Centennial Yards: Transforming Atlanta’s Urban Landscape – An Exclusive with Brian McGowan
Join Nick Constantino on Marketing MadMen as he interviews Brian McGowan, President and CEO of Centennial Yards. Discover how this $6 billion, 50-acre mixed-use development will transform downtown Atlanta. Learn about Brian’s journey from working with Barack Obama and Arnold Schwarzenegger to leading this monumental project, and explore the impact of Centennial Yards on Atlanta’s future.
Key Takeaways
- Centennial Yards is a $6 billion, 50-acre mixed-use development in downtown Atlanta.
- The project will include hotels, apartments, office spaces, and new streets, connecting isolated neighborhoods.
- Public transit and infrastructure improvements are key components of the project.
- Centennial Yards aims to enhance downtown’s appeal and support major events like the Super Bowl and World Cup.
- Brian McGowan’s background in economic development and leadership has uniquely positioned him to spearhead this transformative project.
#MarketingMadMen #CentennialYards #BrianMcGowan #EconomicDevelopment #RealEstate #Atlanta
Discover how Centennial Yards, a $6 billion, 50-acre mixed-use development, will transform downtown Atlanta. Join Marketing MadMen for an exclusive interview with Brian McGowan, President and CEO, to explore the project’s impact on Atlanta’s urban landscape and major events.
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Summary
Happy Saturday, Marketing MadMen listeners! Nick Constantino here, and we’ve got a colossal show today. We’re diving into Centennial Yards, one of the largest commercial real estate developments in the country, right in the heart of downtown Atlanta. Joining me is Brian McGowan, President and CEO of Centennial Yards. Brian, how are you doing?
Before we get into the nitty-gritty of Centennial Yards, let’s talk about Brian’s impressive journey. Appointed by Barack Obama as US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce, Brian has a rich history in economic development. He also worked for Arnold Schwarzenegger as Deputy Secretary of Commerce for California, the world’s fifth-largest economy.
Brian’s career began in Palm Springs, CA, where he focused on diversifying the city’s economy beyond tourism. Later, in the Schwarzenegger administration, he oversaw the Visit California tourism campaign. His federal role included managing the US Economic Development Administration and responding to the BP oil spill’s economic impact.
Brian’s experiences have uniquely positioned him to lead Centennial Yards, a transformative project for Atlanta. Stay tuned as we delve into the behind-the-scenes of this monumental development and its significance for the city’s future.
#MarketingMadMen #CentennialYards #BrianMcGowan #EconomicDevelopment #RealEstate #Atlanta
Continuing from where we left off…
Nick Constantino here on Marketing Mad Men with Brian McGowan. Before diving back into Centennial Yards, we explored Brian’s incredible journey. During his clearance process for a federal role, an unpaid ticket from high school surfaced, requiring manual retrieval of the record, which Brian had to clear before starting.
Moving onto the BP oil spill, Brian discussed the importance of getting on the ground to truly understand the communities affected by the disaster, a lesson in prioritizing human connection over data alone. This approach emphasized the value of face-to-face interactions, which is often missing in our remote work culture today.
Returning from the break, Brian shared his seamless transition from the Obama administration to leading Invest Atlanta without a break. Under his leadership, Invest Atlanta was rebranded and repositioned, focusing on attracting investment and supporting small businesses amidst a challenging economic climate.
Brian highlighted the cultural pride growing in Atlanta, partly due to successful initiatives like Invest Atlanta and the Metro Atlanta Chamber, where he later served as Executive Vice President and COO. The Chamber’s regional scope broadened his understanding of the diverse character of areas like Gwinnett and Cherokee counties.
Stay tuned for more as we delve into the transformative project of Centennial Yards, right here on Marketing Mad Men on Extra 106.3.
Continuing from where we left off…
Nick Constantino here on Marketing Mad Men with Brian McGowan. Leaving Atlanta, it’s clear that the diverse regions within the city require tailored approaches for different areas. Milton and Midtown, for instance, are worlds apart in culture and needs.
Brian discusses his initial impressions of the Beltline and its surprising impact. When he first arrived in 2011, the Beltline was just starting to take shape. He admits that he didn’t initially grasp its potential until developers started investing along the Eastside Trail, turning it into a hub of activity and connectivity for the city.
He draws a parallel with Centennial Yards, emphasizing the project’s scale and significance. Spanning 50 acres with an estimated $6 billion investment, Centennial Yards will feature 2,000 hotel rooms, 3,000 apartments, and new office spaces, transforming the downtown area. The project aims to fill the “50-acre hole” in the heart of the city, replacing vast parking lots with vibrant, mixed-use development.
Brian recounts his first visit to Atlanta in 2002, where a lackluster downtown left a negative impression. Centennial Yards seeks to change this perception, enhancing the downtown experience for residents and visitors alike. By increasing downtown living, the project aims to create a lively, safer, and more connected urban environment.
Stay tuned as we delve deeper into the transformative vision of Centennial Yards and its potential to redefine Atlanta’s downtown landscape.
#MarketingMadMen #CentennialYards #BrianMcGowan #EconomicDevelopment #RealEstate #Atlanta
Nick Constantino here on Marketing Mad Men with Brian McGowan. Discussing Centennial Yards, we highlight how this transformative project will fundamentally change how people see Atlanta. Drawing parallels with the vibrant energy of New York and LA, Brian emphasizes that Centennial Yards will bring a similar buzz and connectivity to Atlanta, filling the missing piece in its urban puzzle.
Brian shares how Centennial Yards, a 50-acre mixed-use development, will include hotels, apartments, office spaces, and new streets, connecting previously isolated neighborhoods like Downtown and Castleberry Hill. Esteemed figures like Andy Young have recognized the significance of this project, viewing it as a remedy for long-standing urban gaps.
The initiative stems from the vision of Tony Ressler and Steve Koonin of the Atlanta Hawks, who saw potential in the underutilized Gulch area. The partnership with Tony’s brother Richard Ressler and the CIM Group has fueled this massive investment.
Brian discusses the importance of transforming reliance on cars to embracing public transit like MARTA. The project aims to under-park the area to encourage the use of MARTA, linking four surrounding stations. Highlighting successful examples like the packed MARTA during major concerts and games, Brian underscores the need for improved transit infrastructure to sustain Atlanta’s economic growth.
