Hotels often try to remind locals that they aren’t just built for visitors. Some of the best restaurants in Buckhead are inside of new and classic hotels alike. The Thompson Buckhead hotel is offering some compelling reasons to check out the new property this summer.
Chef Todd Ginsberg has made a splash with the Italian-American restaurant on the Thompson’s lobby level. The “red sauce” menu has diners waiting up to two weeks for reservations.
Now you can add weekend brunch to your list of reasons to check out Dirty Rascal. The menu includes entrees, cocktails, coffee and more. We have it on good authority that the stuffed croissant French toast and Polenta Bowl are not to be missed.
The Thompson’s new Sip & Sun package has you covered for your next Buckhead stay-cation. The package includes one of the Thompson’s beautiful rooms and a poolside cabana reservation. Your reservation at the roof-top pool includes a chilled bottle of champagne and a pool attendant, who will be happy to provide cocktails and snacks. Use promo code “SIPSUN” when booking.
If you upgrade your package to a junior suite, one bedroom suite, or the signature Thompson Suite, you will also unlock access to the exclusive roof-top Tesserae club.
Imagine living in a beautiful gated neighborhood in the heart of Buckhead with a lush central greenspace surrounding the community pool. Now imagine being equal walking distance from the vibrant shopping and dining scene of the Buckhead Village AND the hundreds of acres of greenspace and activities at Chastain Park! You will have all of that and more at this 4-bedroom townhome located in Landen Pine that is available NOW and move-in ready! Featuring views of the central greenspace and community pool and cabana from your living room, this home is perfectly positioned within the community. Other features include a wine cellar, elevator shaft, 2-car garage, and a stunning kitchen with a large pantry! Hurry and grab this one before it is gone!
The main level is the definition of “Open Concept”. High ceilings and large windows accentuate the spaciousness, as the family room flows into the dining area and kitchen. This main level is perfect for entertaining, and great for keeping an eye on the kids.The open kitchen features a large island with counter seating and beautiful tile details. You’ll find plenty of storage in custom cabinets and a large walk-in pantry. The sommelier in your family will love the custom wine storage and the additional built-in wine cooler. There is a home management office, a powder room, and a private outdoor deck adjacent to the kitchen.
The owner’s suite is on the upper level, apart from the other two upstairs bedrooms. The oversized bedroom has high ceilings and tons of natural light. The master bath has a double vanity, a huge tile shower, and gorgeous tile accents. The MASSIVE walk-in closet features custom built-in storage and a large window.
Two additional bedrooms and a full bath complete the upper level. The bedrooms each have a large closet. The bath has a double vanity and a tile tub and shower.
The terrace level has a bedroom, full bath, and a mud room area adjacent to the 2-car garage. The bedroom has large windows and a sliding barn door. This level provides access to the private patio and back yard.
The Buckhead Forest neighborhood is framed by the energetic thoroughfares of Roswell, Peachtree and Piedmont Roads. Surrounded by Buckhead Village to the south, Tuxedo Park to the west, and Buckhead’s tech corridor to the east, Buckhead Forest is truly located in the heart of Buckhead.
Homeowners here will enjoy all that Chastain Park has to offer year-round. Chastain Park is Atlanta’s largest city park, and known by all as Buckhead’s premier park. The wide variety of competitive and recreational activities and entertainment venues hosted by Chastain Park include a swimming pool, a musical amphitheater where both pop and classical musicians entertain audiences outdoors, an arts center, tennis, gymnasium, walking trails, playgrounds, softball diamonds, a golf course and even a horse park – all of which appeal to athletic types and Sunday morning strollers alike.
The Chastain restaurant offers “refined comfort food” for residents and visitors alike in a beautiful setting across from the park.
Buckhead’s dynamic restaurant scene will soon include an Australian eatery, while a popular wine store plans an expanded location with a bar and kitchen.
Isla & Co., a New York-based restaurant chain, is bringing its menu of “Australian coastal town” food and cocktails to Andrews Square at 56 East Andrews Drive in the West Village.
When it opens in two to three months, the restaurant is expected to serve brunch, lunch and dinner. The details were provided by representatives of landlord EDENS and the chain at a May 4 meeting of the Development Review Committee of Special Public Interest District 9 (SPI-9), a local zoning area.
The new restaurant replaces the shuttered Sama Food for Balance eatery. The build-out will include a new enclosed seating area on the patio.
Meanwhile, the plan for Perrine’s Wine Shop to open a Buckhead Village store has shifted to include a “wine bar,” a City planner told SPI-9.
The popular Westside wine shop last fall filed plans to demolish a commercial-use house at 3121 East Shadowlawn Ave. and replace it with a similar home-like structure that would become its second location around fall 2023.
But now the wine shop has “redone what their model is” and filed plans for the retail shop on the ground floor and a bar, dining area and kitchen on the second floor, according to City planner Nathan Brown.
As a retail shop, the plan required no parking, said Brown. But as a form of restaurant, it needs six, he said. The plan has five on-site parking spaces, and the wine shop has arranged to lease a space at a nearby office building for the sixth in a proposal Brown said was administratively approved by the City.
