangle’s Fayetteville, Georgia
Sale of Existing Businesses:
Tom N’ Chee West Midtown and Buford/Mall of Ga.
Mancini’s Italian –Canton, Ga.
Bullrito’s-Loganville, Ga.
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