As Centennial Yards progresses, residents and visitors can look forward to a vibrant, connected downtown with enhanced public spaces and urban living options. This development is set to redefine Atlanta’s urban landscape, making it a more livable and attractive city.
Stay tuned for more on Centennial Yards’ transformative vision here on Marketing Mad Men on Extra 106.3.
#MarketingMadMen #CentennialYards #BrianMcGowan #EconomicDevelopment #RealEstate #Atlanta
Brian continues, sharing how they committed to tearing down and rebuilding a pedestrian bridge, which has now reopened and is popular with roller skaters and TikTokers. It’s a vibrant addition to the area.
The second adaptive reuse building is a 90,000 square-foot structure that will be converted into a boutique hotel, with work starting early next year. Another boutique hotel has been announced on the Castleberry Hill side.
Brian highlights ongoing construction in the former Gulch area, with two buildings under construction. The Mitchell, an apartment complex with 300 units and three restaurants, recently topped out and will open next year. Across the street, a 300-room hotel is also nearing completion, set to be one of the coolest hotels in Atlanta, featuring designs by TDs.
Centennial Yards is progressing full steam ahead, with additional buildings and an entertainment district in the works. This district will include a 5,000-seat live music venue, another hotel, and a multi-tenant food and beverage building with a fan zone capable of holding 5,000 people. The goal is to have these developments ready by the 2026 World Cup.
The project aims to transform downtown Atlanta into a vibrant, connected urban environment, making it an attractive destination for visitors and residents alike. This significant investment in infrastructure will not only enhance downtown’s appeal but also support major events like the Super Bowl, Final Four, and World Cup, positioning Atlanta as a trailblazer in urban development.
Stay tuned as we wrap up our conversation on the future of mixed-use projects and their impact on the city, right here on Marketing Mad Men on Extra 106.3.
#MarketingMadMen #CentennialYards #BrianMcGowan #EconomicDevelopment #RealEstate #Atlanta
Transcript
Transcript
Happy Saturday and welcome to the marketing madman Nick Constantino here, and we got a big show today. And the reason I say big is not necessarily cause of how awesome I am, it’s. Because of the big property. In which we’re talking about. So today we were talking about Centennial Yards, which is one of the largest and at some point in the show, we’ll get the real dollar amount, one of the largest real estate developments, commercial estate developments, that’s happening this country. It’s in the middle. Downtown Atlanta. And the President and CEO, CEO of that company is Mark, Brian McGowan, and he is here with me. Today, Brian, how you doing? Good. I’m good. Nick, how are you? So we will get the real number because you say 5 million. I know what that means. So before we get to Centennial yards and and I really, I I can’t state how big of a deal this is as somebody who’s been involved. In the sports world. With World Cup coming in Super Bowl, I can’t state how important this is. It feels like it’s been the missing gap and one of the greatest.
Yeah.
Cities in, like we’re having our Detroit in the car boom moment. This city is the epicenter of everything. I’ve been lucky enough, been around it, but it will not do justice to talk about this until we talk about your history and what guide you into the point where you’re the guy they picked to take on this monumental task.
Mm-hmm.
Because no pressure. Like, we’re going to talk about behind the scenes. Oh my goodness. So. So let’s start. You were appointed by Barack Obama to be US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce. Yes. Talk about that. Talk about what got you there. What it was like to get that call and what the day-to-day actually entail.
Yes. Yeah, I I mean, I’ll even step back to the job before that, which was I work for Arnold Schwarzenegger for three years. I was deputy Secretary of Commerce for the state of California.
Which most people should know probably don’t. That California by itself is like the seventh biggest economy in the fifth biggest economy in the world. Just California by itself.
The. 5th. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. It’s like a. It’s definitely a country in and of itself. But so prior to that, I was working for cities and counties in Southern California. So I went to college and something I grew up in New York, New Jersey, went to College in Southern California, first job out of college. I worked for the City of Palm Springs, CA. Sonny Bono for the young people on the on the listening to the show, don’t know who Sonny Bono is, but he was a, you know, actor, comedian, singer. He was our former mayor and our congressman. And I work for the City of Palm Springs and and then I worked for a couple of other cities and counties, and then I got a call to go into the Schwarzenegger administration. So which of course you say, yes, you can’t say no to. Many reasons, yeah, the Governator. So I went there, did that for three-year. There’s. Amazing job. Got to travel around the world with him in sell California, which is an amazing state and but my my job was economic development, economic growth and then Barack Obama got elected. And I was really impressed with him and what he was doing and saying. And I knew at some point I’d want to work in the. Federal. And I felt like that was the moment. So. So I started calling everybody I knew. Remember, I was working for a Republican governor and Barack as a Democrat, so I was calling everybody I knew to figure out did I know somebody that knew somebody that knew somebody? I’m. I’m on LinkedIn. I’m trying to figure out the relationships. Yeah. Firing my resume out because these jobs are hard to get. Presidential appointee, and you typically have to have volunteered on the campaign or donate a lot of money and. And so I fired out a bunch of resumes. Kind of gave up, and then suddenly I got a call. It was a message. It was. I’m so. And so from the White House liaison office. So we’d like you to fly to Washington, DC next week to meet with the Secretary of Commerce, you know.
Cool.
So I I listen to it and I play it for my wife. I go. That’s not like any of my friends screwing with me or is is this is this sounds.
Yeah, right. Right. Yeah, yeah.
Sounds legit, right? So she’s like. Yeah, I think that’s legit. So I called and I flew to Washington, DC, and Long story short, I I got the job and there were there were like, 2 parts of the job. So I was running the US Economic Development Administration. Which is walking into all about but it’s.
Megan behemoth.
You know, economic growth and competitiveness across the United States and then the BP oil spill happened. And so the Secretary of Commerce asked me if I’d be interested in literally called me into his office there. There was a national incident Command set up to respond to the BP oil spill. Secretary of Commerce says.
Yep.
Yeah.
They’re looking for someone to run the economic solutions team within the national incident team.
Just throw our clothes on that you got, OK. Economic solutions. Fall.
