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June/July 2006

Real Estate
At Ponce Park, What's Past is Prologue
by Amanda K. Brown

Revitalization.

The future Ponce Park.
A magical, six-syllable word that has become more than just a word in the world of Atlanta real estate, but rather a rapidly growing trend and most certainly a catalyst for excitement and expectation.

Before the completion of Interstate 75 in 1969, Henry County was primarily a sparsely populated, rural farming area. However, with the new thoroughfare came fresh attention from city dwellers looking, perhaps, for a few more acres to stretch out upon or a quieter setting in which to raise their children that was still close to the downtown Atlanta area. Whatever the reason, Henry County is the 14th fastest-growing county in the country, with a population of more than 160,000, and is the county with the fourth-highest rate of growth in the number of housing units.

Historic districts, investors and developers have discovered, from Castleberry Hill just south of Downtown to Midtown's much-acclaimed Atlantic Station, possess a potential energy, the pent-up energy of many years of waiting for someone to take the time to polish off the tarnish caused by decades of neglect.

Now, an area once considered the underbelly of Atlanta is about to experience a beneficial flip-flop of fate. The newest historic hot spot to have the dust shaken off of it is Ponce Park, the area along Ponce de Leon Avenue and North Avenue that is centered around the 80-year-old former Sears, Roebuck and Co. warehouse.

If those walls could talk, well, you'd probably have to show your ID to get a listen-life on this stretch of Ponce de Leon has seen its share of rough days, from prostitutes on the sidewalks to murder victims in the street.

Former Mayor Maynard Jackson hoped to change some the area's seedy reputation in the early 1990s by buying and converting the old Sears building into City Hall East to house the Atlanta Police Department, the Atlanta Fire Rescue Department and the Atlanta Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs. The results, however, have fallen short of expectations, but a developer by the name of Emory Morsberger is hoping to change all of that.

In March, Ponce Park, LLC, headed by Morsberger, closed on a $6 million acquisition of a six-and-a-half acre tract of land on North Avenue and placed a $1 million deposit on purchasing the Sears building from the city for $27 million, the first steps toward bringing this $375 million redevelopment project to reality.

Phase One of the new Ponce Park will get underway this summer and will consist of converting the six-and-a-half acres on North Avenue into a public park, condominiums and apartments, as well as constructing 10,000 square feet of retail space along North Avenue. Enhanced pedestrian connectivity will be emphasized in these plans, along with open spaces, public plazas and improvements to the street grid.

Phase Two, on the other hand, is not expected to get underway until 2008, and even then will take from two to five years to complete. Once completed, however, the former Sears building will be converted into 182,610 square feet of retail space, 154,380 square feet of office space and 1,167 residential units, a community that will consist of lofts, condominiums, rental units, affordable housing and senior housing. Other amenities proposed for the development include a variety of service shops and stores, a health facility, a performing arts venue and recreational facilities.

In addition, Ponce Park will offer 40 residential units for people with physical and developmental disabilities, including recovering patients from the Shepherd Center, which treats people with spinal cord injuries and neuromuscular illnesses. Also, the non-profit Jewish Family & Career Services will offer a wide range of services for the disabled residents, from helping with laundry and meals to providing transportation and vocational support.

These residents of Ponce Park will especially benefit from the project's proximity to public transportation and parks, especially if the-and there's that magic word again-revitalization of the Beltline, which abuts the former Sears building, comes to fruition. The Beltline at this point consists of miles of a mostly unutilized rail system that forms a ring around intown Atlanta. Backers are now working for it to become, in time, a mass transit line of trolleys that will be surrounded by trails and parks.

Housing will be the central thrust of the project. From high-end, market-rate units to middle-class residential options, an estimated 80 percent of the space will be devoted to housing the influx of new residents that will not only bring new life to this patch of the city, but a welcome boost to the local economy as well.

Indeed, while we're always told that to grow in the future, we must learn from the past, Ponce Park, LLC, which includes The Morsberger Group, Adams & Company, The Integral Group, The Atlanta Neighborhood Development Partnership and Lane Investment & Development LLC, hopes to instead grow on many levels by building on it. Says Morsberger, "We hope to give Atlanta an economic shot in the arm, contribute to the revitalization of the city, and improve the quality of life for all Atlanta residents."





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