In my opinion Lane Company, the builder of Element and ATL Lofts, killed Atl Station’s early momentum due to construction delays. Element which was sold out and move-ins scheduled for 2005, was delayed for about a year and a half and move ins didn’t start till 2007. ATL Lofts which also had many sold was also delayed a year. By 2007 the Housing market forecast is doom and gloom, so many backed out of contracts and they have to resell a 2nd time. If they had stayed on time that’s potential 700 more units that could have residents in 05 that sat empty till 07. That’s just my opinion, and maybe residents of Element and ATL lofts can tell us differently. I don’t know occupancy of apartments, but the parking lots look pretty full. The hotel had 75% daily occupancy for 2006.

There are 3 places I go as a resident, Publix, LA Fitness and Target. If you want to see residents check out LA Fitness any night of the week at 7 pm, it’s very crowded. Other than that I don’t hang out in Atlantic Station because it’s too crowded, and there is nothing worthwhile to do there!!. And yes I like living there. Location is great. 2 miles commute to work, free shuttle to Marta, easy to hail taxi at 12, anything you need at Target-Publix, very secure, can look out window at 4 am and see security gaurds standing in street, West Midtown has no traffic, Easy access to 75, 5 mins to Braves and Falcons game. IMO, The secret of Atlantic Station is it’s not a great place to visit, but it is a good place to live.

But if all the residences are full, then why don’t I ever spot anyone walking around or just hanging out outside of the retail district? If everyone still gets in there car to go anywhere, its not really living up to its name as a walkable “live, work, play” community.

I’m also not sure I agree with some of the comments about the layout of the area. For example, above the retail, restaurants and entertainment there are apartments and lofts. The lofts, for example are completely sold out. The Twelve building is also right in the middle of this district…the area is also still growing with a great deal of growth in condos hotels, retail for a dead area…

Also, I went over to Atlantic Station at lunch to do a little Christmas shopping and I have a few extra observations.

I think the layout of Atlantic Station is partially to blame for its slow population growth. The design of having huge separate commercial/office/residential areas hearkens to the downtowns of the largest metropolitan areas (ie. New York, Chicago) and supports the idea of having a huge outdoor mall like area for all the big name retailers. However, it probably hinders gradual residential growth, just because of its scale. Without the huge population to create the vibrancy needed to give life to a huge “downtown” complex, Atlantic Station simply feels deserted. And who wants to live in a wasteland?

We might never know if Atlantic Station could ever “feel” like a thriving downtown, because it may never make it through its adolescence.

I mentioned it in this previous post. There’s also a link for to the map there.

http://www.decaturmetro.com/2007/12/04/a-streetcar-named-decatur/

Now, this Board is comprised of MARTA, the ARC and the GA Regional Transit Authority. Not to be confused with the city’s “Connect Atlanta” initiative.