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Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Downtown Macy’s retail space has a new owner
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
An Atlanta-based investment group has closed on the purchase of the former Macy’s department store on Peachtree Street in downtown Atlanta.
The new owners — the 180 Peachtree Retail Group — are acquiring the lower three floors of the historic department store with plans to create a lively space with a host of stores and restaurants.
The investment group purchased the lower three floors, about 185,000 square feet, from the Peachtree Carnegie limited partnership, which will continue to own the upper five floors.
Robert Patterson, managing partner of 180 Peachtree Retail Group, said the group plans to enliven the front entrance to building by highlighting the three central arches with glass.
“We have got to signal to people that we are a big, fun, festive, multi-tenant complex,” Patterson said. “We want people to feel that there’s a lot going on, and that once you’re inside, you are in this grand lobby area.”’
Patterson said the plans call for the retail-restaurant complex to be open before the 2009 Christmas shopping season.
“It’s going to feel much more like a Faneuil Hall Market Place (in Boston) with boutiques and restaurants,” Patterson said. “Atlanta does not need us to be another strip center or power center. What Atlanta needs is a place with a fair amount of food, a fair amount of specialty retail with a fair amount of local color mixed in.”
Patterson said the interior likely will involve expanding the mezzanine floor to create more space for retailers. Even though some of the chandeliers may have to be removed or relocated, he said he sees the chandeliers as “signature pieces to showcase an artifact of what used to be here.”
The building dates back to 1927. It operated as the flagship Davison’s department store for decades before it became Macy’s in 1985. The department store was closed in April, 2003, and the space has been mostly vacant ever since.
The 180 Peachtree Retail Group has had an option to buy the lower three floors since December. Wachovia Bank is providing financing for the project.
Patterson said the investment group, which is made up primarily of Atlanta natives, wants to bring life back to the elegant department store.
“It’s really important that we create a center that’s a destination and a experience,” said Patterson, who added that the development will cater to residents, office workers, students, tourists and conventioneers. “We have to give them a reason to come into our space.”
