Project Manager Discusses Buckhead Atlanta

Hunter Richardson of OliverMcMillan said the company is hopeful that Buckhead Atlanta will blend seamlessly "into the fabric of the village of Buckhead."

OliverMcMillan's Hunter Richardson, project manager of Buckhead Atlanta, said Tuesday that a confluence of factors contributed to this week being the right time for construction to restart at the highly anticipated development. These factors include design elements, permitting and leasing activity all coming together. "By starting this week we are still able to open the first portion of the project at the end of 2013," Richardson said. "Its starting with the end date in mind and we needed to start now." While construction has officially begun, many pre-construction activities have been going on under the radar up until now, Richardson said. The former HiFi Buys building has been redone to serve as a base of operations for contractor …

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VIDEO: Buckhead Atlanta Still on Schedule

Hunter Richardson, development director for Buckhead Atlanta denies rumors of financial problems; unveils new scale model of the project.

For those concerned about the lack of progress on the mixed-use development Buckhead Atlanta, representatives with OliverMcMillan have denied rumors that financial problems are at the center of the delay. Hunter Richardson, development director for Buckhead Atlanta, told Buckhead View that pre-construction activities are not only underway, but that OliverMcMillan is working "diligently to get Buckhead Atlanta back under construction." Richardson said that Georgia Power is in the process of under grounding the power lines on Buckhead Avenue, an effort that is now just weeks away from completion. "Since much of this work is underground, it is not yet visible to the public. This work is part of the process of preparing to start construction…

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Buckhead Shops Wait 'for the Cranes to Move'

Businesses worry as they watch and wait for progress at the Buckhead Atlanta construction site.

  The shops in the heart of Buckhead all offer unique styles and products: glass art, music lessons, pet care, Irish beer, Turkish snacks and modern light fixtures, to name a few. But one characteristic unites them all -- living in close proximity to the giant construction site promised to become Buckhead Atlanta. Al Ozelci, owner of Café Agora on East Paces Ferry said he’s been around Atlanta for a long time, so he knows how things have changed. “Now you can’t even walk around,” he said, referring to traffic and general congestion near his locally renowned Mediterranean Cuisine restaurant. “But my business has never suffered,” Ozelci said proudly. The upcoming new location for Café Agora in Midtown is proof enough that the construction …

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Buckhead Atlanta To Submit Its First Plans

Developers held a media briefing on Thursday to describe their next steps in making the formerly named Streets of Buckhead a reality.

Once called the Streets of Buckhead, the recently rechristened Buckhead Atlanta will submit its first set of architectural plans to the city for approval within 10 days. During a Thursday media briefing, the project's developers said the massive, yet often stalled, development is on track to break ground next spring. J. Hunter Richardson, development director for Oliver McMillan, which took over as the project's developer from Ben Carter Properties, said the project is "10 days away from submitting a special applications permit to city of Atlanta planning officials." If approved, the developers would then apply for a special development permit for transportation and other public works issues. Then comes the actual construction permits, …

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From the Editor's Desk

Give names for "Streets of Buckhead"

"Buckhead Atlanta" not exciting enough for dynamic development

An Atlanta Journal-Constitution story the other day referred to that big stalled project in the heart of our community as "The Streets of Buckhead." Yes, even Atlanta's major newspaper refuses to call the project "Buckhead Atlanta," as preferred by San Diego developer Oliver McMillan, which vows to resume work on the development this year. We're glad that Oliver McMillan will bring the project to completion. But with the best of wishes toward the company, we suggest that the development deserves a different, more romantic name. As Tony Wilbert of Wilbert News Strategies pointed out recently in his excellent Skyline Views blog, the name "Buckhead Atlanta" has generated little enthusiasm here. As Wilbert said, even a banner hanging above the…

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