More than 400 attendees at the Envision Perimeter 2026 State of the District meeting on May 5 heard updates about massive highway infrastructure projects and the general health of the Central Perimeter market.
This year’s event, held at the Perimeter Summit 2002 building, featured two panels discussing improvements to the area’s major roadways and what these improvements mean for long-term real estate value and competitiveness in the market.
The meeting opened with a presentation by Ann Hanlon, the executive director of the Perimeter CIDs, who reiterated a May 4 announcement that Infor, a business cloud software company, is moving its headquarters from New York City to Dunwoody, bringing 500 employees to an 80,000 square-foot space at Campus 244.
“These announcements are huge successes for the three cities, and mean more jobs, more families, and futures that are being built here in our backyard,” she said. “This is what thoughtful development looks like.”
A community survey conducted by the Perimeter CID revealed that 40% of respondents said they spend time in the area after work, Hanlon said.
Impact of 400/285 projects
During a panel discussion, “Infrastructure as a Market Signal,” panelists discussed the impact of the SR400 and Top End 285 Express Lanes, as well as the extension of Path400 to create a walkable community.
The speakers included moderator John Grimsley, director of leasing with Highwoods Properties, Tim Matthews of the Georgia Department of Transportation, Matt Pierce the COO of SR400 Peach Partners, Chris Burnett, economic development director of the City of Sandy Springs, and Denise Starling of Livable Buckhead/Path400.
The group discussed the impact of what was termed “the largest infrastructure project in Georgia, and in the nation.”
“By engaging private partnerships, we can build what we need, not what we can afford,” Matthews said. “Georgia is leading the way when it comes to express lanes, mobility, and solving our most congested corridors.”
Starling said the trail extensions are at a “pivotal moment” in the development of walkability throughout Atlanta.
“You are going to be able to get from Perimeter to Alabama to Stone Mountain, without ever getting into a car,” Starling said. “That’s huge. That is in the checklist that you are getting from your clients – connectivity, experiences that you can provide in the public spaces.”
Burnett said that with the ongoing retirement of baby boomers in the thousands every year, the majority of the workforce in the next decade will be Gen Z and Millennials, and the housing market must adapt to their desire for walkable communities.
New Perimeter in Action
The second panel, “The New Perimeter in Action,” included developers, employers, and tastemakers who are “actively shaping what Perimeter looks and feels like.”
The panel included moderator Natalie Delancey of the City Springs Theatre Company, Adam Viente, executive managing director of JLL/Perimeter Summit, Scott Kirchhoff, a principal with Perimeter/Trammell Crow, and Nick Nicolosi, the senior general manager of Perimeter Mall.
Delancey said City Springs Theatre Company, since its inception, has served 344,000 patrons from the United States and Canada, “so this panel is extremely important in creating that live, work, and play dynamic that we so benefit from.”
Most of the panelists said the location of the Perimeter to major corridors, the integrity of workforce candidates in the area, and the commitment of Brookhaven, Sandy Springs, and Dunwoody to provide a safe environment were desirable qualities in their decisions to invest in the area.