Perrine Prieur Gallardo, the shop’s founder and owner, did not respond to a comment request.
Buckhead’s Kimpton Sylvan Hotel is among the winners of a prestigious statewide historic preservation award.
The hotel, which opened last year, is a rehabilitation of the former Paces Ferry Tower, a 1951 apartment building at 374 East Paces Ferry Road in Buckhead Village. The Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation at an April 23 event named the hotel as a winner of an “Excellence in Rehabilitation Award.”
The honor is part of the Georgia Trust’s annual Preservation Awards. The rehabilitation category recognizes “projects that make compatible use of a building through repair, alterations or additions while preserving features of the property that convey its historic value.”
The honor puts the hotel on a 2022 list alongside such resources as the Fox Theatre’s “Mighty Mo” organ and Atlanta Public Schools’ Midtown High School. For a full list of winners, see the Georgia Trust’s website.
Paces Ferry Tower was built in the International Style and was briefly the tallest structure in Buckhead, according to the Georgia Trust. Its architect was James C. Wise, who built several Buckhead mansions, including the 1938 Meredith House at 417 Hillside Drive in the Chastain Park neighborhood, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Wise is also credited with a 1960s renovation of the Swan Coach House at the Atlanta History Center.
Among the hotel’s preservation and rehabilitation efforts were restoring historic aluminum windows and maintaining the extensive landscaping around the property.
Kimpton is a California-based boutique hotel brand owned by InterContinental Hotels Group, a British company whose headquarters for the Americas is in Dunwoody.
A 20-story apartment tower may rise behind Buckhead’s Restoration Hardware furnishings store.
M Development’s proposed 289-unit tower would replace a two-story parking garage behind the 3030 Peachtree Road store, which would remain untouched. The tower is using that same street address, but would stand on two private roads: one known as the Pharr Road Connector and the other a private extension of the otherwise public Buckhead Avenue.
At just under 225 feet tall, the tower would add another highrise to the border area of Peachtree Heights West and Buckhead Village, which includes the adjacent Buckhead Plaza complex. A mixed-use tower complex is in the planning stage about a block away on West Paces Ferry Road.
Developer representatives presented the project at a May 4 meeting of the Development Review Committee (DRC) of Special Public Interest District 9 (SPI-9), a special zoning area focused on design and sustainability. They said the project needs no zoning variations, but requires a special administrative permit (SAP). DRC members suggested such improvements as more bicycle parking, dog amenities, and units made affordable to middle-income people.
“We need to be able to get our workforce living in the community,” said DRC chair Denise Starling. “So if that is something you can figure out a way to do … we’d love for you to consider it.”
The tower would have two outdoor “amenity decks” on its third story and a drop-off driveway shared with the store that would stand under a two-story portico. Renovations to the store’s outdoor showrooms are included in the plan.
The residential unit breakdown is 170 one-bedrooms, 68 two-bedrooms and 51 three-bedrooms. Many units would have balconies.
A new parking garage under the tower would have 478 spaces – 408 for the apartments and 70 for the store. The project has no minimum parking requirement, according to documents filed with the City. The plan includes 46 bicycle parking spaces, which is the minimum required, according to the plans.
The store’s current driveway is on Buckhead Avenue and is aligned with that of Buckhead Plaza. The plan calls for moving that main entrance farther down Buckhead Avenue and using other entrances and exits on both of the private streets. A loading area would be accessed from the Pharr Road Connector as well. Those changes to easements on the private streets are being reviewed in concert with Buckhead Plaza, according to project attorney Carl Westmoreland.
The developer intends to subdivide the property, separating the store and the tower, as part of the development process, but the plan meets all zoning requirements either way, Westmoreland said.
He said the developer may file for the SAP as soon as next week and then seek permits to begin construction.
Is it possible for a real estate market to be too good for its own good?
Interest rate increases have done little to dampen the Buckhead housing market during the first quarter of 2022. Instead, demand has continued to be stronger than the supply of available homes. The top 10 homes sold during the first three months of this year start at $4.5 million and increase from there! Buyers from western and northeastern states continue to add to robust local demand, resulting in an increasing number of bidding wars over homes that have the right features and are properly priced. I have seen several situations where prices have been bid up $300,000 to $500,000 above the asking price…these are the stories we used to hear about the market in NYC or San Francisco, but now it is here in Buckhead.
So back to the original question: Is it possible for a real estate market to be too good for its own good? I do not have the answer and I am not able to predict the direction of a market being driven by unprecedented circumstances. Only time and hindsight can tell, but from where we stand today, there is no end in sight.
164 single family homes were sold in Buckhead in the first quarter of 2022. The top of the market was a $9.3 million home, while the average Buckhead home sale closed at $1.5 million.
The condo market in Buckhead is strong, with 352 sold in Q1. Condo sale prices ranged from $107,000 to $4.5 million. The average condo sold in Buckhead was a 1,439 square foot unit for $455,7167.
On a recent weekday afternoon, two people took a smooth, relaxing drive down Piedmont and Lenox roads to Lenox Square without once honking a horn or sweating over traffic.