Was like, what is this? Let’s let’s I literally asked him. I said. So what about, you know, I. Yeah, I’m interested. But tell me about the job. And he is like, I I don’t know what the job is, but. I need to know like right now you want to do it or not.
Yeah.
About right, like, yeah, sure, you know. And then a week later, I’m sitting in the situation room with all these people you see on TV, and I’m I’m trying to figure out what, how I’m going to help communities along the Gulf kind of mitigate the impacts of the oil spill. So this is amazing experience.
So I have so many questions, but I’m going to start with one from each of these things because I think it’s again set up why you’re in the job. For now so for. First one, I’ve been to Palm Springs. It is an odd place. It’s 123°. It really will get that hot. You know, Coachella didn’t exist back in that time, so people didn’t have the attention to Joshua Tree and some of those things in the area. I remember there was one kind of crappy casino like as you’re coming out of the highway. But that being said, it was a huge tourism.
And and hammer. Yeah. Yeah, it’s about right. Yeah.
There was a lot of tourism in.
Palm Springs. Yeah. Yeah, it’s it’s, it’s.
Right. So how much was tourism a part of what you were doing in Palm Springs? And then for Schwarzenegger? Yeah. Involved. Because you talk about economic development, tourism is.
A tourist in town, yeah. Yeah. Part of that well in Palm Springs, I wasn’t involved in tourism at all. My job was to. Get the city less dependent on tourism to by attracting, by attracting industries and other types of companies there. Now when I was in the Schwarzenegger administration, I oversaw a large port portfolio, which included the tourism campaign called Visit California. So that was part of the portfolio that I was overseeing. So which.
Got it. Diversification, got it.
There’s a huge, huge program you have marketing California. So yeah, tourism creates jobs, economic growth and impact. And we know this in Atlanta. That’s why we’re such a sports city. And we’ve tracked all these big events. So yes, it’s a really strong economic development tool.
For sure. So next question is going to be harder. One, the next question is how happy are? You when you got the call. In the federal government to be involved, that Facebook didn’t exist when you were a child and many of the things that you did and. Mistakes you made were on record because.
It’s so funny. Sorry.
I always ask, and I best every politician.
Like oh thank.
God, there was no social media when I was young. I I hear.
You. I have five sons, three off the payroll. So they’re in their 20s and for the.
Congrats.
But and I tell them all the time, you got to be very careful what you’re posting. I tell young people all the time because which I was happy, but there was this one incident came up. So I had top secret clearance to get into the administration.
OK.
So there was no problem there. FBI literally shows up at your house. They interview your neighbors, you know, they ask your friends for three people that know you as well. So they they try to go really deep to find things. And thank God it didn’t. It was nothing to find. Just be clear. Was the camera. And so I I ended up in the administration. When I worked on the BP oil spill work because there was a meeting in the situation removing Friday, I had to have a like a higher level of of clearance so.
Yeah.
I wasn’t concerned. I filled out the forms and. Two weeks later, I get a call saying, you know that I think it was the National Security Agency. Some agents from the National Security Agency want to come and talk. To you, you. Get kind of a cold sweat. You’re like like, OK, you know? Yeah. So this is.
Is it about something specific? Funny.
So I’m nervous. I’m like. I’m like, what? Did I miss something? Or like, you know, 2 agents come in literally in black suits, no smiles. Just like like out of a movie. And and they said so we looked into your background. We we we found an issue I’m like, oh, OK. This is going to be fascinating.
Yeah. Yeah.
So.
This is what it was, she goes. So we found an unpaid ticket for when you were a junior in high school. Well, I was like, I had a ticket when I was a junior in high school. Like I didn’t.
They still keep records of.
Even remember it. That that was easy. So anyway, she’s like, well, she goes. You’re clear that. Thank God. No, it’s just, yeah. But they had to go, like, back in that, you know, I’m I’m older than you. They had to go to the warehouse and look through boxes and ship through file.
It. Now.
Do they make you pay? It yeah, with interest or without interest.
It was like they could Google it or search it on a search, you know and.
Yeah.
And it. They had to actually go find the original ticket and then I ended up having to pay it before I could. Actually be. 12 bucks? It was something. I mean, I when they told me, I started laughing. I’m like, Oh my God. Beating taken. What this is about, it’s like that’s easy, we.
Can fix that. So that was such a better story. So the the last question is more about BP. So this was a huge point in this country where a lot of the tide started turning on oil and there’s so much involved here.
Yeah, yeah.
What were the takeaways that you got from that about how to interact with the public and how to? Because I think one of the problems now is the easiest answer is just kind of deny, deny and die and just blow it off like it didn’t. What did you learn from having to tackle that head on and deal with all the people whose lives were affected? What did you learn from? That damage control.
You know, I think the big take away for me was. When I was formulating the plan of what we were going to do to mitigate the economic impacts, you know you’re sitting room fulls of Harvard economists and MBA’s, smart, smart people and. And they’re all talking about analysis. Well, you know, we need some data, and I’m like, well, I’d like to deploy 21 teams across the Gulf from Bay County, Florida to Galveston, TX and get on the ground and. Listen to people and talk to people. And there’s one economist. His name is Jared Bernstein. He’s still, I think he’s in the White House now. And he said, well, can’t we just deploy one or two teams and then extrapolate?
Because Galveston, TX. OK.
Was like I literally said this like you understand the accents from one county to the next. In one state, Louisiana are different. The industries are different. They’re completely different things. Besides the fact that. A lot of this is they just want to know people care like us, getting on the ground and sitting in the room, people looking in the eyes and asking how is. This affecting you? Was meaningful, like very, very meaningful. And so that that was the big take away was.
Yeah.
That. These are all great people. They’re hard working. It was oil industry, fisheries. Tourism and they just wanted to feel like Washington, DC, cared about their plight and what they were dealing with and and fortunately, because at that moment I was reporting directly to the President. I had the authority to. Reach into any federal agency and pull resources to apply to a particular situation, so it. Was it was good.
I think it’s an Angel story. It’s in marketing, it’s in business. Data only tells half the story. And when you become over reliant and. That you cannot, that people are desperate for an emotional connection and in the emotional connection is not a guy saying hey yay or nay or on a scale of one to 10. It is a personal.
