Atlanta better than Dallas??

[dallastophoenix]

Atlanta-Dallas duel is the pits
11:08 AM CDT on Friday, October 3, 2003

By STEVE BROWN / The Dallas Morning News

Dallas' real estate market can't get no respect from Wall Street.

Moody's Investors Service has already called Dallas one of the "worst commercial real estate markets in the country."

With praise like that, what more could we ask for?

How about JP Morgan Fleming Asset Management's recent real estate report that asks, "Why is Atlanta leaving Dallas in the dust?"

Nothing like that kind of a write-up to kick off an old-fashioned Texas range war.

In case you have been in a coma for the last couple of decades, Dallas and Atlanta aren't the best of buds.

Politicians in the Georgia peach pit are prone to point out all of our local government foibles whenever a relocating company is heading our way. If that doesn't work, they'll harp on our hot weather.

Now Atlanta has enlisted the aid of willing Wall Street wags to make its point that Big D stands for "disaster."

"Atlanta is experiencing a Texas-style upswing, emerging as one of the nation's best-performing cities and kicking dust at downtrodden Dallas," the JP Morgan report opines.

Where's General Sherman when you need him?

The research letter goes on in an ever-so-helpful tone to blame Dallas' problems on our reliance on high-tech industries.

Of course, in Atlanta, bottling soda and selling lumber are considered high-tech. And its idea of an information superhighway is putting up street signs on Peachtree Street.

Yes, Dallas took it on the chin when the dot-com, telecom and every-other-com-you-can-think-of industries went down the drain.

But what businesses are more likely to create jobs in the next 50 years?

And Atlanta's top 10 list of largest employers includes four high-tech firms.

Compare the biggest employers in Atlanta and Dallas, and you'll find almost the same mix.

Atlanta's employment market cooled ahead of Dallas' and, yes, it has bounced back sooner. But Atlanta – like Dallas – is hip deep in an oversupply of office, warehouse and apartment construction.

But don't expect Wall Street to give us a break. They're still mad about the 1980s real estate crash.

Get over it. We have.


Tale of two cities: Atlanta vs. Dallas

Wall Street economists are whacking Dallas over the head with Atlanta's so-called prosperity. But a comparison of the top employers in each city show almost the same mix of companies.


D-FW-area largest employers
1. AMR Corp. 26,700
2. Lockheed-Martin 15,500
3. SBC 14,093
4. Verizon Communications 14,000
5. Brinker International 12,000
6. J.C. Penney 10,869
7. Texas Instruments 10,200
8. Kroger Co. 9,832
9. Albertson's 9,700
10. Citigroup 9,404

Atlanta-area largest employers
1. Delta Air Lines 22,412
2. BellSouth 22,041
3. Emory University 14,398
4. Wal-Mart Stores 13,850
5. AT&T 10,300
6. IBM 8,500
7. Home Depot 8,302
8. Lockheed-Martin 8,041
9. Kroger Co. 7,800
10. Lucent Technologies 7,600


Source: The Dallas Morning News, DeKalb Partnership.

'Premier corner'


A prime Preston Road tract has changed hands, but don't expect a groundbreaking just yet.
Dallas investor and developer Avex Group bought 104 acres near the southeast corner of Preston Road and U.S. Highway 380.

The rural property – which fronts both highways – is on the busiest east-west commuting route between McKinney and Denton.

"Clearly this is one of the premier corners in the path of growth in the Preston Road corridor," said Avex senior vice president Frank Babb. "Our plan is to sell it when the corner is ready to develop."

That may be sooner than you think. Work is scheduled to begin late this year to widen the section of Preston Road that runs north of Frisco.

Avex already has some high-profile neighbors at the intersection. Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has bought two of the other corners.