No, this is not April Fools’ or the Onion. It’s a preview of a ride anyone soon can take on the new Buc van, the Uber-style, on-demand shuttle service scheduled to launch in central Buckhead April 19.
Buckhead.com rode along on an April 12 test drive from the Piedmont Center parking lot the Buc and its operators — the international tech company Via Transportation and the local nonprofit Livable Buckhead — are using as its base. Livable Buckhead Executive Director Denise Starling and this reporter were the new Buc’s first-ever passengers.
The service uses four large Mercedes-Benz vehicles that are closer to small buses. They have eight bucket seats, and one van is equipped for people who use wheelchairs. (The vehicles are gasoline-powered, not electric as Starling would prefer, but Livable Buckhead is using a carbon-offset program to try to make up for the emissions.)
The service works like the carpool feature of commercial rideshare services, but it’s significantly cheaper: $3 a ride, and free to and from the Buckhead or Lenox MARTA Stations. If you book as a group for a trip that costs the fee, up to five of your additional passengers will be charged a discount rate of $1.50 each.
For starters, the Buc will have a limited territory roughly including Buckhead Village, Lenox and the Piedmont corridor between Pharr and Roswell roads. And the hours are limited for now, too: weekdays in three discrete time ranges of morning, midday and evening that vary by day.
Part of the reason for those limits is the Buc’s origins in 2003 as a fixed-route commuter shuttle whose two loops went to only five office buildings. Then and now, a major chunk of funding comes from the Buckhead Community Improvement District, whose own territory is restricted to the same central business area. (Unlike the original, the new Buc will not run to Lenox Park at this point, though Starling says discussions are underway about possibly expansion there.)
That old-fashioned Buc is scheduled to end April 18. While the new version will serve office commuters, it’s also open to anyone and will go just about anyplace. Thus, the quick trip to Lenox when a reporter mused, “Let’s go to the mall.”
The ride was a first for everyone. Via Field Manager Burt Lancaster — yes, his name comes from the movie star — has been testing the service and training the pool of 14 drivers as part of a two-week prep time. For this run, he was training new driver Candra Smith, a Newnan resident who is picking up this work as an independent contractor.
The service is very Uber-esque. Starling ordered up the destination with a smartphone app that closely resembles familiar rideshare services. The app was a bit confused by her unorthodox use of placing the request while already sitting in the vehicle, but it all worked out. The app showed a map of the trip, with the Buc depicted with a truck icon more akin to a tractor-trailer. Smith used her version to accept the trip.
The app is handy way to use the service, but those without smartphones also will be able to order a ride by calling 470-560-4337. Nothing else is needed for the free MARTA station trips, but to pay for the $3 rides anywhere else, a credit or debit card is required.
Via operates similar services in a lot of places, from university campuses to such cities as Arlington, Texas and even Valdosta in southern Georgia. But, Lancaster said, Buckhead provides some unique challenges — a denser urban environment with some narrow streets, complicated traffic patterns and many low-clearance driveways. Due to the size of the vans, they can’t stop literally anywhere and so will use certain virtual stops programmed into the system that riders will be able to see on the app. Those pickup points should be within a brief walk from wherever the rider is.
Lancaster and Starling aided Smith as she navigated the confusing labyrinths of Piedmont Center and Lenox Square to get the hang of it. Also employed at an Amazon warehouse, Smith said she has worked in Buckhead before, including as an Uber driver, but on different hours. “I’m used to being here at night,” she said after getting her first trip through daytime traffic.
For riders, the large vehicle and Smith’s expertise made for a smooth, quiet ride through moderate traffic. The seats were comfortable, though they may be a bit narrow for larger people or those carrying sizable bags or packages. Vents along the ceiling give separate heat or air conditioning for each row of seats. Large windows provide good views of the neighborhood passing by with tinting to reduce any glare. The vehicles have a distinctive paintjob that makes them easy to recognize — abstract shapes of blue, white and green on a black background. For now, there’s also the new-van smell.
It remains to be seen who will be hopping aboard come April 19 as the long-delayed new Buc launches in an unpredictable COVID-19 pandemic era that has altered all notions of commuting, rush hour and shopping. “I have no idea what to project in terms of ridership because of unknowns,” said Starling.
But, she added, she’s excited by the many possibilities. Central Buckhead’s office space is still hovering at around 50 percent of back-to-the-office commuters, she said. But that also means some of those returning have broken old car-centric commuting habits, “so it’s an opportunity for us to really take advantage of that” and steer them toward MARTA and Buc transit.
Lancaster said transit equity is important to Via and suggested another potential ridership market: people who use wheelchairs, and especially those who, like his own mother, have less than ideal experiences with MARTA’s reserved-ride Mobility service.
Whatever happens down the road, the technology affords Livable Buckhead great flexibility in making changes to service hours, territory, and pricing, and even giving employers the opportunity to give discount codes to employees.
That’s a far cry from the old Buc, whose convenience was a big deal in its day, but hasn’t kept pace and had ridership dwindle to a handful.