That’s exactly right. Yeah, yeah. Yeah.
And and I think you know, if I’m speaking for you and I have to imagine that reinforcing how important the relationship is and how emotional connection, no one’s going to come to your place because you’re looking at them as a number, they’re gonna come to your place because it made. Them.
Feel happy and you can’t quantify that with some data set and also you know shaking someone’s hand and looking them. In the eyes, this is, you know, work from home. I’m. I’m. I’m old school.
Yeah, you too.
You know our organization, everybody’s back in the office full time. Like, I don’t think I I think you really lose something by just being on a teams or zoom. When I actually looking in someone’s eyes and reading their body language and shaking their hand and the serendipitous interactions you have between those meetings is you miss out.
Yep, I agree. Grace. On all, and I think for for us the big thing was it is hard to hold someone accountable who’s not wearing pants.
So.
Yes. Because like. They haven’t decided that day to put them. That’s just hit the button down because that’s like so, alright. So now that we talked about not wearing pants, we’ll go back to our first commercial break. You can listen.
Right, right. Yeah, it’s good point.
To the marketing man, actually 106.3. We’ll be right back. Welcome back to the marketing Mad Men in Extra 106 three and we’d like to assure you that everyone here is wearing pants. So now that we’ve covered now that we our first segment launches, we had so much stuff to talk about and we just went on tangents as we usually do here. Let’s get us caught. Caught the speed of Atlanta. Let’s talk about the belt line. Let’s talk about invest Atlanta. Let’s talk about the Metro Chamber and I don’t want to belittle any of those things cause.
Tree.
One of them is hugely important, but I want to get some Centennial yards, so let’s bring us up to speed on everything you’ve done in Atlanta that.
Has set you up to this point? Yeah. So I came to Atlanta, left the Obama administration and. He was the CEO of the Atlanta Development Authority, which is now.
Did you take a small breath when you?
Left government. Not a day. Yeah, I literally from Friday till Monday. I think it was something like that. So I there wasn’t. It wasn’t time. Kasim Reed was mayor. He was looking for somebody to run his development authority. This is 2011. We’re just. We’re like, still in the throes of recession and we’re. Emerging. You know the phone. The phones weren’t ringing, so I ended up CEO of the Atlanta Development Authority, which I renamed and called Invest Atlanta and Kind of repositioned it job of that entity was besides affordable housing and other things, small business support is to attract investment to the city, right?
- Yeah.
2011 their phones were ringing, you know. I mean, companies weren’t making big decisions to move and. And so we really it it was, it was a stressful time. The entity I inherited was also insolvent, which I didn’t really fully understand until two weeks after I started the job and got to see the books and. Yeah. Yeah. So it might have changed my decision, but thank God it it got me to Atlanta, which I was really, really happy. But my family’s.
OK.
Yeah, yeah, it would have been nice if you got the like, the Secret Service that you.
Really happy about that. So so we fixed it and we rebranded it and we moved it and we, you know had to fire some people and hire good people and and that and that entity is now up and running and doing very.
Well, yeah, yeah. And I think that when you think of the name, first of all, how important the. Name is. Invest Atlanta is it? It’s it’s so simple, but.
What it was also the Atlanta Development Authority.
Yeah, too much.
Sounds scary, right? And the other thing was everyone called it the ADA. So the ADA was Americans with disability act, American Dental Association of system. That’s already had ADA that gave my, but it was really the word authority. You know, it’s like it just sounded like a scary government thing. So yeah.
Yeah, too many and too many. Too many, yeah. Yeah, for sure. Alright. So that is an. Interview that continues. On today, and I obviously done a great job because the amount of investment and I get first hand to see it, a lot of it’s sports wise, a lot of it’s just the businesses that are coming in as one of the.
Doing very well.
Last locally owned. Media companies, part of the the Allure to people working with us is, hey, we want to let people know we’re in Atlanta. We want people, let people know we’re building these things down the road. Because there is a pride around this city. That it has come about and you know where the cultural hub of so much that’s here, you know, New Yorkers have always had it. DC that belt it is a different world to be on K St. and everyone walks around with their badge on even though they’re like a third level intern for a Tuesday. They wear that badge of happy hour like it’s a point of pride. Those points of pride L.
100%. That’s very, very true. That’s a decent thing.
The San Diego these cities have it, and Lennon said they didn’t, but it is come. It is a shot. It’s. It is unbelievable. It’s happened. So you did a great job there. So what?
Unbelieving. Was next on the on the ride. Then I went to the metro liner chamber, so I was the Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer there. They they had a new CEO. She didn’t have a lot of community economic development experience and they hired me to. Kind of run the economic development team at the Chamber, which was really fun because it was my first really non government job. It’s a non profit basically so so I did that for three years which was fantastic and kind of. Showed me a different view of the world, but also it was regional. So invest Atlanta is just the city of Atlanta and the metro Atlanta Chamber represents the 29 county region, the Atlanta region. So I got to learn about. Gwinnett County and Cherokee County, and all the other places that I hadn’t really been paying. A lot of attention to.
And like you said, things change pretty quickly, right to go from the cab county to Forsyth County, Cherokee County. They’re very, very different everyday, you know, probably even more so here than most places cause they’re growing so fast and they grow their.
Yeah. Yeah, they’re very different. Yeah. Yeah.
Own unique character.
They did, yeah.
So leaving Atlanta and I tell people all the time. Look, if you think you’re going to advertise to Atlanta and the part that’s going to resonate with someone in Milton like these are different. Parts of the world to some degree, yeah.
Very, very different cultures, different vernacular, different the upbringings for of people within this region of 20 and it’s, you know, 6 million people. So it’s it’s the 10th largest economy in America. So it’s pretty significant, yeah.
Yeah. So let’s get to the Beltline and I I want you because this is the perfect parallel to what’s going on today. So talk about when you start there, talk about when you were there initially. Did you think it would have the impact that it does today?
Yes. Yeah. So I’ll start there. No, I mean I I would. I wish I did, but so the Beltline is actually a subsidiary of Invest Atlanta. So when I was the CEO of the Atlanta Delmary Slash Invest Atlanta, the Beltline was kind of a part of it. And when I first started, I remember it was much smaller. It was like the Eastside Trail hadn’t even been. It was just starting construction. When I got here in 2011, it was finally pouring.
