Atlantic Station Condos Bite the Bullet
Decatur Metro | February 4, 2009 | 1:02 pmAs the AJC reports this morning, the “Element” condos at Atlantic Station are auctioning off 40 condos on February 28th, with minimum bid prices up to 59% less than the last asking price. A 1 bedroom/1 bath starts at $95,000!
This surplus of available condos may indeed be in part the result of bad timing in a terrible market. No one wants to own a condo in this kind of landscape…
“Intown Atlanta is awash in 6,000 unsold condos, according to the local real estate consultant Haddow & Co. Just 66 new units sold in the second half of 2008, Haddow & Co. says. For the year, 645 new condos changed hands, which is 76 percent below the average of the previous eight years.”
But there’s still a lot to learn from this lack of demand and we shouldn’t waste a perfectly good down-market to gauge what types of development are actually desired by residents and what types are just bought up by speculators that have no desire to live there. Those that designed, built and promoted Atlantic Station as mixed use, should still acknowledge the short-comings of their model city-within-a-city.
Any mini-city built from the ground up will have its share of problems. It doesn’t have the luxury of an organic city with years of trial and error under its belt, having adapted to the needs and desires of its specific population. But beyond that, I believe that poorly executed “smart growth” properties like Atlantic Station, often display signs of something I would label as “automobile hypocrisy”.
Like every other “smart growth” model that drives me insane, these developments bend over backwards to cater to the car while simultaneously promoting it as a “smart growth” district. They show sidewalks and parks in advertising, making all kinds of false promises to potential residents and customers about the walkability and community aspects of the district, while building massive underground parking decks and major thoroughfares that are impossible to walk along. This actually does damage to the public face of smart growth, as the average citizen sees these failed projects as emblematic of the failure of the movement.
The planners of these communities might have actually thought they had the answer. They thought they could have the best of both worlds – catering to all metro-Atlanta commuters, while simultaneously creating a walkable community. But the results say otherwise. Atlantic Station can’t sell its condos because everyone wants to visit and shop at H&M but few want to live (and even fewer want to walk around) there.
But there is hope yet for places like AS. Like everything else in our built environment, it will also soon be subject to change. Exterior forces will alter it in ways not yet imagined and they will either adapt or disappear.
The first chapter is already written. But unless those close to Atlantic Station realize that its not just a down market that leads to $90,000 condos, they will continue to do a larger share of the suffering.
Why do you suggest that someone who lives in an AS condo can’t walk to movies, shopping and restaurants within the AS development? It seems pretty obvious to me that they can in fact do all of those things. The underground parking garages seem to be designed to permit residents to walk around pretty freely (freeing above-ground space from parking decks) while also giving visitors a place to park. I’m not a huge fan of AS — it has the feel of a movie set to me, a purely aesthetic issue — but it does seem to be pedestrian friendly for condo residents.
This is a very good analysis. Thanks!
Oh, I think while they can walk, it’s not really a pleasant walk the way it would be, say for example, from an organically grown city. I get the point, but can’t seem to get the words!
Pleasant, of course, is in the eye of the beholder. Maybe it isn’t pleasant to most or many, but that’s a mere design issue, moreso than a failure to make it walkable at all.
DM, you’ll get no passionate defense of Atlantic Station from me. It does suffer in a lot of ways — many of which you mention. But I think some of your points are unfair, or at least need to be rounded out a bit.
First is the “organic” issue. You (and many others) seem to equate the term organic to time, but consider this: Atlantic Station is roughly a half square mile, contiguous with the existing city, and has been actively building for about 6 or 7 years. In contrast, the entire Upper West Side of Manhattan, a contiguous area six times larger, was graded and built out in a single decade (1885-95). Both examples predominantly feature multi-family residences of 3 to 7 stories, and both were controlled by an initial landholder who defined the street network and then sold off various parcels to individual builders/developers.
Which is all to say that the time it’s taking to build out, or the general circumstances under which it’s being developed, are not a whole lot different than the Upper West Side which, I’m sure, even the most cynical person would consider organic.
Second is the hypocrisy issue. Yes, AS over-accommodates the car. That’s part of why it’s not as enjoyable to be in as some more historic urban settings. But that doesn’t mean it fails to live up to its smart growth ambitions. By EPA study, the average Atlantan drives 34 miles a day while the average resident of Atlantic Station drives 8. That’s 75% fewer carbon emissions related to transportation, all because it’s possible to accomplish more within reasonable walking distance. I agree that walking across the full scope of AS leaves much to be desired but that doesn’t discount that not a lot of new development can make that claim (of course, those in Decatur can!).
Like I said, I’ll happily join the chorus of folks who lament Atlantic Station’s many lost opportunities. But it’s still a step in the right direction with a lot of good lessons — both what to do and what not to do. Nothing wrong with a little credit where credit is due.
I didn’t say they can’t, I implied they don’t.
Why do I imply this? Because as I’ve stated before, I never see anyone walking around outside of the “mall district”. Not even to and from that mall area! I wouldn’t be surprised if the folks that live 1/4 mile down the road towards Ikea drive to the underground deck to do their shopping and movie watching.