“It was cutting-edge,” Starling says, reflecting on Buc past and present. “I’m excited about being cutting-edge again.”
As extra incentive to try out the Buc for this month’s launch, a rider’s first six trips will be free. For full details on the service, see the Buc website.
Buckhead’s Atlanta Police Department precinct is seeing a changing of the guard as its current commander has received a promotion to deputy chief.
Andrew Senzer, who has led the Zone 2 precinct since November 2019 with the rank of major, will head APD’s Strategy and Special Projects Division, he announced at an April 7 meeting of the Buckhead Public Safety Task Force.
Major Ailen Mitchell, who has served as Senzer’s assistant since 2020, will be the new Zone 2 commander, Deputy Chief Timothy Peek said in the meeting.
The transition will happen on April 14, according to APD. The current head of the Strategy and Special Projects Division, Deputy Chief Darin Schierbaum, is being promoted to the vacant position of assistant chief of police.
Senzer was Buckhead’s police commander through the historic COVID-19 pandemic and accompanying crime spike, including the May 2020 rioting and looting in local business areas that spun out of Black Lives Matter protests about the Minneapolis police murder of George Floyd.
He also led through the beginning of the Buckhead cityhood movement that based itself on crime concerns. While crime spiked, Senzer took a zero-tolerance approach and Buckhead continues to have the city’s lowest crime rate.
“It really has been an honor to serve as the commander of Zone 2,” Senzer said in the task force meeting. “In my 26 years [in policing], this has probably been the most challenging assignment I’ve had.”
He said his new role will be “a little behind the scenes” but that he will “not be a stranger” in Buckhead.
Peek said APD is “ecstatic” about Senzer taking on the deputy chief role.
Mitchell, according to his APD biography, has been with the department since 2006. He previously commanded the SWAT team and, like Senzer, once served on the Red Dog unit, an anti-drug squad disbanded in 2011 after controversial incidents like an illegal raid on the Atlanta Eagle gay bar. Among his other work was the Gang Unit and the Auto Theft Task Force.
Mitchell became Zone 2’s Criminal Investigations Unit commander in 2018 and its assistant commander in 2020.
Zone 2 is headquartered at 3120 Maple Drive in Buckhead Village.
Update: This story has been updated with information from APD about the transition.
A 20-year-old plan for a massive mixed-use project next to Buckhead’s St. Regis Atlanta hotel is moving forward, with the drawing board including another hotel, an apartment tower and an office/retail building.
The redevelopment of the largely vacant strip mall at 102 West Paces Ferry Road will complete a nearly 40-year-old master plan that has resulted in the St. Regis, the 92 West Paces Ferry apartment tower, and the Buckhead Plaza tower complex at West Paces Ferry and Peachtree Road. This long-delayed “Phase III” of the St. Regis/92 West Paces Ferry/strip mall part is also called Buckhead Plaza for now, referring to the old car dealership turned strip mall, which occupies about 4.5 acres.
Atlanta developers Kent Levenson and George and Ned Burkow are teaming on the project, which was presented at the April 6 meeting of the Development Review Committee (DRC) of Special Public Interest District 9 (SPI-9), a special, detail-oriented zoning district that includes that area of Peachtree Heights West. The developers believe only a special administrative permit (SAP) is required, with no zoning variations, though the City has yet to formally review it. Meanwhile, it got a positive reception from the DRC, with member Sally Silver saying, “I’m looking forward to this phase being completed….”
Rezoning for the original redevelopment scheme dates to 1984 and first produced the existing Buckhead Plaza tower complex, which today is undergoing a renovation as well as playing host to a much-discussed new Atlanta Police Department mini-precinct. Further rezonings focused on the future St. Regis, 92 West Paces Ferry and the strip mall came in 2003 and 2011. A controlling factor is that, in the original zoning, the overall site had a maximum floor-area ratio, or density, so this final piece can only be built with the roughly 580,000 square feet that remains. The developers are seeking approval to rearrange the site plan in part because that is a bit less than previously anticipated, possibly because an earlier phase was “overbuilt,” as attorneys said at the DRC meeting.
The new plan includes three buildings, with the apartment tower atop a parking garage at the rear of the lot and the hotel and the office/retail building fronting on the street. Details include:
The apartment tower and the hotel would be connected with a “ballroom area,” according to the project’s architect, Jenny Williams of Cooper Carry. The hotel would be smaller than the neighboring St. Regis but have a similar luxury approach.
All buildings would have some type of rooftop amenities, such as seating. A pool would sit atop the parking garage.
According to the developers, the zoning allows all of the structures to be up to 225 feet high, but they are avoiding that to create a stepped-down “transitional” effect of lower heights where the site abuts a residential area. The developers filed an SAP application with the City on March 28.
Some neighborhood groups have already seen the plans and weighed in positively, according to Silver. Further review by Neighborhood Planning Unit B is expected, she said.
Springtime in Buckhead highlights some of our favorite parts of the community. Our staff has long celebrated the green spaces and outdoor activities that make Buckhead such a unique collection of neighborhoods. As the warm weather encourages us to get out and explore with family and friends, we are delighted to share our top 5 favorite places to enjoy springtime in Buckhead.
