Some of you may remember the great song “Spinning Wheel” by Blood, Sweat, and Tears. If you are unfamiliar, give it a listen. The opening lyric of the song is…
What goes up must come down
And the inverse is true, including in real estate. What has gone down must come up… and that’s particularly true of the Atlanta Midtown market right now because of how high-flying things were there in the decade prior to the arrival of COVID in 2020.
In that pre-COVID timeframe, Midtown enjoyed wonderful success, with the introduction of dozens of new office buildings with the ability to accommodate tens of thousands of employees in high-tech surroundings.
Following suit were dozens of new apartment buildings as well. A hot Midtown commercial real estate market naturally fed the development of these beautiful, in-town living spaces (while changing the Midtown skyline on a regular basis). As such, highly educated millennial workers blazed a trail to Midtown, putting down roots in the mixed-use urban core of the city, and reversing years of suburban migration. Chatel Group’s earlier blog post, Marvelous Midtown detailed the abundant benefits of living in midtown.
Naturally, many corporations from far-flung locations flocked to this magnetic energy in Midtown Atlanta to avail themselves of these bright, young millennial minds and cluster with like-minded organizations. . In 2019 and 2020, 40 + new major developments opened their doors, according to the Midtown Alliance. Net result was a real estate market run for the record books, which naturally, had further to fall when COVID arrived.
Enter Covid-19
As such, when the pandemic intensified in the early days of March 2020, the overall impact was greater, and more immediately apparent in Midtown.
So many of the Midtown positives became negatives within the context of COVID (including density, wonderful public transportation, bustling universities, and many of the city’s most desirable hotels and restaurants).
As such, our thriving business district, booming with high-tech and high-end workplaces, went quiet, and our streets emptied.
Now is the Time to Consider Midtown
What went up, came down, naturally, but Midtown Atlanta is primed to rise up again, and rise higher than before. Where there was a considerable amount of darkness over the past year, we are now seeing some light, and things will only get brighter as this virus gets tamed by increased availability of vaccines, and increased immunity, lessons learned, and better overall management of Midtown’s best path forward.
Companies throughout Atlanta are moving ahead with return-to-office initiatives… so the inevitable return to a more familiar Midtown awaits.
Midtown’s fundamentals – density, greenspace, public transportation, higher education – will prove more critical than ever in a post-pandemic environment, and drive the next decade of success.
More on Midtown
Midtown is still evolving into a great place to work and live. Check out the plan tracker for monthly updates from the Midtown Alliance… Midtown Alliance’s Development Activity Tracker.
If you would like to explore midtown, you can download this wonderful walking map.
It’s a great time to consider buying in midtown and Sara and Lisa would love to show you the massive amount of neighborhoods and high rises that include everything from cottages, bungalows, and condos. Contact them today and you’ll be calling midtown home before you know it!
