As a partner of Childress Klein
Properties’ Atlanta Office Division, Connie Engel oversees the leasing and
development of the Atlanta Galleria Office Park. We recently got a chance to
speak with Connie about new features at the Galleria, the long-term development
plans for the park and the Galleria’s enduring appeal to tenants.
Many thanks to Connie for her time
and insight.
Do you have any big plans in store
for the Galleria for the fourth quarter and the first part of 2013?
Engel: Yes, we have a lot
of cool things happening. We have recently installed the newest and greatest
elevators in the Galleria 100 building. The program is called Destination
Dispatch. Typically, you go inside an elevator and press what floor you want. But
with Destination Dispatch, you tell the system what floor you want in the lobby,
and it lumps the floor requests together so that you go on an elevator where
everyone is going to floors near yours. That way, you’re not stopping at every
floor, which can be annoying.
We also are doing a major modification for the
walkway from the parking deck to the Galleria 100 lobby. The Galleria 100 is
one of the oldest and most recognizable buildings in Atlanta. It was built in
1982 and with these modifications, we’re saying that Galleria 100 is still at
its peak. It’s a great building and a great value.
Any long-term plans?
Engel: We still have two
more building sites. Galleria 500 is the grand finale and will be a large
building and a bookend to the Waverly Hotel. There is a second site for a
smaller building, Galleria 555.
When will activity start on these
buildings?
Engel: It’s still on the
horizon. We built all the Galleria office buildings on 100 percent spec. That’s
probably not going to happen again. We’ll need a tenant who will want between
150,000 to 200,000 square feet before we would start construction.
The good news is that nothing new has been
built in the area since 2001, so it’s been past 10 years since something new
has come to market. At some point, availability will run out, and someone will
start building.
Any chance of building a residential
component to the Galleria?
Engel: There has been a
dramatic increase in residential being built in the area. However, we have
never been able to make the numbers for a residential component work.
What makes the Galleria unique and
appealing to tenants?
Engel: Its charm is that
in Atlanta there are many beautiful standalone, Class-A office buildings. You
can walk in them and see beautiful art and architecture. But what you get here is
a giant park with all these people. Because of the density, we are able to do a
lot of fun things, such as have Food Truck Tuesdays, barbecues and ice cream
celebrations, as well as activities such as the Bloodmobiles. We provide an
environment where people want to be and where they enjoy themselves.
We have free parking and easy ingress and
egress into the park. It’s beautiful and every day you will see people enjoying
lunch or just coming outside to take a break under the trees or on the grass. People
enjoy walking the grounds.
I say that people enjoy working at the Galleria
so much that they don’t want to leave even after switching jobs. I’m not
kidding. I know several people who left jobs at the Galleria for other jobs
with other tenants at the Galleria. A friend of mine had three different jobs
and never left the Galleria. Honestly! People like being here, and it’s a
comment on the quality of our tenants. I can understand that feeling: I’ve been
at the Galleria for 27 years!
Where do you go for private time and
meals in the area in and around the Galleria?
Engel: I go to the Georgian
Club for breakfast or lunch. I go there with clients all the time, but I love
to go there for breakfast and read the paper alone. Breakfast at the Georgian
Club is free for members, and you’ll see lots of the same tenants there every
day having breakfast. It’s how they start their day.
I also go to Akers Mill Square. They’re opening
some new restaurants, and my old standby is Ray’s on the River.
But sometimes I just step outside and have a
picnic. I might bring a sandwich outside and sit under an umbrella. You will
see so many of our tenants doing that — get a sandwich at the deli or take
their lunch from Food Truck Tuesdays and just sit outside and enjoy the fresh
air. We have an English garden and waterfalls. It’s really wonderful.