Bobby Jones Golf Course has been a Buckhead staple since 1932. The course features two 9-hole courses, each with multiple tees and double greens. The different tee and pin combinations provide golfers a unique experience each time they play.
The Murray Golf House at Bobby Jones Golf Course is more than just a clubhouse. It is home to the Ed Hoard Golf Shop, Boone’s Restaurant, and the Georgia Golf Hall of Fame. Don’t miss the state-of-the-art Grand Slam Golf Academy to take your game to the next level!
Atlanta Memorial Park has a lot to offer non-golfers as well. The Bitsy Grant Tennis Center boasts the largest grass-roots tennis organization in the country. Atlanta Memorial Park winds along the southern bank of Peachtree Creek on the west side of Northside Drive. You’ll find lots of picnic tables near the large playground, and plenty of room to play and explore along the creek.
The Northwest Beltline Connector trail connects Atlanta Memorial Park to Tanyard Creek Park and Ardmore Park, where it intersects with the Atlanta Beltline Trail.
The East Palisades section of the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area provides Buckhead residents with a truly unique hiking experience without driving out of town. The Indian Trail parking lot is just 15 minutes from the Buckhead Village District!
The East Palisades includes more than 10 miles of hiking trails along the bluffs and shoals on the Chattahoochee River. Highlights of the trail system include an overlook deck with panoramic views of the river, and ruins of riverside settlements. If you take the trail far enough north along the river you will find the famous bamboo forest.
The trails along the river are generally easy, but you will find some fairly strenuous climbs between the river’s edge and the top of the bluffs. The Indian Creek parking lot is at the top of the bluffs, so you will be working your way down to the river from there.
The Whitewater Creek parking lot is on the river. You can go on short hikes along the river from here without much climbing, but you can also access the entire trail system if you like. The Indian Creek parking lot can get crazy on warm weekend days, so keep the White Water Creek parking lot in mind as an alternate.
Chastain Park is a 260+ acre park with something for everyone. The walking trails around the park include a 3.4 mile loop and a 2.7 mile loop, and they are usually busy with locals exercising, chatting, and enjoying the neighborhood. The trails and the Chastain Park playground are just the beginning of the activities at the park.
Northside Youth Organization (NYO) operates basketball, baseball, softball, and football leagues at the park. The Chastain Park Tennis Center offers individual and league play. The North Fulton Golf Course is a public course that occupies much of the park. Chastain Arts Center provides classes, summer camps, and gallery space to Buckhead’s aspiring artists.
Chastain Horse Park is a unique community resource. The horse park offers horse boarding, riding lessons, and summer camps. Therapeutic riding and Hippotherapy programs provide multiple equine-assisted activities for a variety of physical and speech-pathology therapy.
Spring is the beginning of the concert series at Chastain Park Amphitheater. Music lovers are treated to 40-45 concerts between April and October each year.
PATH400 has quickly become an integral part of Buckhead’s daily life. The path is a great way to get some exercise and explore the community without sitting in traffic. You’ll find lots of art installations along the path, and you will be treated to unique skyline views and serene wooded sections along the way.
The current route of PATH400 begins at Peidmont Rd. and Adina Dr. at the south end, and follows GA400 to Wieuca Rd. The southern end includes an easy connection to the South Fork Trail at the Confluence Bridge, and a future connection to the Atlanta Beltline at Piedmont Rd. The next phase of the Path will continue north from Wieuca to Mountain Way Common, and then continue north to meet the Sandy Springs path system.
The newest section of PATH400 stretches from Miami Circle to the Gordon Bynum Pedestrian Bridge at Lenox Square. This section features a large mural by local artist, Jonesy, and a wetland area that is home to wildlife that you would probably not expect to see along GA400! If you haven’t explored PATH400 in a while, you will probably be pleasantly surprised when you get out on the path this spring.
If soaking up the springtime sunshine next to a picturesque duck pond is more your speed, then the Duck Pond is for you. This serene 7.5 acre park is nestled within the Peachtree Heights East neighborhood, just a few blocks from Peachtree Road. Bring a picnic lunch and some good friends for the best results.
The pond is definitely the main attraction of the park. The park is named for the distinct Muscovy Ducks who inhabit the pond, and you will find Canadian geese and other visiting ducks depending on what time of year you visit. Look for turtles sunning themselves on sunny days as well. The meandering path around the pond provides a nice walk, as well as access to the numerous fields that are perfect for picnicking. The flock of ducks that lives in the park has seen reduced numbers over the past few years. A few concerned residents informed us that visitors feeding the ducks inappropriate food (like bread) has been detrimental to the flock. Peachtree Heights East residents are happy that visitors love their little park, but they ask that you respect the rules when you visit. That means no fishing, no grilling, and please don’t feed the ducks.
An Uber-style on-demand shuttle service in central Buckhead is scheduled to make its long-awaited — and long-delayed — debut April 19.
The app-based “Buc” shuttle will replace an existing, fixed-route version that runs two business-district loops. While the existing service is focused on commuters, the new on-demand service will be open to anyone and go virtually anywhere within the Buckhead Village and Lenox areas. The idea is to cut down on private vehicle trips and boost alternative commuting.
