Politics & Government

Buckhead Atlanta to Begin Next Year

OliverMcMillan official says company on target for 2013 opening

Hunter Richardson, now in charge of the Buckhead Atlanta development for OliverMcMillan, told NPU-B Tuesday night that the project is on target for opening in 2013.

Richardson, who recently replaced Jeremy Meredith as the project manager, said work on the long-stalled development previously known as the Streets of Buckhead will begin early next year. He said that when the project opens in 2013, all parts of it will be in operation.

While the San Diego-based OliverMcMillan, which took over the project from Buckhead developer Ben Carter, is doing extensive plan-redesign work, Richardson said the site preparation done by Carter remains usable, so the company won’t have to tear it down and start from scrarch.

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“What’s in place is sound and has integrity,” said Richardson, a longtime construction consultant who recalled work on Atlanta projects for CNN and Coca-Cola. “When we start, we’ll start going vertical immediately.”

He promised to make the present unsightly collection of cranes and construction material more appealing. “We are in the process of looking to dress up the site, to clean up the site with better street presence,” he said.

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In response to a question from NPU-B member Bill Bozarth, Richardson said that “we believe we be able to maintain the sidewalks for most of the construction on the site.” He said the sidewalks along Peachtree likely will remain usable until the very end of the work.  After Carter’s financing fell through and the project stalled, sidewalks along Peachtree were out of service; now they are again open to pedestrian traffic.

Richardson reiterated OliverMcMillan’s aim to scale down Carter’s plans and better integrate the four-block project into "the fabric" of the  Buckhead community, with a more "walkable" environment.

OliverMcMllan’s concept will be “much more village-esque than what was proposed before,” he said. “We want  to bring the village back.”

The Buckhead Atlanta development will have 300,000 square feet of retail space, 100,000 square feet of offices and two towers of luxury apartments.

Richardson said that the OliverMcMillan plan will have “a broader spectrum of tenants” than envisioned by Carter. He said the restaurant mix will include more locally owned choices, along with national brands.


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