Mezzo, Atlanta’s first wellness-inspired condo development

Atlanta’s sprawling skyline vista is in a state of flux. Once sprinkled with towering hotels and Class A office space from Underground Atlanta to Phipps Plaza, the Peachtree Road corridor now is home to a steadily climbing number of residential high-rise condominiums, and the trend toward living up is actually spreading out to other neighborhoods as well. From Castleberry Hill and Centennial Park to West End, Atlanta is experiencing astronomical growth patterns, and much of the development is aimed skyward. Those relocating to Atlanta and seeking the convenient highrise lifestyle certainly won’t be disappointed.

The Midtown high-rise condo tower The Mayfair, which sprang up near Piedmont Park in 1990, set the standard as the fastest-selling high-rise in Atlanta’s history. The Mayfair offered luxurious amenities residents still clamor for today, but was one of only a handful of high-rise residential buildings that had units available for purchase. Although the local trend at the time was suburban living, new Atlanta residents relocating from urban locations such as New York City and Chicago often must have been left wondering how a bustling Southern metropolis like Atlanta could become a ghost town after working hours.

Now, efforts to revitalize the downtown area are strong, and some longtime suburbanites are making their way back to the city. And many new residents are also choosing to make their homes in the city. “The trend now is for people to move back into town. Some people are tired of traffic and lawn maintenance,” says Haitham Haddad of PFVS Architects, the company that designed downtown’s Aquarius Tower. “It’s normal in most cities to have life 24 hours a day. If people live above business, there’s life constantly, so rather than a stagnant swamp, the city is a running stream.”

In addition to Atlanta newcomers and empty nesters relocating from the suburbs, the younger 25-to-34-year-old market segment flocks to the lifestyle high-rise condo living affords, according to The Condo Store President Brad Horner. “People want to come home, leave the car in the garage and walk,” says Horner. “The next evolution of condominium development in Atlanta is the mixed-use community.”

Daniel Corporation’s swelling 12th & Midtown project is a prime example of a successful mixed-use development, with its high-rise condo tower 1010 Midtown nestled at the heart of the retail, residential and office project, which also features the 414-room Loews Atlanta Hotel. Situated on the nowfamous Midtown Mile, residents at 1010 Midtown won’t have to leave their own private Walden to grab a quick bite with friends or to run those pesky daily errands, and neither will most other Atlanta-area high-rise condo dwellers.

“There has really been an increase in the variety of the types of buyers we’re seeing,” says Daniel Corp. Senior Vice President Atlanta Steve Baile. “As the buyers become more sophisticated, the product types change as well.”

Although high-rise living may offer residents a quality of life lacking commutes and weekend lawn work, the serenity of a person’s immediate surroundings shouldn’t be overlooked. “Everyone wants amenities and services in the building in which they’re buying,” says Horner.

There’s no doubt that sweeping city views are attractive to buyers, and they’re plentiful in the current market, but the hard sell in today’s high-rise condo market is the abundance of services and amenities available to residents. Most offer 24-hour concierge service, valet parking, pools, fitness centers and additional meeting space, but some innovative developers have included even more extravagant features. For example, Tivoli Properties and Kennedy Capital Group’s Mezzo, Atlanta’s first wellness-inspired condo development, boasts features such as a eucalyptus steam room, massage room, aromatherapy, water features and Zen-style garden. The innovative development also offers iPod docking stations and a handy pet respite complete with synthetic grass and grooming facilities.

Aquarius Tower uses wind turbines and solar panels, which come together to create what is possibly Atlanta’s first sustainable high-rise development.

Aquarius Tower is helping bring the South’s capital into the 21st century with wind turbines and solar panels, which come together to create what is possibly Atlanta’s first sustainable high-rise development. Additionally, the technologically advanced design, which was created to act as a mast and lighthouse to the boat design of the adjacent Georgia Aquarium, features a state-of-the-art underground automated parking garage—deemed one of the most advanced parking systems of this century.

Aquarius Tower, according to Haddad of PFVS Architects, was designed with these words, spoken by French poet and philosopher Paul Valéry, in mind: “There are buildings that are mute, buildings that speak and buildings that sing.” It seems that these words could have inspired many of Atlanta’s high-rise condo developments. The city’s high-rise condo market indeed is teeming with buildings that sing the song of the South’s capital city.