And the price is hard to beat: free trips to and from the Buckhead and Lenox MARTA Stations, and $3 anywhere else. The service will run on weekdays from morning to evening.
Operated by New York-based Via Technology, the new Buc is funded by the Buckhead Community Improvement District and managed by the alternative commuting and environmental nonprofit Livable Buckhead.
“It’s a game-changer, completely,” says Livable Buckhead Executive Director Denise Starling.
Those groups launched the original Buc in 2003. “So it’s fun to have it be the center of attention again with the cool new technology,” said Starling. “I’m really hopeful that it does catch on with people, particularly residents. … With the previous Buc, only a few buildings could even take advantage of it. So now it’s much more expanded [so that] pretty much everyone can.”
The service will use Mercedes-Benz Sprinter vans, the kind familiar from Amazon deliveries. The transit element means that, unlike Uber or Lyft taxi-style services, riders may share the vehicle with other passengers headed to other destinations. It also means that sizable groups can travel together.
Starling said the app will have virtual Buc stops. She said “every property pretty much has a stop where you can call it and have it come pick you up, just like Uber.”
The on-demand Buc has been in the planning stages for years and was supposed to launch in 2020 — just when the pandemic hit and killed any type of commuting. “It was supposed to launch April 1 of 2020 and the joke was on me,” says Starling.
The Buc would have been a pioneering service at that time. But in the time gap, MARTA has explored similar on-demand micro-transit. On March 1, it launched a similar program called MARTA Reach in parts of Forest Park and Southwest and Southeast Atlanta. Developed in conjunction with a Georgia Tech team, that service is intended as a six-month pilot program.
The Buc is different, using existing technology that’s already in the market, as Via operates in various locations around the nation and the world. And the Buc is not a pilot program; it’s a service with multi-year contract provisions. “We’re not intending to just pilot it and scratch it by any stretch,” said Starling.
Livable Buckhead has kept MARTA informed about the new Buc and offered to share information, Starling said. MARTA has not discussed launching a similar service in Buckhead, she said.
The Buc is intended to generate some of its own funding through marketing within the app, such as ads on the map or discount offers for groups to visit a business.
The old Buc shuttle is scheduled to cease operation April 18 and Livable Buckhead is working to inform its riders about the change.
The actual coding of the app is still being worked on, and the exact boundaries of the service zone have yet to be determined. The app is expected to be available for download about a week before the launch.
In the meantime, a close-up look at the new Buc vans will be available at Livable Buckhead’s March 27 “Party on the PATH” fundraiser. And you can sign up for Buc updates on the Livable Buckhead website.
From last year’s attack on the U.S. Capitol to the ongoing invasion of Ukraine, it’s a tough time for democracy.
Then again, it always has been. The United States, the world’s leading light of democracy, has often failed to live up to its own ideals and has faced major threats from within and from other nations alike. The founders fretted constantly about the survival of a democracy that, come 2026, will celebrate its 250th year since the Declaration of Independence.
The Buckhead-based Atlanta History Center is co-founder of a national effort to not only celebrate that big birthday, but also to engage communities in the meaning and practice of democracy. A kickoff exhibit that you can catch through March 23 is just the start of multi-year local programs that also marks another 2026 anniversary: the center’s own centennial.
“The idea is, we’ve never been perfect, it’s always been hard, and people have always had to work at it,” says Sheffield Hale, the center’s president and CEO, reflecting on American democracy. “And you can be either a part of the solution or let somebody do it for you or do it to you.”
Since November, the center has hosted “American Democracy: A Great Leap of Faith,” a touring exhibit from the Smithsonian Institution that is customized with local artifacts. The center has paired that with community discussions and other events related to voting, civil rights and “community leadership” that Hale says is one outgrowth of America’s democratic culture.
But that was just the beginning of a five-year program leading up to the 250th, some in the works and some yet to be determined. Locally, the center already has scheduled a “Civic Season” program this spring and summer, focused on Juneteenth, the celebration of the emancipation of enslaved African American people in the U.S., and the country’s birthday on the Fourth of July.
“‘Civic Season’ is between those two anchors, and how they related to each other and don’t relate, and [how] people have different relationships and points of view about both of those holidays,” said Hale.
The center is playing a key role in a much larger effort of more than 100 affiliated history museums and organizations around the country, under the banner of a nonprofit called Made By Us. The group exists solely to crafts programs related to the country’s 250th birthday, or “semiquincentennial.” The center is on the steering committee, along with the National Archives Foundation and museums in Detroit, Pittsburgh, Miami, Missouri, New York, Oklahoma and Virginia.
Made By Us is still working on programming ideas, but Hale expects them to be deeper and more nuanced than the nation’s bicentennial celebration of 1976.
“I think what we saw in the bicentennial was just celebration, which was great. We certainly needed it. We certainly need it now,” he said. “But I think now it’s going to be more reflection and understanding in addition to the celebration.”