Yep.
Great. And they were telling me about it. And I didn’t understand it like this. The, the beltline. I thought it was some, you know, highway transportation project and and then they brought me out there and they showed it to me. And actually we owned Ponce City Market at the time and.
Yeah, yeah.
Three weeks after I started, we sold it to Jamestown, so I was the I had to sign, you know, dot. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, that’s right. Yeah. Warehouse.
Yeah. Sears factory, right. There’s old Sears factory community.
I didn’t get it. I mean, I’ll be honest with you. I was like, so we’re going to pour this concrete path and that’s somehow going to, you know, transform and change things. I again, I wish I could say I’m the visionary. I saw it, but I didn’t.
I didn’t know how many people were into running rock roller skates, so I think I couldn’t. How many people would. Be roller skating on the road.
But then you know, we we start paving and then developers start buying property along that East Side Trail and they’re making big bets and big investments and suddenly you’re saying, Oh my goodness this yeah the the. The catalytic effect of that Bill went I don’t think anybody fully anticipated or realized until it started. Happening, you know.
One of the things after being especially most of my adult college life, was in DC and if you start on I was on 12th and mass and you go up 12th St. or you go up you street or you go up any of the streets, you start walking up. It’s just non-stop. Activity.
Yeah, yeah.
One of the things that landed was missing that I think the Beltline brought to it. Is it connected these pocket?
Absolutely.
That allowed you to feel like you’re out for the day. You can start here and then start upon City Mark, and then you walk down the Beltline. You end up at Cross Street and it allowed a congruence that the city is not set up for. So I think that is one of the reasons he succeeded. Agreed. So it was a full day long activity, right. They could start.
Yeah, yeah.
Just out for the day you’re riding your bike and you just drop it and you can just scooter across here you can just.
Yeah, yeah.
But it just it just meant for fun and exercise and all these things that the city was lacking because of. How it’s set up? Yeah, I.
Mean it it, it became and is now a gathering place, right? So you know, most cities and you know, we’ll talk about our downtown, have places where people just gather. People want to get dressed up and go out and see their neighbors and be seen and whatnot and.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
It landed didn’t have that.
Especially these young whippersnappers that are coming over here, these good looking kids, yeah. They’re going now.
Want to be in the sun? They want a date, so they want to look for, you know, they have girlfriends, boyfriends, whatever. So.
God bless him.
That that probably will used to be Peachtree. People go out and walk down the Main Street and you get all dressed up in their kids and walk their.
Yes.
Dogs and we. We didn’t have that. So the Beltline became, that became our beachfront property, if you will like that became the place where people gathered.
Yeah, love it. And and you know, one of the things I think is really funny and it’s part of this job. I live in the city. I’ve been a city kid. I was born in Queens. But the suburban life is so different that I probably tell you there are so many people that live in the suburbs. I’ve still. Never even been. To the beltline. Still have such a bad perception of what are the things I just things that I hear from people and I’m like, so let me get this straight. You’ve never read a crime statistic in your life. If you think this is the problem, right? Like so I find, I find it fascinating. But at the same time, you could only be an evangelist for so far. Right? Some point it’s just like, look, if you.
ICP. Oh my God. Yes, seriously. Yeah, it’s true.
Don’t get it. You’re not going to get.
You’re never going to get it, yeah.
You’re never gonna get and you want to bring people in and. I think that brings up a good. Anyway, so let’s talk about Centennial Yards. So you know, I got a whole bunch of stats in front of me. They probably don’t even do justice to how big this is. Talk about what you intend for this to be for Atlanta, what gaps it fills and how important this is going to be for the next decades of.
Yeah, yeah.
Growth in this.
Yes. Well, so Centennial yards are all skipped to the to the end. So the the end is it, it’s 50 acres. It’ll be probably a $6 billion project. We say it’s a $5 billion project but but but installation by the time we’re done, you know you’re talking.
I got it out of him, I. Got it out of. Him. It’s just my next station. Just my new.
Mixed-use. Probably 2000 hotel rooms, 3000 apartments. There’ll be office space eventually, but this is, you know, we’re going to build new streets. We’re connecting the downtown. So it’s it’s a massive undertaking. 8, You know, 878 million square feet. So it’s it’s just enormous.
So it’s it’s.
Been referred to as the 50 acre hole in the heart of the city, but I I would say it’s the 50 acre hole in the heart of the entire region because. Centennial Yards, as some people know, the Gulch was well, yards and then the rail yards went away and then it became parking lots. And you know, the major feature of our downtown is a gigantic parking lot as planes are flying over for Super Bowl and events. And you’re looking next door and it’s just the big giant parking lot. So it’s. Also, unfortunately, it’s the probably the primary perception people have when they come to the city. So I came to the city for the first time in 2002. I was living in Southern California. I came here for a conference. So I go from the airport to one of the hotels, the West, and I think then I walked to the Convention Center and I walked back to the hotel at night.
Yeah.
And I left with a very negative perception of Atlanta that because I mean, I didn’t go to Midtown, I didn’t go to Buckhead and admittedly, but to me, it was like, oh, this looks like a city that doesn’t care about itself, you know.
Yeah, yeah. And then to be clear, that’s the center of the city, right? But. It looks like. It’s the Queens. Just. Yeah. Weird holes and, like, the factory that’s there because Manhattan was the hub and these were the with the yeah, that’s the centerpiece. So it’s even.
Yeah, it’s a centerpiece. It’s it’s, it’s where people come in, you know, 18 million people, 17 million people a year come downtown alone and over 50 million.
It’s even more outside of putting.
People, visitors a year come to this region and they, you know, most people end up downtown for a game or concert or something like that, and that’s their impression, right? So so that the fact that we’re investing in this project is going to really change people’s perceptions of downtown, but it’s also going to change downtown, not just perceptions of downtown.
Yeah, yeah.
Is the way you fix it downtown that’s in the state that our downtown is, you get more people living downtown, right? More people living downtown is more people walking their dogs sitting at coffee shops, looking, peeking through the curtains. We are calling the police when there’s an issue. They’re trying to make it downtown better, safer for the more accommodating.
For sure. More money in the tax. Base that allows you to upgrade and.
