In Fayetteville, it was about a condo project just down the street from the new City Hall. In Stockbridge, it was about breaking ground on apartments for a long-delayed mixed-use development.
And in Douglas County, it was about moving a step forward in landing a movie studio with office, retail and residential space.
Leaders at the South Metro Development Outlook this week unveiled a growing list of multi-million dollar projects they say will make communities south of I-20 destinations for residents and businesses looking for a place to call home. That included an update on the billion-dollar logistics sector — a huge employer in the area because of Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Clayton County.
The discussion comes as south metro home prices are booming, in part because of housing sticker shock on metro Atlanta’s northside, which traditionally attracts higher-paying jobs.
“The affordability issue with housing is certainly getting on the radar more and that is an advantage to the southern crescent,” Kennesaw State University economist Roger Tutterow said in explaining why areas south of Atlanta might attract residents and developers.
Tutterow said the coronavirus pandemic also demonstrated that businesses can operate efficiently through remote work. The southside can benefit from that by attracting employees who might choose to live less expensively in the city of South Fulton, even though their employer is based in Alpharetta.
If residents come, they’ll have a lot to choose from, south metro leaders said at the development outlook, held Tuesday at the Georgia International Convention Center.
The event attracted some of metro Atlanta’s most notable leaders, including Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, Fulton County Development Authority Chairman Michel “Marty” Turpeau and Atlanta Regional Commissioner Executive Director Anna Roach.
Walton Communities is building a mixed-used development of condos with storefront retail near Fayetteville’s newly opened City Hall. That project will complement the Fayette County city’s new park and redevelopment of a bus barn into a retail outlet with a barbecue restaurant and a brewpub.
In Stockbridge, the city of about 30,000 broke ground in early March on a 300-apartment complex at the Bridges of Jodeco. The multi-family homes are the first for the long-delayed development, which was once called Jodeco South and was promoted as the “next big development” in 2016.
But it hit several snags, including a court battle between Stockbridge and Henry County over land for the project.
“A whole lot of things will happen with this project,” Stockbridge Mayor Anthony Ford said, including hotels, retail and trails.
