Atlanta Braves JV Picks Developers for $400M M-U Project

By Scott Baltic, Contributing Editor

Three Atlanta-based companies will develop the 74-acre, $400 million mixed-use project previously announced for a site adjacent to the new Atlanta Braves stadium, near the intersection of I-75 and I-285 in Cumberland in southeastern Cobb County, north of Atlanta, the Braves organization announced Wednesday.

The Braves’ development partners will be Fuqua Development, Pope & Land Enterprises and Pollack Shores Real Estate Group for up to 630,000 square feet of Class A office space, 500,000 square feet of upscale retail, 450 hotel rooms and 500 residences. The Braves will retain a majority ownership stake in the development, which has no official name yet.

Fuqua Development, which will handle the retail portion, has developed many retail properties in Atlanta, including Town Brookhaven, Perimeter Place, The Prado, Lindbergh Plaza, Lenox Marketplace, Peachtree Corners Market and the Edgewood Retail District.

Pope & Land, which will develop the office component, which will consist of more than one building, a Braves spokesperson told Commercial Property Executive. The company was responsible for developing Atlanta’s Atlantic Center Plaza, 3630 Peachtree and other office projects.

Pollack Shores Real Estate Group will partner with the Braves on the residential portion. One of the leading multi-family developers in the region, the company specializes in creating luxury apartment communities with retail and restaurants close by and amenities including resort-style pools, fitness centers and high-end club rooms.

Whether the units will be apartments or condos hasn’t yet been decided, the spokesperson told CPE.

Phase 1 of the overall development, or a substantial portion of it, is scheduled to be open by spring 2017.

JLL is the Braves’ real estate and development consultant for this project, and The Jerde Partnership is its master planner.

Plans for the new stadium were announced last November. Construction will start later this year, and the ballpark is planned to be completed in time for Opening Day in 2017.

The Braves’ current home, Turner Field in Atlanta, was originally built for the 1996 Summer Olympics and later repurposed as a baseball-only park and reportedly has been beset by escalating maintenance costs.

Interestingly, the new stadium will be about 8,000 seats smaller than Turner Field, but its advantages reportedly include both lower long-term capital maintenance costs and a less-congested location more central to the Braves’ fan base.

The Braves organization is developing the new ballpark in partnership with the Cobb-Marietta Coliseum and Exhibit Hall Authority.