Conn's comes to town


Real estate broker Woodmont Co. has negotiated deals with a retailer to take over three former Service Merchandise stores in the Dallas area. Conn's Appliances, which operates stores in Texas and Louisiana, has opened its first local outpost at North Central Expressway and Royal Lane in North Dallas.
Two more stores – one at the northeast corner of Belt Line and Plano roads in Richardson and another at the southeast corner of Interstate-35 East and Round Grove Road in Lewisville – will open next month.

Greg Rabin and Jennifer Frank of Woodmont handled the three transactions.

L.A. firm scouts area


A Los Angeles-area apparel firm is negotiating to locate a distribution center in Southwest Dallas.
Strategic Partners Inc., which manufactures uniforms for health care workers and schools, is looking at a 240,000-square-foot warehouse in the Mountain Creek business park on Interstate 20. So far, no deal has been signed.

Mountain Creek, on I-20 at Mountain Creek Parkway, is a mixed-use project of Panatonni Development.

Strategic Partners' largest brand name is the Cherokee line of apparel and footwear.


E-mail stevebrown@dallasnews.com

http://www.dallasnews.com/business/columnists/sbrown/stories/100303dnbusrecol.cdcad.html

[gc]

yeah, i saw that too...thanks for posting to dallastophoenix. atlanta is awesome....but i'd take dallas anyday....period

[UptownGraphicsGuy]

I'll say it's a very close draw between the two cities. Both have similar good points and bad. They do seem to be moving ahead a lot faster with their version of the Victory development here in Dallas (called Atlantic Station)...seems that the ENTIRE thing will be finished in 2005. The retail componet is 75% leased (IKEA is building a store there) and the residential part already has waiting list on everything from loft apartments to townhomes, it even has a couple of very cool highrise office buildings that are going up that have already landed major tenants. Why can't we move stuff along this quickly here in Dallas? Personally I love Dallas and really don't want to "up and move". But IMO we are getting our ass whooped by ATL.
Small area of Atlantic Station pic below...

[UptownGraphicsGuy]

and another pic with some of the taller buildings in the background...

[tamtagon]

One of my clients will relocate to the Atlantic station development. I cant wait to check it out, first hand.

Atlanta is by far the prettier city, but I generally like the city feel in Dallas more. I also think Dallas has much more potential to become a "bigger" city, with the full on cosmopolotian feel. While the debate over the museum capitol of the southwest is raging, people in Atlanta are just wondering what it would be like to have a decent museum within 600 miles.

Without a doubt the two cities are very similar.

[tamtagon]

Full on cosmopolitian feel - Manhattan as the benchmark....

[bloodandpopcorn]

Wow, that's very impressive. But, hey, they don't get a brand new W! Do they already have one? I guess they probably do...

But I think that when Victory finally gets its act together and starts coming around, it will be even nicer than those mock-ups of this. They are very, very impressive, to be sure, but the renderings of Victory really dwarf these, at least in my opinion. The test is whether we can actually bring this project to life.

When was Atlantic Station announced, and when did construction on it begin? Is it all being done in one go, or, like Victory, is it a longer project, with parts of it growing on the sucess of that which preceeds them?

[UptownGraphicsGuy]

It seems to have been started around the same time as the Victory development. The key factor here is that their project didn't get mired down in the political/corporate mess ours did. No fault to the great citizens of Dallas, just our bad luck :) Surprisingly Atlanta has had a W hotel for years, but my guess about that one would be that W hotels parent company Starwood is based in Atlanta, or at least Wyndam is.

I too think Dallas has a much better layout for becoming a great urban center with all of the surrounding inner city neighborhoods. From the renderings alone, our W is WAY NICER AND MUCH TALLER :)

[rantanamo]

Maybe I'm being a homer, but are we really comparing that to the original Victory plans? This is more along the scale of the West Village/Cityplace area renderings. The original Victory plans was like plopping half of a new downtown dallas across Woodall Rogers. I'll say it now, and I have said it many times before. We have a self esteem problem here in the metroplex. Look at ALL of the great projects going on here. You never hear anything about them except on this board, or a small blurb in the DMN. I seem to know more about Atlanta projects than projects here.

