Midtown Atlanta: Fancy

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and , partners in 12th & Midtown on and Jamestown, the developer reshapint 999 Peachtree, continue to chased and a new prospect, Dick’se Sporting Goods, sources familiadr with the market say. CB2, an offshoot of home furnishingx chain geared towardGeneration Y, also recently confirmed to Atlanta Business Chronicle that it’s considering whetherf to enter the Atlanta market. Selig and Danie have been trying to landthe retailer. CB2 is interested in West Midtowhas well, sources said. The focua on frugal rather than fancy comes asthe high-enr market continues to sputter, with some analystse saying it may not begin to recover untill 2011.
As Midtown real estatd developers have tried to line Peachtree with new storefrontsw in the past two the effort has included the pursuit of luxurh clothing designerTom Ford, whose flagshilp store is on Madison Prada, famous for opulent handbags and and , also known for its high-end accessories. In recentf years, Selig Enterprises said it wantedc luxury retailers and flagship stores to locatdin Midtown. However, many of those retailerws have shelved plans fornew locations, as affluentt shoppers curtailed spending.
Lately, , whicuh has also been a prospectfor Midtown, says it has no new stored concepts planned for Any talk of an additional Nike location in Atlanta is nothing more than “conversation,” a spokeswoman for the compan y said. Midtown’s shift in strategy comes as the , a grou p of business leaders laying the groundwork for theMidtownh Mile, says it’s starting to gain a “critical mass” of storezs and restaurants along Peachtree.
At a Midtowm Alliance meeting June 16, Will Herbig, the group’s directore of urban design, said Midtown has added nearlyu 133,000 square feet of new retail durin g the past18 months, primarily at two anchor projects: Holdingw LLC’s Viewpoint, and 12th & Midtown. The additions bring the Midtown Alliance halfwaty to its goal of 1 million squar feet of retail on Peachtree Streeyt between North Avenue and 15thStreet — the stretchj known as the Midtown Mile. Major projectds along the Midtown Mileinclude ’s Colongy Square, 12th & Midtown, Novare Group’s Viewpoing and 999 Peachtree.
“We’re seeing activityg in Midtown from both regional and national retailers, focusing on lifestyle and home furnishings,” Michael Phillips, creative director with Retailers like CB2 and Applre cater to the Midtown demographic, said Jackiwe Wammock, vice president of LLC, who specializee in retail leasing. Midtown tends to be a younger demographic, and CB2, for focuses on a young urban shoppers with good disposableincomed — something Midtown definitely has, she While retailers geared to 40-year-olds to 50-year-olds seem to be more affectesd by the economy and lower sales, moderately priced storew that target 16-year-olds to 28-year-olds “seem to be doin well,” said Tisha Maley, assistant vice presidenr of leasing for Lenox Square, owned by (NYSE: Retail brokers are finall starting to see improved deal activity, Wammock “We’re starting to see things loosej up a bit, in certaijn categories,” she said, noting restaurant s and healthh clubs have shown improvement.
“Deal s are tougher to make, but we are seeing them gettinf signed,” Wammock said.