The visitor so. So this is going to fundamentally change.
The region it’s going to fundamentally change how people see Atlanta. Yeah, I think it’s that significant. The words that come to mind because again, look, most New Yorkers just talk about New York, and I do it to some extent. But energy and vibrance, there’s an energy and there’s you walk in New York City like, you kind of just whoa. And you kind of just get like.
You do? Yeah. You you feel the bugs? Yeah. I’m from the box, so.
You know, there’s a lot of cities, LA a lot like that. So there’s so but there, but that is what is lacking. Does not have that.
In the end.
This is cool. This is going to be what Arthur has invested a lot of money, Tony. Wrestlers invest a lot of money to fill in pieces, but it’s the connecting piece that is lacking and I believe that’s what.
100%. This is going to be yes. Yeah. So there’s neighborhoods. There’s fairly popular. There’s downtown, there’s Castleberry Hill. All of these things are disconnected because there’s a big hole right in the middle of it. You know, Andy, we had Andy Young in our office. Probably about a year ago and he he was staring out the window and it looked like he was about to say something and you know, so you always get, you know, like he’s about to say something, get close. And he puts his hand on his heart and he goes, this has been the hole in my heart since I ran for mayor, you know, so we found.
Yeah, yeah.
A 1982 article in article it was in the Atlanta Journal Constitution that outlined 12 attempts to develop the village. That was up till 1982 and and then there were multiple attempts after 1982 to develop this. So there there was a long time recognition that this was a problem especially after the rail yards closed up and. Went away. This is probably 60s. And then there’s a train station there that that was torn down and then it became parking lot, so I think.
Yeah.
I think for a long time people knew that this was a problem and but it it it would, it would require somebody with money of fortitude because the site is extremely difficult to to, to, to build on politics. Yeah. And fortunately we had, you know, we had this.
Yeah, yeah, I want to understand politics and understand. The nature.
Unique confluence of a guy named Tony Rustler buys the the Atlanta Hawks. He looks across streets, sees the big hole in the ground, his vision for that was LA live. Yeah, because I want, he told Steve Cohen. And so really Steve Cohen and Tony Ressler of the Atlanta Hawks deserve. All the credit for this, they were the ones that saw the opportunity. Tony is a brother named Richard wrestler who’s the founder of CI M Group. Centennial Yards Company is a subsidiary of CI M Group, and that’s how it got started. These two brothers saw this great opportunity and they raised capital and started this huge, massive investment in our wrestler.
Yeah. Yeah. And and I think. Was new to all this, but Steve Coonan has been a fixture in this town for a. Yeah. And he is as proud of an atlantan as there is. I’m lucky enough that I’ve spent. I’ve gotten to spend some time with him. Well, you know, as long as you’re you go up and say something that’s meaningful, he’ll he’ll talk. He like he’s a talker. He leaves a talker.
Yeah. Oh, yeah. Yeah, that’s Steve. He and he’s always be approachable and yeah.
He knows where his bread is buttered and his ability to relate to the people is what his high. But then you know, Tony, come in and and you sometimes you need the external person, because sometimes if you’ve. Been in the city for so long you don’t have. It’ll never happen. They can’t change. But then you have the external document, so it’s the confluence of the two of them. And I think it’s a great thing.
I think that’s right. Yeah. I think it took two people from the outside to kind of say this can happen. You know, we can solve all these big, hairy problems there on the site. We can fix that. So that’s, you know, what happened.
Yeah. So I’m going to throw you off with. A. Here I think it’s incredibly important. So you just got rid of a lot of parking. OK, so one of the problems with this city if you ask me is people are too reliant on driving, right. I’m a New York City kid. You take the train everywhere. DC, you take the train everywhere. Is the entertainment hubs, the cities made on it. So part of this, I have to imagine is also changing the perception of Marta.
Yeah.
To get more people to take transit and be in you, and that’s what a vibrant city needs, it needs because one it it’s a.
That’s a really good point.
It’s an equalizer. Yeah, right. Because when you’re on a train with the person who works at an hourly job and it’s clean and everybody on the train together, that’s the beauty of New York City. You have someone worth a quarter of a billion dollars that’s sitting on a train with.
Absolutely, right. Yeah. Washington, DC same thing.
Somebody makes 5. Dollars an hour and I know it sounds stupid. I know it sounds like it’s off, but that that is one of the things that makes city. It’s great is that everybody feels like they can succeed. What are the plans? How do you get people to be transit while these parking lots disappear? Now, there’s so much parking down there that’s everyone tailgated and blah blah. How do you? Is that part of the plan? Is that something that you hope changes that starts driving people down there?
Yeah, yeah. Yes. So the yeah, the answer is is yes, now we’re we’re we’re going to build parking because we’re adding a lot of square footage. So people if you have an apartment, you typically want a parking space or if you go down to eat at a restaurant, you want to be able to park your car so that so we’re going to add parking, but we’re we’re purposely under parking it. So we’re not going to maximize parking. We could build a lot more. Working I think a lot of people. People have a misperception that developers love, build, building, parking. They don’t. Parking spaces are very expensive to build parking structures. So. But because we’re surrounded by 4 Marta stations, there’s four more stations around central yards. We can under park it, you know, so like.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Just as an example, my wife and I were downtown for the Janet Jackson concert at State Farm Arena, went across the street with Taylor Swift. So there’s probably 110,000 people in downtown Atlanta. Yeah, right. So I was. I told my wife I go look, you know, you should pack a lunch because it’s could probably take a minute to to get out of there. It it didn’t because the swifties took water, you know? So it more to works when people take it. And you know, for United games and for Falcons games, it’s packed and and if everybody drove a car downtown for a Falcons game or a Taylor Swift.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Concert downtown would wouldn’t work. Right. So so our our intent is to purposefully under park it and we know that will drive people to take more. However, we all know anybody who’s taking Marta, this service needs to be upgraded. And so there’s lots of talk about renovating the five points Marta station, which there’s discussions, there’s money. They’re trying to figure out how to do that.
That’s right.
That the the overall system has to be improved and this is nothing new to people at Marta or the city, they understand this, but. There’s, you know, and it’s not just Marta. Marta should be expanded, but the bus feeder systems into it, it’s it’s a bigger thing. But, you know, as an economist, I tell people all the time if if you can’t move people, goods and information, you cannot grow your economy, right?
