One year later: Braves stadium development plans evolving

The Atlanta Braves’ planned move to Cobb County started last November with lots of promises.

Now, a year later, the ball club and its partners must start the long process of delivering on a $1 billion development in which taxpayers have a potential $400 million stake.

The Braves and county executives say they are confident they can pull off a stadium and entertainment complex that not only justifies the huge taxpayer investment, but also stimulates redevelopment near Cumberland Mall. The area hasn’t kept up with the growth surge seen in bustling neighborhoods such as Midtown and Buckhead. Some of that growth is already underway judging by new projects in the pipeline near the $622 million stadium.

The Braves have promised a hub of activity 365 days a year that they say will employ thousands and juice the county’s tax base, but many of the specifics — such as tenants — are still unsettled.

In in-person and e-mail interviews, the Braves designers and executives gave The Atlanta Journal-Constitution a glimpse into some that decision making so far.

“It’s important to note that we would consider this to be a destination mixed-use development, different from a regional mall,” said Derek Schiller, the Braves executive vice president of sales and marketing.

The designers of the complex say success will depend heavily on plenty of food and beverage options — up to 40 percent of retail part of the complex — and about 150 days of planned events, such as concerts, to spur foot traffic.

The team is still targeting first-to-market and flagship retailers and local and national celebrity chef-driven restaurants as core draws when the team isn’t there, along with a concert venue and events space.

“It is not our intent to have chain restaurants or retailers that you can find on any corner,” Schiller said.

The 600 or so residences — apartments or condos — will be a mix of lofts to larger units. The team wants a diverse mix of residents, many of whom might work in the office space on-site. The office space will be pitched to firms that want “a vibrant community” with unique amenities, the Braves say.

Media companies and firms with sponsorships or other ties to the Braves are some likely targets, said R. Lamar Wakefield, the CEO of mixed-use development design firm Wakefield Beasley & Associates.

The undertaking is staggering — pull off a successful mix of uses while building a stadium. It’s on a scale that no other team has done. All this comes to a Cumberland region with office vacancy about three percentage points higher than the metro average.

“Goodness knows, we all need it to be successful,” said Larry Gellerstedt, CEO of Atlanta-based real estate investment and management firm Cousins Properties, who’s not involved in the project.

The bulk of the complex is expected to be ready for Opening Day 2017, but just exactly how many residences, and how much retail and office space hasn’t been determined.

The Braves have cleared the site, brought in seasoned development partners and moved a pipeline to make way for vertical construction of the ballpark and district.

But this critical moment in the project’s maturation — about two-and-a-half years before the first phase of the complex opens — comes as development is reawakening across metro Atlanta. That brings not only rivals for possible shops and office tenants, but competitors for construction labor and materials.

In the months ahead, the Braves are expected to unveil a more complete picture of how their new Cobb County home will look, the mix of merchants that’ll make the stadium project a year-round regional draw, and just how everyone will get there and where they’ll park.

These are no small considerations. The Braves and their partners know the bar is high.

“The Braves get this — and it’s crucial — how do we succeed outside of game day?” Wakefield said.

The concern isn’t academic. Tax dollars are on the line. The Braves, which once had one of the highest payrolls in Major League Baseball, has seen ticket sales sag and the club hasn’t enjoyed much postseason success in a decade. The complex is one of the ways the Braves will aim to keep up with the Joneses for baseball talent and ticket sales.

“We’ve separated out the business aspect of this so the baseball team will continue to operate separately from the real estate holdings,” Schiller said. “On the other hand, when the real estate and the mixed-used development become successful, it certainly does help the Atlanta Braves because it gives us more power to field the most competitive team possible each and every year.”

Massive Undertaking

The Braves have sought a rezoning for more than 600,000 square feet of office space, or enough room for about 3,000 workers. There will be up to 450 hotel rooms and enough retail and restaurant space to fill two or more Walmart Supercenters.

The hotel and office space is likely to have a view into the ballpark, Schiller said, and the design team said a planned pedestrian bridge over I-285 will feed into a center plaza of activity. A brewery and bowling alley have been discussed. A concert hall and event space operator could be announced soon, the team said.

The Braves need events and amenties to draw fans not just during 81 regular season games, but from a retail trade area the Braves expect to extend far beyond Cumberland.

“The important thing is energizing the space 18 hours a day,” Wakefield said.

Neil deMause, a New York-based writer who co-authored “Field of Schemes: How the Great Stadium Swindle Turns Public Money into Private Profit,” said “ballparks are lousy catalysts for economic development.”

“What you want is a lot of foot traffic,” deMause said. “(Baseball) brings minor foot traffic for three hours, on 80 days a year.”

Such a massive development poses risks for all involved, deMause said – the Braves, the county and residents.

“This could easily end up one of those rare lose-lose-lose situations,” he said. “County ends up taking a bath, the Braves end up investing a lot of money and not getting significantly more revenue out of it, and the fans have a worse experience.”

The look and feel

Project renderings released so far — though intriguing — have offered few concrete details of how the stadium and development will interact.

A more complete set of renderings from ballpark design firm Populous is expected to be released within 90 to 120 days, Schiller said.

But the ballpark is expected to share characteristics with Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore, the originator of the modern ballpark aesthetic, said Michel Lentz, one of the designers of the entertainment district for Wakefield Beasley.

The ballpark, and with it the mixed-use development, will take on a more industrial and urban feel, with wider use of brick and steel, Lentz said.

The mixed-use campus will actually take on an “edgier” and more urban feel from the planned events plaza to the west toward Cobb Parkway, he said. That design-theme and a walkable grid of streets are intended to appeal to millennials, who developers expect will be one of the primary targets for the apartments.

‘Integral’ to the plan

In recent months, several developers have come forward with plans for apartments or mixed-use developments near the stadium site. One of the most significant so far is a $100 million project known as Stadium Walk, designed for nearly 400 apartments, two hotels and retail space.

Tad Leithead, chairman of Cumberland Community Improvement District, said nearby infrastructure upgrades, such as the widening of U.S. 41 and managed toll lanes on I-75, were planned before the Braves and were long expected to generate fresh development.

“Part of the economic activity that resulted was the Braves themselves,” he said.

The Braves’ mixed-use site was “integral” to the county’s decision to back the stadium project, said Bob Ott, the Cobb commissioner who represents the Cumberland area.

But future development contemplated in the area has more than justified the decision, he said.

Though there are still many unanswered aspects to the development, Ott said, “I actually feel a lot more comfortable than I did a year ago.”