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Feature Article, May 2006
Creating A New Retail District In Atlanta
Selig Enterprises is creating The District At Howell Mill, an urban village that’s bringing Wal-Mart into the city.
Randall Shearin
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Selig Enterprises is developing The District at Howell Mill, a mixed-useproject that will bring big box retail, including a Wal-Mart Supercenter, to intown Atlanta.
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Just north of downtown Atlanta on Interstate 75, passersby rarely noticed the roadside as they passed the exit at Howell Mill Road. For years, the former Castlegate Hotel sat empty on the property. This fall, drivers on the Interstate will probably be more likely to exit than pass by when they see The District at Howell Mill, a new 600,000-square-foot mixed-use project that is being erected where the hotel once stood.
Developed by Atlanta-based Selig Enterprises, The District at Howell Mill is a unique property that incorporates both retail and residential living. Selig will develop a 300,000-square-foot multi-story shopping center with 1,415 parking spaces, and co-developer A.G. Spanos will develop 300,000 square feet of multifamily luxury apartment homes (280 units). All of this will be accomplished on a compact 17 acres.Shopping Center Business recently met with David Witt, executive vice president, and Bill Stogner, senior vice president, of Selig Enterprises, at the company’s offices in Atlanta, to find out more about The District at Howell Mill.
The District at Howell Mill is a unique project because of its urban location, its tenant mix, its multi-storied layout and the residential component. The project will contain the second Wal-Mart located within the Atlanta city limits; it is also one of the retailer’s urban prototype stores.
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A 150,000-square-foot Wal-Mart Supercenter will be located on the lower level of The District at Howell Mill.
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Selig entered the deal when it was approached by The Home Depot to develop a center on the site that would incorporate a Home Depot store. Home Depot chose Selig Enterprises because of the company’s expertise in developing in intown Atlanta. Selig was unable to craft a deal with Home Depot for the site, so it dropped the project. Selig knew it needed a quality tenant who could justify the returns for the expenses involved in the urban project and approached Wal-Mart. The retailer loved the idea of locating in the intown Atlanta market. Already active in the suburbs, the retailer had yet to locate a store inside Atlanta’s perimeter at the time. Selig began its assemblage for the 17-acre site. Three parcels were purchased from three different entities, one of which was the city of Atlanta, and a fourth was acquired in a land-swap with the department of transportation.
With Wal-Mart on board with a 150,000-square-foot Supercenter, Selig looked for other tenants. Wal-Mart plans a 36,000-square-foot grocery component and a 114,000-square-foot general merchandise store. Because of its urban location, the store will not have the automotive or hunting departments usually associated with the Supercenter concept. Wal-Mart will soon begin conducting focus groups with neighborhood residents regarding the store’s merchandise mix.
“They are very on top of making it a neighborhood location,” says Stogner.
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The District at Howell Mill as drivers along Interstate 75 South will see it.
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The Wal-Mart store will be located on the lower level of the center, on-grade with I-75 but below the main street level. With the stacked parking and its below-grade position, the neighborhoods were pleased to have the store as a neighbor. Signage off Howell Mill Road directs traffic to Wal-Mart’s adjacent 566 parking spaces on the lower level and 184 parking spaces on the middle level of the parking deck. The middle level deck is also intended for overflow parking during heavy shopping periods. Vertical transportation for shoppers who wish to shop at other retailers is located just outside Wal-Mart’s front door.
“There will be elevators that take you from Wal-Mart’s front door up to the upper level retail,” says Stogner.
Sitting above Wal-Mart is another 150,000 square feet of retail. Signed leases include T.J. Maxx, Ulta, Ross Dress For Less, PetsMart and Office Depot. Verizon Wireless is planning a signature store on an outparcel as well. Several restaurants, as well as national and local tenants, will fill in the balance of the retail.
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A photo of the model for the District at Howell Mill, showing the center and its positioning along Interstate 75.
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The residential component of the development will be separate from the retail but will allow direct access via a pedestrian bridge and a vehicular bridge. A.G. Spanos’ design will utilize many of the same design elements and materials as those of the retail. Atlanta-based Phillips Partnership is the center’s architect. From Howell Mill, cars will turn onto a main boulevard that leads them directly into the project. Selig has made an investment in landscaping to ensure a tree-lined boulevard for strolling and al-fresco dining.
“If you live in the neighborhoods near the center or the apartments adjacent to the center and want to walk over and have dinner, you’ll be able to access the center through your neighborhood without having to get in your car,” says Stogner. “We want the neighbors to be able to walk here, and sit and enjoy the restaurants and stores.”
During pre-development, Selig conducted numerous meetings with residents from the area neighborhoods discussing the possibilities for the property. Getting a Wal-Mart approved in an urban location surrounded by single-family housing is not the easiest thing to do. Selig’s experience with other intown centers in Atlanta gave the company good inroads. It has a reputation of working with the neighborhoods to develop ideas, not developing ideas for the neighborhoods. When the company developed its mixed-use Brookwood Place development on Peachtree and 25th Streets in 2002, it met with neighbors to see what they wanted. Through their input, Selig was able to attract tenants like Wolfgang Puck Café, Spa Sydell, Swoozie’s, Borders, Viking Cooking Center and Kroger.
“We always think that we end up with a better project because of neighborhood input,” says Witt. “Meeting with the neighborhoods and soliciting their input also makes them feel that they are invested in the project.”
A Growing City
Traffic is the major inhibitor to living in suburban Atlanta, as anyone who lives there will tell you. But to those who actually live inside the city limits of Atlanta, the pleasure of a short commute awaits. While there are more than 4.1 million people living in metropolitan Atlanta, only 420,000 people live within the city limits, which stretch over two counties. But, with traffic increasing, more people want to live closer to work. And as more developments like The District at Howell Mill are created, more residents are drawn to intown living. The city of Atlanta’s population has increased by 10,000 residents over the last 3 years. In areas like Midtown, population has grown exponentially as lofts, high-rise condominiums and new apartment complexes have been built. Previously, residents in town had to drive to the suburbs to go to retailers like Target and PetsMart. Retailers are getting smarter and locating stores to meet these consumers in their own neighborhoods.
“When retailers run across a situation like this, they have to bring in designers and store merchandisers and rethink the way they layout their store,” says Selig’s Stogner. “Retailers are laying out their racks and their shelves in a totally different manner than they used to. Because of the sales potential that they see out of the site, they are willing to do that.”
— Randall Shearin |
©2006 France Publications, Inc. Duplication or reproduction of this article not permitted without authorization from France Publications, Inc. For information on reprints of this article contact Barbara Sherer at (630) 554-6054.
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