That includes acknowledging a democracy that often failed to include everyone, up to and including the atrocities of slavery. The approach may also mean adding notes of fragility, Hale says, to marking “250 years of a democracy that a lot of people — at the time and since — thought wouldn’t survive.”
For Made by Us, Hale says, “The target audience is 18 to 30 for this group, and it’s about civic engagement and what you can do — what is your vision for America?”
At the local level, the center is already focusing its programming on “building community” — meaning gathering people to discuss a book or civic topic, like voting rights and citizenship, to bridge differences and learn about ways to join community groups. Part of the lesson about democracy, Hale says, is “that you can participate in all kinds of ways, and it’s not just voting.” And maybe most important to “frankly, not take it for granted.”
“We like to say we’re talking more about methodology than ideology,” Hale said. “This is not a right-versus-left or blue-versus-red issue. It’s an American issue.”
As a museum, the center’s role is to “bring the facts to the table,” says Hale. But of course, history is rarely that simple or apolitical. “There’s never been an agreement on what our history was and is and what it means,” Hale acknowledges.
But the center also offers the “lens of history” — an opportunity to look back at successes, failures and mixtures of both long past without “being inflamed by the current moment,” as Hale puts it. “That’s one way you can approach history and sort of get past the partisan entrenchments people have.”
The real challenge for exhibit-creators is the substance. “How do you explain to people the genius of this democracy and the fact that it can be improved and has been, structurally and otherwise?” asks Hale.
And in particular, how to do that in a time when people may feel despondent or cynical in a time when fundamental institutions are being questions, from the Capitol attack to talk of packing the U.S. Supreme Court. History, as always, offers the opportunity for perspective.
“Things have been worse. We had a civil war,” says Hale. “Don’t wring your hands and say, ‘What am I going to do?’ Just do it. It’s there for you to do.”
For more about the “American Democracy” exhibit and other current and future programming, see the center’s website at atlantahistorycenter.com.
Expansive skyline views and plant-covered walls are among the features of a new community space the tech company Salesforce is opening on the top floor of its Buckhead office tower.
The “‘Ohana Floor” occupies the 34th story of the Salesforce Atlanta Tower at 950 East Paces Ferry Road. The company offered a preview of the space March 2 in advance of an expected availability in August.
Offered for free to select nonprofit and civic groups for major events, ‘Ohana Floors are a component of six Salesforce towers in the U.S. and London, with several more planned around the world. “‘Ohana” is a Hawaiian term for extended family that the California-based software company uses in a broad sense of social engagement.
The ‘Ohana Floor is not the place you will be holding a birthday party or wedding. Salesforce vets would-be renters as nonprofits, non-governmental organizations and foundations with “a focus on humanitarian, social, educational or environmental causes,” according to a press release. The Salesforce website says the floor is suitable for receptions, fundraising galas, “executive-level board meetings” and seated dinners.
Other ‘Ohana Floors have been popular, according to the company’s website, with renters restricted to one event every 12 months and a six-month lead time on reservations. In addition, all reservations have been suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Atlanta ‘Ohana Floor has a capacity of 150 and includes such features as a coffee bar and a chef’s table.
Warren Wick, Salesforce’s North American president, led a ribbon-cutting at the March 2 event. Appearing with, including for a ceremonial blowing of a seashell, were Danny and Anna Akaka, Hawaiian culture experts who frequently appear at resorts and corporate events.
Among the public officials in attendance were Atlanta City Council President Doug Shipman, City Councilmember Matt Westmoreland, state Rep. Betsy Holland (D-Atlanta) and Gabriel Sterling, the Georgia elections official known nationally for sparring with former President Trump over 2020 conspiracy theories.
“Salesforce has contributed to the innovation, economic growth and social impact in Atlanta for years,” said Shipman in a press release after the event. “The opening of the Salesforce Tower Atlanta ‘Ohana Floor is another example of how the company continues to invest in the community. We’re delighted to have this beautiful space available to our city.”
The Buckhead tower is the regional hub for Salesforce, which opened Atlanta offices in 2013. In 2018, the company announced a multimillion-dollar expansion of the offices and received a $2 million state grant as an incentive. The company promised to add 600 jobs over the next five years and now says it has already exceeded that goal with more than 1,000 jobs.
The company said that over the years, it has given $4.6 million in grants to local nonprofits and its staff has volunteered for more than 71,000 collective hours in the area.
For more scenes from the ‘Ohana Floor preview, see our gallery below. For more details about rentals, see the company’s website.
Switchyards, Atlanta’s homegrown mix of cafe and co-working space, has come to North Buckhead as part of the renovation of the Piedmont Center office mega-complex.
The Buckhead location opened Feb. 22 in Building 3 of the complex at 3565 Piedmont Road. During a visit by Buckhead.com three days later, dozens of customers were already occupying work tables and soundproofed “phone booths” that are among the several amenities.
Catherine Braun, the location’s manager, or “clubkeep” in company lingo, says the clientele so far was a mix of freelancers, remote workers and employees of corporations that cover the membership fee.
“Something we’re seeing in recent years is, a lot of jobs could have been remote the whole time,” she said.
