Perimeter area's condo boom creates high hopes "& concerns"

By DAVID PENDERED
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 11/22/07

A new way of life could emerge around Perimeter Mall.

But it's going to take some negotiations with people currently living there.

There are plans for at least 10,000 new residents to move into condo towers under consideration.

That's a best guess of the number of people who would move into a dozen or so proposed huge condos. The high rises are to open in three to 10 years, according to developers who expect to build after the housing market shows signs of a rebound.

The newcomers will have a large impact on the office and retail center that stretches from Sandy Springs to Dunwoody.

They'll add traffic to streets, lines at grocery stores and probably create a busier nightlife in a district that largely shuts down by mid evening.

Area residents have been talking for months about what the planned condo boom could mean. Some say the challenge will be to get it right.

By that, they mean the new developments should not be built as fortresses. Instead, the projects should have synergy so people can walk from one to the next – like a traditional downtown district.

"Think about Georgia cities of 50,000 residents, like Tifton, which is what this area could become," said Bob Dallas, a Dunwoody resident since 1983. He's also vice chairman of DeKalb County's planning commission.

"Cities that size have amenities that everyone needs — groceries, parks, places for kids to play and day care for toddlers," Dallas said. "We need to make sure the developments do several things, with the conclusions being that they help create a family friendly community."

The condo developers already know a lot what the community expects from them. Most have negotiated with neighborhood groups elsewhere in metro Atlanta to get support for other projects.

Novare, for example, worked with neighborhood groups in Midtown and Buckhead. The company expects to have similar conversations about its plans for two condo towers at Perimeter.

Novare's John Long, the chief financial officer, said the company intends for its project to add to the sense of community. He said he thinks the other condo developers will do the same.

"We're trying to bring a more urban feeling to the Perimeter market so people can walk where they want to go, instead of driving everywhere," Long said. "And it's not just us who want to build that type of community. A lot of the developers have the same desire to provide that type of experience."

Dallas said a lot of work has to be done to make certain the emerging town center called Perimeter is a nice place to live.

"We have to plan to make sure it is designed in a way that the folks who are here, and the folks who will come, can say it is sustainable growth."