Need help building something complex in Georgia? That’s her team’s specialty.

Almost anyone can pitch a development project, but bringing that vision to fruition is another story entirely.

Large projects consist of a spider’s web of deadlines, a mishmash of budgets, a cavalcade of different teams to organize and a litany of regulatory hurdles to clear. A few missteps can doom a development, which is why good project management is often a key to success.

And for projects that reach a certain level of complexity, many developers choose JLL’s project and development services team that’s based in Atlanta to deliver their plans. Mary Margaret Murphy was recently promoted to lead the 20-person development management team within PDS, which is managing more than $3.5 billion of active projects across Georgia.

She said the size and maturity of the Atlanta market means many of her team’s projects are tall tasks requiring the extra level of expertise.

“A lot of them aren’t just needing to build a project that a lot of development managers can do,” she said. “They’re navigating more complex entitlement processes in established neighborhoods.”

Murphy, who has more than 11 years of development experience, recently served as project director for Canterbury Court’s $200 million senior living expansion in Buckhead and Georgia Tech Research Institute’s Cobb South Campus redevelopment. The team’s other projects range from education high-rises to a botanical garden expansion to data centers.

There are many obstacles for developments to overcome.

Obtaining the proper entitlement and zoning have increasingly become a challenge in many parts of Georgia, especially for controversial development types such as data centers, industrial warehouses, affordable housing and dense residential projects. Murphy said a boots-on-the-ground approach can often quash neighborhood issues or ease tensions.

Even after a project receives the green light, inflated construction prices and supply chain challenges can derail plans that were otherwise on track. JLL projected 8% construction inflation for 2026, but it ended June ahead of pace at 5%. Murphy said it takes market knowledge and a well-timed development strategy to overcome those hurdles, especially when tariffs, inflation and global conflicts can quickly change the calculus.

“We’re advising clients now that there is a procurement window that may not exist in six months just due to the inflationary escalation pressures,” she said.

This is a photo of the third phase of Tech Square, a large development project at Georgia Tech in Midtown. The project's development management is being handled by JLL's project and development services team. (Courtesy of Jonathan Hillyer Photography)

Some of the projects currently managed by the JLL Atlanta PDS team are Technology Square’s third phase at Georgia Tech and a new dental college on Georgia Southern’s Armstrong Campus.

The team is also overseeing the forthcoming $160 million expansion to the Atlanta Botanical Garden, which will connect it directly to the Beltline. Murphy said it was a challenge to get the various stakeholders in line, especially given the garden’s prominence in Midtown and Piedmont Park, but the expansion has cleared its hurdles and will start construction this fall.

“It’s the first major institution in the city that is developing specifically to face the Beltline and to be fully pedestrian,” she said. “... It’s cool to see the Atlanta Botanical Garden engaging with such an important urban infrastructure project in our city.”

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Credit: Courtesy of Hoerr Schaudt Landscape Architects

This is a rendering of the $160 million expansion to the Atlanta Botanical Garden, which will connect it directly to the Atlanta Beltline. (Courtesy of Hoerr Schaudt Landscape Architects)

Louis Molinini, the Americas PDS variable lead at JLL, said Murphy’s experience “leading complex assignments across a range of asset classes” sets up the Atlanta team for future success.

“Her leadership, technical expertise and collaborative approach position our Atlanta team to build on its momentum and deliver exceptional results for clients across the region,” Molinini said in a news release.

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