I can put.
We are a region that prides ourselves on economic growth, so the metro Atlanta Chamber and invest in all the entities I work for. They’re amazing at selling Atlanta around the world and getting companies to move here. But. There’s a limit to that that it’s you could probably quantify it. You know that they’ll we’re going to hit a wall if we don’t add transit, you know and that’s where.
Yeah. Yeah.
A lot of cities are going to that though Austin, TX is going through Nashville is going through it that you’re so reliant on old infrastructure that if you don’t invest and the the reason I ask is because I think what people fail to understand is like when you make a massive change like this, the outward the outward reaches of it, right. So all of a sudden now more people are taking the train, there’s more investment going to the train.
Absolutely.
Yeah.
Which means now all these train stations have their own little micro villages that build on them. And then everybody. Yeah. And that interconnectivity is what I is. What I I. Yes, about DC and New York. And it was easy to get anywhere, anytime from by any way. It is one of the things that and it it’s just you need that for this city to go to 1012 new people where you want to be. It is important it’s it’s really hard because politicians tend to be very short sighted on their terms only they’re not forward thinking so.
Yes. Yeah. Absolutely. It’s true, it transits. It transits a long term investment and it’s expensive, yeah.
And and I and that’s why I asked what what is the future of this product, this product look like tell people what they can look forward to in a couple of years. Why to come check you out. But what the scale of this product is going to be?
So the 50 acres we, we we are full steam ahead now. So we we started with an adaptive reuse building was Old Norfolk Southern building. So we converted it, it was offices, we converted to 162 apartments. There’s a brewery at the base of that called Wild Leap which if you’re a United fan, you’ve probably been there, there was a bridge connecting.
Yep. Yep.
Casselberry to South downtown, called the Nelson St. Bridge. The city condemned it in 2017. I think it was literally unsafe to walk.
Sounds about right.
But we we we committed to tearing it down and rebuilding, it’s announced, rebuilt and open as a pedestrian bridges art along that bridge too. Very popular with like roller skaters and Tik tokers love videoing out there. It’s it’s. It’s really nice, it’s it’s old school. Old school. Yeah.
Got to love the roller skaters. Not even rollerbladers. They’re, you know, we’re on roller skates. Let’s make. Sure, we’re old school.
You know, that’s ushers thing, so. One, the second of those two buildings is a 90,000 square foot building which we are going to convert to a boutique hotel. That work will start first quarter next year. We just announced another boutique hotel on the Casselberry Hill side of that, that that building and then we have two buildings. If anybody’s been downtown.
Yeah.
Recently you’ll see a whole bunch of construction cranes in what was the Gulch?
Yeah.
So we have two buildings under construction. We just topped out on one, it’s called the Mitchell, it’s an apartment complex, 300 apartments, 3 restaurants at the base of it. Literally across the street from the Mercedes-Benz logo on the stadium and then right across the street from that is a hotel that we’re building, a 300 room hotel, really going to be the sexiest, coolest hotel in Atlanta when it opens because it’s so close and it’s really a beautiful building. The architect is TDs. They did a beautiful job that will top out.
Cool.
Awesome.
On December 18th, both of those buildings and the five restaurants between them will be open this time next year. So you can imagine that alone 5 new restaurants because you know right now you go downtown, there’s not a whole lot of choices that’s going to fundamentally change how people experience downtown, that alone.
Ohh wow, full steam ahead.
And then we just made the announcement on the new entertainment district, which is huge.
Yeah, well, you know, one of the things that is is blatantly clear is in in 2-3 years, you’re not gonna recognize downtown and the the good thing is, is that there is something about, like, look, New York City, there’s energy.
No, you won’t. Yeah.
But it feels. Old. It’s dirty and then this just feels like you’re gonna go into a place that is gonna have the some of the best parts of Asia and Abu Dhabi and they, they’re in these big cities because you’re building from scratch. And the investment five, $6 billion ten years ago, 20 years ago, a little bit unheard of to ever utter that anyone is going to spend that much money on one project. And that’s the reality and it’s it’s.
Yeah. Yeah. Unheard. Yeah. Yeah, yeah.
It’s it’s damn good for Atlanta. It is damn good for the people that are going to embrace it. What I encourage people don’t wait, go down, dream about what it’s going to look like because you have to be a part of this and don’t just go to a game, stay and play. Go early. Come.
Yeah. Oh, yeah.
To our tailgate. I. Can get a gate and. Stop by. Yeah, there. There’s. There’s so much to it. So quick in the last minute of this segment.
Great location.
Talk about how impactful this is going to be for all these big sporting events coming in. Like you said you were, you get to sign a letter for the Super Bowl to bring them in. They want this infrastructure, they want this development.
Yes. Yeah, because again, there’s not enough to do downtown when people come downtown. So between the two buildings we have under construction and then we just broke ground on 4 new buildings and the entertainment district, which is 8 acres, 500,000 square feet of buildings. One of those concepts is kasum, which I won’t get into, but it’s a really cool new concept. First one opened at Sofi Stadium in Los Angeles. The ones in Dallas, they’re going to be Atlanta, we’re going to build a 5000 seat live music venue, another hotel and then a multi tenant food and beverage building with a fan zone in between those buildings that can hold 5000 people.
Super cool.
So there be digital signage and billboards up and will be a super exciting place for people to gather. We want that done by World Cup, which is mid 26, which is so that’s that’s our.
Yeah, yeah, we we got, we got to have that done by, yeah.
First deadline and then. Now the buildings will be corn shell. They won’t be complete in tears, but the fan zone will be there. We just don’t want it to be a big construction site. So and it won’t be it’ll, it’ll it. It’ll look good and it’ll be painted and.
Yeah, for sure. Libel. Did a million reasons there.
And and the digital signs will be absolutely an exciting place. All of that is Dan Corso, who runs the Sports Council. You and I talked about. This is really important to if we’re attracting other events, so whether it’s World Cup or Super Bowl or final four or college football championship game, this is going to help our region attract more of those types of events. Downtown also conventions. You know, the we didn’t talk about the Georgia World Congress Center across the street there, which is the fourth business in America. Same thing, more stuff to do downtown.