[gc]

Well said rantanamo.....the two cities are very very similar....but I think Dallas has the egde when it comes to potential.

[UptownGraphicsGuy]

The pics I posted are just a 'small part' of the overall site. Atlantic Station too is like 'plopping down' another downtown in Atlanta...

check it out www.atlanticstation.com

And by no means am I being a cheerleader for Atlanta, I moved here because I fell in love with the city of Dallas. I just think it is always a good idea to check out what other cities are doing in and around their downtowns.

[rantanamo]

No, this is not like the size of Victory's original plans. Victory was to be simply huge. Multiple 500 footers. Huge amounts space going up. I'm talking much larger than the Las Colinas Urban Center. The early renderings I had were absolutely crazy. Far too ambitious, IMO. I guess more of my point is, if you're a regular at SSP or SSC Atlanta's projects are known. Dallas projects aren't. We have a self esteem problem. Articles like the "What's Bugging North Dallas?" or the fact that many in Dallas say Dallas is a boring sprawling mess with nothing to do illustrates that. The fact that people actually think Dallas wouldn't have been a great Olympic site really takes that cake for me. I'm also saying that we have many things going up that no one ever mentions or even knows about. I know Atlanta is a great city. I always enjoy going there for business. You have to admit though, that they and Houston are much greater at self boosterism than Dallas has been since the real estate bust.

[tamtagon]

Without any numbers to substantiate my statement, I think this project is somewhat smaller in scale (75%???) than the combined phases of the West Village projects. I think what is significant about this development in Atlanta is that it probably represents the last large scale, multiple acre developments in the central city. There is still some open space and unused warehouse areas south of downtown Atlanta (near Turner Field), but very little new constructed and/or rennovation is anticipated in that part of town.

Atlanta Station continues the North-South linear growth of Atlanta, and helps extend the business corridor toward the affluent, primiarily residential Buckhead community.

I beleive the train station at this development is already finished.

[bloodandpopcorn]

I would agree that, at finishout, the West Village area will be much larger in scale than this Atlantic Station seems to be. But of course, that "finishout" may never occur. West Village may just be an area that continues to grow and grow, connecting Uptown to the knox-henderson area. So, in that viewpoint, it's far larger than Atlantic station. And, correct me if I'm wrong, almost all of the new developments (not including the borders, but including the area on the same lot as the borders construction just to the north, I beleive) will be 10-20 (maybe more?) stories. If you look at it, ALOT is simmiliar between our two urban infill projects & Atlantic Station. All three are will have a train station in addition to the expected parkingl ots. I assume Atlantic Station's namesake will be pretty damn impressive, and the change of design to the Cityplace station will be equally as impressive, though most probably in a different way. Victory station will be the second largest to Union Station (Or so it seems to be, with what ends up being four platforms for DART and the TRE.) All are pedestrian oriented. And, in all likelihood, all will suceed and become really cohesive urban neighborhoods before too long.

But we have two (plus eventually Ceders and Mockingbird Station) in additon to lots of random construction in uptown. So I think, as far as new development in the 'center city', Dallas will be ahead of Atlanta.

[mikedsjr]

I'll ask the real question.

Does it really matter?

[DallasTexan]

BTW, Atlantic Station is NOT 75% leased. It just crossed the 40% benchmark.

Also, Downtown/Midtown Atlanta is going to face a worse vacancy problem than Dallas. I am very well versed in Atlanta, and what they're doing is scary. For example, 191 Peachtree, one of Atlanta's premier skyscrapers, will be 60% vacant when King and Spalding moves to the new Symphony Tower in Midtown. Right across the street from 191 are 270 Peachtree and the Coastal States Building (both 25-27 stories). Both are almost completely empty. Coastal States has a sign out front saying that 300,000 sq. feet is available immediately. The top half of the 50 story Wachovia Building (their version of Elm Place) is vacant. This is just in downtown, and doesn't even bring the smaller buildings into this.


