Buckhead Atlanta Site Poised for Work to Begin

An eerie quiet pervaded the Buckhead Atlanta site on a recent early morning visit.

Cars sped by on Peachtree, as if passing drivers have become used to the silence of the construction site once known as the Streets of Buckhead. The long-stilled construction cranes still hover above the decimated landscape, like strange dinosaurs.

But OliverMcMillan is making progress. As promised, the building site has been spruced up with new walls, fresh paint, astroturf siding. Project manager Hunter Richardson has submitted plans to the city, and frequently appears at community meetings to discuss the development. He holds a seat on the Buckhead CID board.

As Buckhead Council of Neighborhoods Chairman Jim King said in a recent meeting, OliverMcMillan is now "an integral part of the business community" in Buckhead.

Richardson has said that once all plans are finished, OliverMcMillan can start work quickly, taking off from the site preparation work done by Ben Carter, the Buckhead developer who first had the dream for the mixed-use development near the traditional heart of Buckhead. Richardson said work will begin this spring, and appears on schedule toward making that happen.

The company has fully laid claim on the site, putting the OliverMcMillan banner on those construction cranes and plastering the Buckhead Atlanta brand throughout the area.

Some have criticized the Buckhead Atlanta name as too generic. Othes say it improperly uses Buckhead's community name. But like it or not, it appears as if the name Buckhead Atlanta is here to stay. Richardson said OliverMcMillan plans on opening the development in 2013.

Standing in the morning stillness, a visitor can imagine the pulse of the place once that happens, One can see soaring buildings packed with stores and restaurants, kids running ahead of strolling families, young couples out for a fun evening, older folks headed to a nice dinner and a glass of wine. It all seems real, amid the silence.