Yeah. Oh yeah. Oh my God.
More stuff. No more places to stay downtown is going to cause more of this economic impact to want to be.
Here I think what what I’m hearing there is a difference between sustaining and building to compete and trying to be trailblazing. And it sounds like what we’re building this set is going to be trailblazing for the country. I’m really excited about it. When we get back. From the break, we’re going to talk a little bit about. The future here, but also what the future of these mixed-use projects are, because you see them in every corner, we’re in one right now. So you listen to the market amendment, an extra 106 three and we’ll be right back. Welcome back to the marketing manman on extra 106.3. So we’re gonna finish our conversation because as usual, we’ve got to talk about marketing. So Brian, let’s let’s talk a little bit about this is an unbelievable thing. Anyone that sat through this entire thing is probably already blown away. They probably got more information than they thought they would. However, there’s a lot of preconceived notions about downtown. How do you market this? How do you get people excited?
Yeah.
But how do you change perceptions and how do you get people to give it a chance? Cause it sounds like if they give it a chance. They’re going to get down there and going to be blown away. So what is the strategy look like and all the things you’ve done, damage control, you’ve done economic development, all these things that they taught you, all this comes into play here. It’s crazy talk about what your vision is for, how you get this word out and what what message you have to.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, it’s.
People about the.
Property and what it’s going to be like. Yeah. Yeah. So I have a. A colleague who works with us, his name is Ben Reeves and he said this to me like 2 years ago is the best marketing. Is construction cranes in the year you know so so we we really focused initially in a very bad real estate market to get buildings under construction. So now keep in mind we were we had an apartment building that was that opened three years ago. But. It wasn’t new. Was it adaptive reuse? Existing building? So we really wanted to get and Tony Russell wanted to get 2 construction cranes in the air. Those two buildings under construction. And I thought the minute we got those construction cranes up, everybody, I wouldn’t have to like because the big question I get around time is when you guys gonna get started, like, I don’t see anything you’ve been talking about it with.
Is it real? They’ve been talking about the goods being redeveloped now for 5-6 years and.
So many is right. It’s been talking about for years, right? Then the construction cranes up and I still got the questions you know. And it confused me. I’m like, do you not see the construction kinds? And the answer was people didn’t because I really think the the Gulch became sort of a blind spot for people. You just did look over there, but also for the first year, you’re pouring concrete in the ground. So once the buildings got up to viaduct, which is 40 feet up, remember everything we’re building is on stilts, has to be in the air. 40 feet in the. There once we start to get above that, Oh my God, I’m so blown away. Amazed by my team that does that, you know, because. But by the way we’re self performing which means we are the general contractor. So we’re building those buildings ourselves, which is really amazing.
The frickin engineering. Judges just for just for that just for that. Wow. So you’re the one that’s put the time crunch on yourselves to get things done, which makes it harder. An external person saying not gonna pay the.
Ohh yeah yeah yeah with.
Bill, right? Already you’re dealing yourself.
Designs are good, deadlines are good, that’s I believe. That’s good, but. When the building started stacking up above viaduct, that’s when people started noticing people like, oh, I see you’re finally getting going. And it’s so exciting. And and I remember standing in my office. It was a a City Council person. Our office has overlooked the site, and he was staring out the window. And he looked like he was tearing up. And I I turned him. I go. You OK? He goes. Yeah, it’s just the site. I never thought I would see is actual buildings going up in the Gulch. You know, so so from a marketing perspective, that’s like the number one thing, the second.
It makes it real. It’s gotta be tangible before you can mark it. It’s.
It makes it real.
Be something tangible and red.
The second thing we did really was when I got there, they had a they had a brand, you know, so since there was a certain brand, but it was, it was black and yellow, right? Pittsburgh Steelers first, right? And it turns out the, you know, the guy who’s leading that was from Pittsburgh.
- Yeah, I’m going to say. It could be the yellow. It could be the. Georgia Tech yellow it.
Could be a. Little more gold here. We got the Falcons adjusting in the Hawks and it just didn’t feel so we we created a new branding system that felt more like Atlanta. In fact, Steve Koonin, thankfully, was involved in the process.
Yeah.
This and he and he loved it. So it really tells a great story.
Yeah.
Yeah. And that in itself can probably be a whole podcast, right? The colors are huge. And what goes into a brand of something? This is an unbelievable and I think most people we never in their wildest dreams, unless you’ve seen a brand guide of like, Oh my God.
Oh. Oh, just it tells a whole story now that believable.
And seen the the the the 60 pages of. If you have the wrong color scheme on it.
It’s it’s so complicated. Yeah. Yeah, yeah.
How? It. Is. I’ve never had someone actually explain to me who made it or what the purpose is. I’ve just this is what we. Do yeah, right.
Well, the brand should tell a story and you know that there’s a there’s a history to the site. It’s where the land was founded in our, our logo actually tells that whole. Story. So it’s it was a. It was a really. Cool process, but the other thing is. Things like this podcast and panel, so we wanted to make sure Atlantans knew about sometimes I’m I’m I still get the question like I’m at a restaurant or I meet somebody and they go, what do you do? And I go and present on yards and they say what’s that? That when I was a seal the Beltline that never happened. I said the Beltline. Beltline. Right. Right. So so we want to make sure that.
Yeah, but you are 1920 years ahead.
Atlantans and by Atlantans I mean the region, not just the city. Know about the project, but there are they are our best sales tool, right? It’s just word of mouth having people say is a really exciting project happening in downtown Atlanta. You need to know about it. Well, we need to be there. That’s great. Our next phase is and and we’re doing other things around that. Like I said, panels and meetings around town and podcasts. And we actually have QR codes on the sidewalks around the site. So you can do a self-guided tour. You can come downtown and you scan the QR code and hold your phone up and we’ll show you what the future condition will look like so you can hold it up and see the building.
Ohh you got an AR? Sorry augmented reality. It’s cool. It’s cool.
In that place. So it’s a really we encourage people to do that, encourage people to follow us on social media, you know, Facebook, Twitter.
Yeah.
Instagram am I missing anything else? Those are the ones.
Are you? Take talking.