In Midtown, the newest completed phase of One Atlantic Center is sitting... empty. Numerous spec. towers completed since 2000 are also empty. One Georgia Place (27 stories) will also be vacated when SouthTrust Bank moves into their offices at Atlantic Station when their building building is completed.

Yes, Atlanta is building new towers, but it's just shuffling the space around - the tenants move into the brand new buildings and leave the older ones to suffer.

[bloodandpopcorn]

So when thsi is done, then, do you predict that Atlanta will have vacancy problems of a level simmiliar to that in our CBD?

[DallasTexan]

It's already about as bad as ours... it will be a lot worse when done, though.

[dallastophoenix]

According to A.S's website, it's almost double the size of Victory... However, I have to agree w/ most of you that it looks very similar to the West Village development (much more suburban per-se than urban)...

When Victory is fully built, I'm sure it will have a much more hip, urban feel than A.S. (a huge 4-times-the-size-of-Walmart Ikea store???).

As far as Atlanta's overbuilding... I recently spoke to a friend of mine that works for the city's planning dept.. He says that it's a joke among the staff that Atlanta is catching up to Dallas' dismal vacancy numbers... but they would rather have all of this new space being built now (during a downturn), than wait until later & hope it would be built. My friend also admits (which most of us know anyway) that they are still piggy-backing off the Olympics held there years ago... so much is being invested b/c of that.... ( I hate that Dallas missed out on 2012).

He also agrees (being from Dallas originally) that Dallas has more potential for future build out of its downtown and the fringes... (he really has high hopes for the rest of Uptown and what could be a huge draw later -perhaps 8-10 yrs- the Cedars area, as the Trinity River view will be in demand...)

[rantanamo]

Double the size of current Victory. We're talking about the original Victory plans, which were absolutely unrealistic for any city but maybe New York or Hong Kong.

[evdallas]

I am glad that Victory was stalled out and Urban Related (Palladium) dropped thier plans. From what I have seen, victory is all the better for it. This stuff is permanent (well at least semi permanent) and I would rather it be built slowly and see good design go into it than to see AA center type architecture fill a whole area. Hopefully Atlanta is getting something nice out of their project.

[dallastophoenix]

Sorry, rantanamo, I didn't clarify... I actually meant A.S. is double the land mass of Victory...

[URBAN GURU]

A very interesting discourse.I'd like to add my 2cents as a long time resident of the ATL: I love your passion re Big D;your attention to detail is outstanding and you all have a very sophisticated perspective.I have visited your great city several times in the last 13 years on both a professional and personal basis and found it to be a warm and engaging place.But I never got the comparisons to Atlanta that many people make.The closest comparison that I can draw is the overpowering desire on the part of some of both cities "leaders" to be more than what each repective city is.In a word.."boosterism". My view is that people for the most part live where they feel most comfortable and they are proud of their hometown and show it in varios and sundry ways.To each (their)own. P.S. The information on Atlantic Station is not quite accurate.I have been on site within the last 30 days and it is (in Dallas terms)a combination of Mocking Bird Station.West Village and Victory.All of which I visited and enjoyed. Glad to be a part community.

[Columbus Civil]

http://www.topthat.net/DWT/Nav/splash.jpg

[tamtagon]

Oh my gosh!

[Columbus Civil]

And you probably didn't know, Marjorie, that Suzanne was not just any Miss Georgia, she was the Miss Georgia. She didn't twirl just a baton, that baton was on fire. And when she threw that baton into the air, it flew higher, further, faster than any baton has ever flown before, hitting a transformer and showering the darkened arena with sparks! And when it finally did come down, Marjorie, my sister caught that baton, and 12,000 people jumped to their feet for sixteen and one-half minutes of uninterrupted thunderous ovation, as flames illuminated her tear-stained face! And that, Marjorie --- just so you will know --- and your children will someday know --- is the night the lights went out in Georgia!

[evdallas]

:eek:

[aceplace]

:D

If Atlanta really is better than Dallas... it must be paradise on Earth...