Its not a scientific assessment. Its an observation. Have you seen lots of people walking around outside that area?
I agree on the aesthetic issue as well – as I’ve detailed in previous posts about AS – but I think its bigger than just that.
Scott, in making the “organic” comment, I was trying to give AS the benefit of the doubt. I don’t understand the comparison to the Upper West Side. I’m not saying that just because something is old means it developed organically. I’m saying it survived because it works or has been adapted to work. Something that doesn’t function won’t survive.
Sorry if I’m misinterpreting your statement.
In terms of smart growth goals, I guess I was disguising my own hopes for smart growth as the goals of the movement. Yes, Atlantic Station may allow some folks to walk to work or have shorter commutes, but I would hope smart growth would look to create a bit more of a community element. If AS is the future of smart growth then I’m not all that inspired to defend it.
I can’t comment on how many people I’ve seen walking around AS, since I almost never go there. But you’d think a lack of pedestrians might be explained in part by the fact that they can’t sell the condos. In other words, might be more folks strolling along if more lived there. But I don’t know either way.
I thought you came pretty close to saying one can’t walk AS with the false promises stuff, but I see your point.
Yeah, we’re talking past each other again. I got the sense you were suggesting part of AS’s problems stemmed from the fact that it came into being very quickly. My point was that people making “instant city” criticisms are off base. Your point, on the other hand, that time provides opportunity for the good to strengthen and adapt while the bad simply dies off is well taken. No disagreement there.
As for the Smart Growth goals, I sympathize. AS could have accomplished so much more. But I don’t want to go so far as to fail to acknowledge a single just because it’s not a home run. It’s still a man on base, which serves us better (in this case, mostly environmentally) than probably 90% of the development in the greater metro area.
Charm is hard to build in a few years. Atlantic Station will probably fall apart in the next 20 years. There won’t be a right angle left on any building. Some of the properties already look a little saggy. That kind of cheap construction will continue to loose its value until some horrible act of violence happens down there and then the value will nose dive even harder. It’s sad to say, but AS is sinking fast and I feel terrible for the people who bought into that dream. A $90,000 condo in the middle of a major city…..that says it all. These numbers are unveiling the realities of these quick charm projects.
Plus, the commercial rents in AS are so high only a big box retailer could even phathom it. They will never have cool independent stores at those rents. I’ve seen the GAP and Best Buy. They are not that interesting and hardly deserve a special trip to Atlantic Station. Thank God for Ikea, though.
DEM, I suppose that the “false promises” thing was kind of extreme. If its possible to walk, why wouldn’t you? But there are obstacles other than distance that keep people from choosing an alternate form of transportation.
Scott, probably my bad. I feel a bit of “blogger’s block” today.
Agreed that AS is better than far-reaching subdivisions, if for nothing else than the environmental benefit. BUT it would be even more environmentally-friendly if more folks chose to live there! Also, what if the effort fails and it needs to be leveled? All that rubble going to the dump…does that offset the shorter commutes of a few years?
My brother — You’ll find no greater ally than me when it comes to the shoddy, disposable architecture and construction that characterizes Atlantic Station. Absolutely contrary to the overall environmental intent of the project. The styles are trendy and temporary, so who’ll wanna preserve them over the long haul? And throw in that it’s all condo ownership and I guarantee that it’s gonna be a legal nightmare once those buildings hit their “design life.”
Looks like they’ll be collecting a “rebuild the whole building” special assessment fee from the residents. Good luck with that.
I know of a condo conversion in Midtown that assessed a $10K per bedroom fee to rebuild a defective parking deck, even after they won a lawsuit with the developer and the architect.
I am so glad others pointed out the shoddy construction at AS. I was pretty shocked as it was going up. I am over there at lot actually for meetings at Wachovia and BBT. I actually go over there quite a bit for “mall” type stuff because of proximity to my downtown job. I never see anyone walking and I don’t think it’s exclusively because of lack of condo owners. It’s just not well done.
Big article in the New York Time’s yesterday. Apparently downtown Chicago is completely awash in unsold condos as well. Definitely not just an intown Atlanta problem.
The city added 4,600 new condo units in the downtown area in 2008, with another 4,700 units scheduled to be completed this year. The rate at which these new units are being occupied is lagging, however.
“Absorption last year was terrible — probably around 1,000 units,” said Gail Lissner, vice president of the Chicago-based Appraisal Research Counselors, which tracks downtown condo sales. “It’s going to take some time to work through this inventory.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/04/business/04chicago.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=chicago%20condominiums&st=cse
Hey, I guess nobody wants to live above a big box retailer overlooking a parking lot in badly constructed ugly building. Surprise, surprise, surprise.
Has anyone else heard the rumor that AS condos are being rented out with Section 8/Housing Choice vouchers from the housing communities (projects) that are being torn down by AHA? I think its great if former Bowen Homes residents can live in a place like AS, but with the splash AS made about being an upscale development, I find it kind of odd the developer would be so generous (I guess desperation breeds a charitable heart). Anyone else heard this?