Courtesy of BuckheadView - September 2015
Coro Realty Advisors has filed plans for a major multi-use development on Piedmont Road, north of Peachtree Road and adjacent to the Disco Kroger shopping center, that will include almost 40,000 square feet of retail/restaurant/office space, a 186-room hotel and 190 apartments.
Named Buckhead Place, the present 150,000-square-foot shopping center is anchored by LA Fitness, Marshalls, apartment building 05 Buckhead and a Hyatt Place hotel. The two retail parts of the new development front on Piedmont Road and the hotel and apartment lobbies will front on the private access road that runs from Piedmont Road to Maple Drive.
Patti Pearlberg, Coro’s vice president of asset management, told BuckheadView Monday, “Our goal is to start construction by first quarter 2016; sooner if we can.”
The south portion of the development consists of approximately 5,500 square feet of retail/restaurant space on the first floor and a 186-room hotel. CORO is partnering with McKibbon Hotel Group on the new hotel, according to plans.
The north side of the development has approximately 33,000 square feet of retail/restaurant/office space on two levels that is along Piedmont Road and then wraps down the private drive and into an internal courtyard.
On the north side of the drive there will be 190 apartment units planned with a 7-story deck plus underground parking. The amenity deck is the top level of the parking. The plan is to operate this as Phase II of the apartments from 05. The new units are planned as smaller, and complement the existing units of O5, which was previously developed by Coro.
Cooper Carry was the principal architectural firm for the development with Lindsay Pope Brayfield Clifford & Associates being the architects for the hotel part of the development.
With Coro hoping to start construction possibly even before the first quarter of 2016, Pearlberg told BuckheadView, “Probably no Big John’s Christmas tree lot this year.” Most Buckhead residents will know the location as the site for many years of the Big John’s tree lot.
However, one thing that may delay slightly that timetable is present discussions regarding the widening of Piedmont Road between Peachtree and Lenox Roads. The Buckhead Community Improvement District and city are in discussions about adding a dedicated left-turn lane to that segment of Piedmont Road to improve traffic throughput, especially during rush hours.
Coro President John Lundeen, who is vice chairman of the BCID, told BuckheadView after the CID’s Aug. 25 meeting, that the road project could affect the development if property has to be taken on the west side of Piedmont to facilitate the widening project.
According to a document submitted to the SPI-9 DRC, Coro has agreed to dedicate 10 feet of property along Piedmont Road to accommodate the widening of Piedmont. “Coro has provided for this 10 feet and the opportunity for an additional 9 feet to allow for the future widening of Piedmont Road in accordance with the Buckhead CID’s 2008 Piedmont Area Transportation Study,” the document states.
Coro met with the SPI-9 (Special Public Interest district) Development Review Committee on Wednesday (Sept. 2) for a review of the plans and Coro’s application for a Special Administrative Permit from the city.
Coro will be requesting an administrative variation in order to set the buildings back to provide for this additional 9 feet it is providing for the road widening. “Until such time as Piedmont Road is widened, this extra area will be incorporated into the Supplemental Zone in front of the development,” according to the document.
In its letter to the SPI-9 DRC, Coro points out that the Atlanta City Council approved a Buckhead Place Master Site Plan in September 2008 and since the rezoning Coro “has continued the normal process of site plan development to address various pragmatic and aesthetic issues.”
Now Coro proposes to apply for an SAP to begin construction in the area at the Piedmont Road entrance, according to the document.
The document states, “This design work has resulted in a revised site plan that is in substantial conformity with the 2008 site plan and has several features that significantly improve the quality of the development.” There is an overall reduction in density in the new plan.
The 2008 plan included a hotel/retail/restaurant building of 208,795 square feet, including 330 hotel rooms. The new plan has 186 hotel rooms in a building totaling 108,659 square feet.
The 2015 site plan’s residential/retail/restaurant building has 190 apartment units and 34,706 square feet of retail/restaurant/office space as part of a 199,736 square foot structure, 98,764 square feet less than the 2008 site plan.
“The buffer requirement imposed in the original zoning remains the same and the revisions do not alter the impact of the development on nearby properties,” the document reads.
Stating that the percentage of open space meets the 2008 zoning and SPI-9 requirements, the document points out “an extensive pedestrian plaza is maintained along the new private road to the interior of the development from Piedmont Road.”