[URBAN GURU]

No,the ATL is not heaven on earth.It is growing albeit not always in a coherent fashion,and has attracted national attention(see 11/02 NYT travel section)but at the end of the day it is grappling with the same types of issues that I see reflected on this site.That is what is so interesting to me,the same stuff just a different shovel.Iwill keep you posted on what is going on in the ATL from time to time,if you are interested.

[URBAN GURU]

Here is the latest project in the ATL:One Symphony Center,a 41 story office building located at 14th @ Peach,that is the first project in the Symphony Center development.The new Symphony hall ,designed by Calatrava,wil be the second project.The entire project based upon the master plan developed by Ceaser Pelli will include an additional mixed use tower that will include a hotel,condos and retail.

[URBAN GURU]

Jpeg file attached

[gc]

Originally posted by URBAN GURU
Here is the latest project in the ATL:One Symphony Center,a 41 story office building located at 14th @ Peach,that is the first project in the Symphony Center development.The new Symphony hall ,designed by Calatrava,wil be the second project.The entire project based upon the master plan developed by Ceaser Pelli will include an additional mixed use tower that will include a hotel,condos and retail.


Sounds a lot like some of Dallas' ambitious plans....doesn't it?

by the way...cool picture

[tamtagon]

This part of Atlanta, midtown, is something Dallas could be jealous of. Based on the rendering of the new building, the urban feel of the intersection of 14 @ Peachtree will be even stronger. But just like Dallas' CBD, midtown Atlanta lacks amenities making it almost impossible to walk from your condo on the 20th floor to the grocery to pick up last minute dinner items. It is possible, though, to walk to a very nice, large park from Midtown.

I dont know which city will be first to grow into a city in which a car is not a necessity. While Atlanta currently has more robust street life in the among the tall buildings, Dallas has greater potential thanks to the availability of open land. It will take Dallas another 5-10 years before uptown and the CBD are thoroughly blended for the picture postcards, but it does seem inevitable. Atlanta will remodel and Dallas will build from scratch - I guess it's an even trade. The first city (of all new cities) to provide public transportation immune to street congestion will have the advantage in attracting attention.

[DallasTexan]

IMO, Midtown Atlanta isn't anything to be jealous of. While it is a fun, trendy place, Midtown seems like an overgrown office park. It's much too fake, planned, and plastic.

Midtown's growth engine has not been housing, but office tenants. The drive for Midtown's development since the early 80's has been office tenants leaving Midtown for the cheaper land in Midtown and the very fact that it wasn't truly urban (no street people to deal with or other urban "riff-raff"). I would assure you that around 75% of the leased office space in Midtown's towers were once Downtown tenants - BellSouth, Wachovia, numerous law firms, etc. If these tenants had never left Downtown, Midtown would not be what it is today.

The worst part about Midtown, IMO, is a lot of the designs that accompany office buildings. While the buildings themselves are gorgeous, many of them have huge areas of open space such as plazas or green areas that surround the developments. The BofA is the worst offender. It's set back so far from the street that it kills all pedestrian life in the immediate area. I'm glad that the city and Midtown Alliance have worked and have changed the zoning laws in the area, and I do agree - in twenty years, Midtown will be a different place than it is now...

BTW, 1180 Peachtree (The Symphony Tower) is udner construction, but the condos and other part sof the project have been scrapped. :(

[DallasTexan]

Ohhh yes - like I mentioned earlier, when 1180 is completed, the next victim that Midtown is stealing from downtown is King and Spalding. While the city is getting a new skyscraper, half of 191 Peachtree will be left empty by their departure.

:mad:

[dallastophoenix]

as i posted b4, atl's planning dept. doesn't really care about all of the new buildings coming in... even if it hurts the CBD. they just want them built. midtown is full of beautiful buildings, but they seem very suburban - with all of the open space around them. also, the lack of residents make it so far behind dallas' uptown. yes, it would be great for dallas to have more scyscrapers going up, but i'll take smaller residential buildings anyday over the shiny new office towers that will be sitting vacant (or causing other buildings DT to become vacant).

