New data suggests that Dunwoody’s Perimeter Center compares favorably to other markets, such as Buckhead, and could experience similar growth over the coming years.
The study was completed as part of the city’s Edge City 2.0 project, which is a collaborative effort between the city and the Perimeter Community Improvement Districts (PCIDs) to study what future economic growth and development could look like in Perimeter Center.
The study designates “Edge City” as a two-mile radius around the Dunwoody MARTA Station on the corner of Perimeter Center Parkway NE and Hammond Drive, according to Dunwoody Economic Development Director Michael Starling.
The study finds that Dunwoody compares favorably to other metro Atlanta markets. It has the highest educational attainment, the largest daytime employment, the third-highest average household income behind Buckhead and Alpharetta’s North Point area, the second-highest median home value behind Buckhead, and the second-highest per capita consumer spending behind Buckhead.
According to Starling, the city hopes to use the study to find a path forward for development that meets community demands while still remaining achievable for the market.
“We obviously want that [growth] to be community driven, but also market feasible,” Starling said. “It’s important that whatever we come up with, that the market will actually build it.”
Part of the study looked at Dunwoody’s office market and found that while the city has more office inventory than areas like Buckhead and the Cumberland CID, it has the second-highest vacancy rates at 18%, only behind Peachtree Corners’ central business district. Starling said part of the vacancy problem is a holdover from COVID-19, but the city is concerned with fixing the issue.
“It’s certainly a concern,” he said. “We do have sort of an uptick in interest, but moving forward that’s something we really need to keep an eye on.”
Starling said much of the city’s vacant office space sits on the edge of the market and isn’t near many amenities, which makes it less attractive to businesses.
“I’m hoping one of the outcomes of [Edge City 2.0] is really what kind of investment in amenities does the city need to make or promote to help make those older office buildings more marketable,” Starling said.
The study also recommended five points for facilitating growth, including adding various types of housing options, leveraging Perimeter Mall, focusing on the community, promoting job creation and economic development, and making Dunwoody unique compared to other similar markets.
In regards to housing, Starling said the city is interested in providing housing such as townhomes for seniors who don’t want a large, single-family home, but don’t want to live in an apartment either.
“What we don’t have is something in the middle that I think is what a lot of seniors are looking for,” Starling said. “People who want to move out of the big house with the yard and want to move into something that’s a little more convenient.”
Starling brought up former Councilmember Pam Tallmadge, who resigned in July of 2021 after someone made an offer on her home and then moved to Woodstock.
“She and her husband left the city because they got an offer on their house that was something they couldn’t turn down,” Starling said. “They really couldn’t find an alternative here in the city.”
Starling also spoke about the viability of making Dunwoody a walkable city, which residents and council members have pushed for in the past and has been seen as a draw of some of the city’s new developments, such as High Street or Campus 244. Starling said turning a car-oriented city like Dunwoody into a walkable area is a “long-term investment strategy.”
“The good news is, what we have found is what residents want, and what office workers want, and what tourists want is all the same thing,” Starling said. “So now for the first time, the investments we make in walkability and multi-use trails and connectivity overall is benefitting all of our stakeholders.”
Starling said it will be up to the larger developments, like High Street and Campus 244, to create connectivity within their multi-use developments, and then the city would need to invest in filling in the gaps.
“I think through this project, not only will we come up with a vision for what the new sectors of development we want, like how much office, but I think what we’re finding is we’re really identifying the amenities that the community wants,” Starling said.
According to Starling, input from the two public meetings the city has already had regarding Edge City 2.0 has suggested that residents want more trails, better sidewalks, connectivity in general, more greenspace, and outdoor dining areas. The public is expected to have more opportunities to give feedback on the project after the consultant team presents an update to the Dunwoody City Council at its June 13 meeting.
Once the council gives feedback, Starling said the consulting team will focus on coming up with three different growth scenarios to present to the public. Those scenarios are expected to be released to the public late in the summer, at which point the city will hold more public input meetings.