[CTroyMathis]

Don't forget, heavy rail lines and stations have existed for a couple of decades before DART opened up it's lines. It's amazing to see where the developments of note are in both Washington and Atlanta - and cross-referencing rail lines. Do it over a couple of decades, and things become pretty darn apparent.

Another plug for rail-oriented development...

Cityplace/West Village, Mockingbird, and Park could all do what's already been done in Metro Washington and Atlanta. It's already started...

And in conclusion:

Marsha! Marsha! Marsha!

http://samson.chem.umass.edu/gifs/group.gif

[CTroyMathis]

Oops, and how could I forget:

Add Victory to the list also.

[URBAN GURU]

Here is an example of residential in midtown.The Metropolis is a 20 story 498 unit project with 42,000 sq ft of retail on the ground floor.

[DallasTexan]

The Metropolis is very nice. I would live there. The noodle house on the first floor is good! They just need to fill the the rest of vacant ground level retail, though...

[psukhu]

I really like Atlanta. I almost moved there. Like it was mentioned in the previous posts, Atlanta and Dallas are very similar.

I would compare metro Atlanta to Dallas County/Collin County only. I think adding Tarrant County and Denton County into the mix really gives Dallas the edge over Atlanta. Also, when comparing the states: Georgia vs. Texas- Texas wins by far. :)

[URBAN GURU]

Dallas Texan: you seem to be up on all of the ATL(smile);but you are just a liitle behind.The retail in the Metropolis is now 90% leased(a contempoary Asian restaurant by the Hsu family)Also, the developers ofthe M are breaking ground next month on a 392 unit,27 story project on the old Cabana hotel site at 5th @Peach. It will have 12,000 sq ft of retail.
FYI:The Georgia Aquarium/World of Coke will add over 700,000 sq ft of retail/entertainment space to downtown by 2006.(see file photo)

[DallasTexan]

Yeah, I love Atlanta. I'm there literally EVERY weekend, seeing that I live in Nashville... a mere three hours away. I'm also transferring to Tech in January, so I better like it down there!

To be honest, I come down so much that I am on a first name basis with the staff of the Westin Peachtree! :D

Too bad this weekend that the Westin is full... I'll be staying at the Sheraton Colony Square. Now that I'm a Starwood Platinum Preferred Guest, I'm automatically upgraded to the Presidential Suite ;)

That's good to hear about the Metropolis, too. The big vacancy I noticed was the retail unit on the corner of the building.

BTW - the design on the Aquarium has changed somewhat. A new rendering will be out soon :)

[URBAN GURU]

Dallas Texan: Here is a picture of the new Omni Tower at CNN Center. Check it out;the grand opening is11/10/03 but they are allowing quests to stay there now. Have toured the facility and it is very nice.
Note.The Woodruff Art Center has hired Jones,Lang Wooten to handle the rest of the Symphony Center development.As you noted ,Hines has scrapped it's plans for the second tower.

Best of luck to you at Tech.The new campus has been a real boost for both Tech and Midtown.

[tamtagon]

Atlanta would like to thank the customers of Home Depot for the beautiful aquarium. A two hundred million dollar ($200,000,000) donation from the founder of Home Depot is building this facility next to Centinniel Olympic Park. It's very sweet.

Guru, do you know anything about the development proposed on P'tree where the Jocks & Jills is? The 'soon to come' construction sign has been there for a long time, but nothing seems to ever happen.

In comparing the city life found in Dallas and Atlanta, it's good to remember dymanics present in Atlanta, absent in Dallas. Being the captiol of GA the state gov't operates in downtown Atlanta. Additionally, there is very heavy collegiate activity in the central city. GA Tech is located in midtown, just north Olympic Park, and GA State Univ. is downtown, adjacent to many governmental operations. Both univ. enroll over 10,000 students. THere are several other colleges/universities in the area, too.

[URBAN GURU]

Tamtagon:Yes. The proposed Midtown Square project, at 10th @Peach, by Dewberry Capital was projected to be a 750,00 sq ft mixed use development that included a 35 story office bldg,a hotel with residential condos,and 175,000 sq ft of upscale retail.
To date,the land all is under the control of the developer,they have just purchased the Wyndam Hotel adjacent to the site and have announced that the various tenents,i.e. Jocks and Jills can stay for a few more years.
Net net;the sign will be there for a few more years.

[mikedsjr]

I maybe be telling old news. Based off the original question, Atlanta and Dallas are the same position on the terms of trying to become "World Class" cities. Both Dallas and Atlanta are tied for the average monthly unreserved parking rate at $100.00. And if this is an indication of where these cities rate on being "World Class", then they would be ranked about 25th in the US of A. All of the top averages are what most people would call "World Class".

So who is better? Neither. They are just cities that need to be what they are and try to build for their own people instead of building for others.

[gc]

Downtown Firms Moving to New Midtown Digs
By Alex Finkelstein - Last updated: Nov 12, 2003 10:35AM
http://www.globest.com/RMIAVMQNMMD.html

ATLANTA-This isn't Downtown's finest hour as two of the city's largest law firms make plans to leave the central business district for new corporate homes in Midtown.
King & Spalding has leased 440,000 sf at Hines Co.'s 41-story, 681,000-sf tower that has broken ground at Peachtree and 14th streets. The building expects to be ready for occupancy in December 2005.

Another law firm, the 500-lawyer Powell, Goldstein, Frazer & Murphy group, also plans to vacate about 200,000 sf at two Downtown locations for new quarters at the 50-story One Atlantic Center (formerly the IBM Tower) on 14th Street in Midtown.

Mayor Shirley Franklin has unsuccessfully tried to convince the two law firms to remain Downtown, area brokers in a position to know tell GlobeSt.com. But the perception of continued street crime and a growing homeless population were factors that weighed in the relocation decisions by the two firms, Downtown office brokers tell GlobeSt.com.

King & Spalding and Powell Goldstein are both moving from the 191 Peachtree Tower. Powell Goldstein also has offices at the 230 Peachtree Building. The Hines project will have 656,000 sf of office and 25,000 sf of retail. The property will also house the Atlanta Symphony Center.

[tamtagon]

Municipal financial health is an important consideration in the comparison of these tow cities. With a top notch credit rating, Dallas gets the maximum monetary return from the issuance of bonds. Dallas is argueing on the best plan to concurrently reconstruct downtown highways and build a new park in the middle of town. Since the late 90s the city has had a couple hundred million dollars waiting to be spent. Luckily for Dallas, other govt agencies (Army Corps of Engineers, DOT) are contributing the lion's share of the necessary costs of the billion dollar park/highway project. However, in Atlanta, the city spirals deeper into financial catastrophy. With in days of this post, the federal govt may begin fining the city for not selecting a plan to rebuild the city's sewer system. Atlanta is faced with a $3 Billion project. This fall, the credit rating of the city dropped - it will be very costly for the city to borrow $3 Billion. Water bills are expected to triple within a few years.

The city of Dallas is in the best of positions to support growth. Atlanta is in trouble. While the city of Atlanta probably wont have to consider bankruptcy, it will be in a similar position as Orange County, CA was during the 90s. The cost of living in Atlanta will rise while the quality of life degrades. No new highway projects or public transportation expansions to releive congenstion on the roads will increase pollution, and commute times. In fact, sometime in 2003 the proposed "Northern Arc" was cancelled. This new superhighway would have been similar to The Bush. However, the usual citizen protests uncovered more than just people who didnt want their rural way of life disrupted. It seems that several on the planning committee of the Northern Arc owned a great deal of the land the highway would need. After an investigation by the govenor's office, the project was quietly cancelled.

[DallasTexan]

Die Atlanta :D