It’s the fifth location of Switchyards since its Downtown debut in 2016. The concept is the brainchild of Michael Tavani, an Atlanta startup guru who previously co-founded the once-popular online marketplace Scoutmob. He has since opened locations, called “neighborhood clubs,” in Cabbagetown, Decatur and the Westside.
The concept revolves around well-appointed seating areas with hip decor and a small-menu cafe with unlimited coffee and tea included in a relatively low monthly membership fee. A $50 membership gives access to both the Buckhead and Cabbagetown locations, which are open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. A $100 membership grants access to all locations, which have 24/7 access.
“We were inspired by the scale, setting and location of Piedmont Center, and saw an incredible opportunity to open a new location that’s convenient and unique for members,” said Tavani in a press release. “Nestled within a canopy of trees in the middle of the city and surrounded by open-air spaces, walking trails and accessible parking, we’re thrilled to bring Switchyards to Buckhead and give the community a place to concentrate and recharge.”
The idea of Switchyards is a place to focus on work. For those with a more hardcore definition, the Buckhead and Decatur locations have a quiet room, dubbed the library, for what Braun calls “more of a deep-focus vibe.” (The Decatur location was originally pitched online as a “private library” called “The Library of Deep Work and Focus,” which drew some social media criticism and mockery.) The soundproof booths at Buckhead are already popular enough that Braun sometimes needs to call a time-out on users.
For more decorative purposes, the location has an actual antique phone booth, too. Above the coffee counter is an analogue population counter for Atlanta, echoing a historic one outside the historic Darlington apartment building on Peachtree Road.
Each location has what Braun calls “Easter eggs” amid the decor for patrons to discover as “surprise and delight.” In Buckhead, the theme is cats, which pop up in various artworks and even business-card holders.
Braun estimates about a third of the regular customers so far are in the tech world. Some customers work remotely for out-of-state businesses. Some are between home and the traditional office with their employer covering the Switchyards membership. And the spot is popular with freelancers, such as journalists, artists and graphic designers.
Braun, whose previous jobs included working the desk at the legendary Hotel Clermont, says the staff’s job is to make Switchyards not just another co-working spot, but something with the familiar touch of being a regular at a cafe.
Switchyards occupies about 5,500 square feet of what was formerly an accounting firm in a circular building in Piedmont Center. It fronts on a courtyard that includes a putting green — with clubs available within Switchyards — and a bocce court.
The courtyard is part of an updating of the enormous, 14-building, 50-acre complex by Ardent Companies, which fully acquired the site last year. The complex remains a tricky maze of towers and multi-level parking decks, but finding Switchyards was easy enough thanks to some improved signage.
“We know the market’s office and residential community is looking for a place outside of the home and office to recharge and connect with others,” said Ardent CEO Matt Shulman in a press release. “We’re confident that Switchyards will be an incredible amenity for not only Piedmont Center’s tenants, but for the entire Buckhead community.”
For more information, see the Switchyards website.
Juanita Powell Baranco is the new chair of the Buckhead Coalition for 2022, helping to lead the nonprofit group of elite corporate and civic leaders.
Baranco is the co-founder Buckhead-based car dealerships that were among the first owned by an African American woman. She is executive vice president and chief operating officer of the Baran Company, which includes Mercedes-Benz of Buckhead. Baranco previously served as a Georgia assistant attorney general and chair of the Georgia Board of Regents, which oversees the state university system. Last year she was named a “Georgia Trustee” by the Georgia Historical Society.
Founded in 1988, the Coalition is an invitation-only group of 120 civic and business leaders. It is undergoing a major reinvention under president and CEO Jim Durrett, who took over in 2020. Durrett also serves as executive director of the Buckhead Community Improvement District and has brought the groups closer together on staffing and program levels, including work on the “Buckhead Security Plan” that was issued in late 2020.
“Juanita is a recognized executive and trailblazer,” Durrett said in a press release earlier this month that announced Baranco’s appointment. “She will be an effective leader to help make Buckhead a vibrant, welcoming and safe intown community.”
Baranco previously served as the Coalition chair in 2018-2019 and this time took over as chair from David Stockert. The Coalition also announced that the chair-elect is Eric Tanenblatt, an executive with the legal and lobbying firm Dentons.
Buckhead.com asked Baranco some questions about the Coalition’s new direction and the Buckhead cityhood issue, which the organization opposed.
Today’s Coalition has new close ties with other local organizations, particularly the Buckhead Community Improvement District. Why is that closer relationship important and how do you think it is going?
Throughout our 34-year history, the Buckhead Coalition has always looked for ways to partner and collaborate with other organizations committed to improving the community. That is why the Buckhead Coalition, the Buckhead CID, and Livable Buckhead now share the same office space. The staff meet together regularly to discuss our work, compare notes, and determine how we can be mutually supportive. It is always better to know what is going on and where synergy may be found as well as economies of scale.
The Coalition has a new mission statement that, among other things, calls for a regional approach to issues. What does that mean to you and what kind of programs might result?
To be clear, our mission is, in part, to advocate on behalf of the Buckhead community within Atlanta and the metro Atlanta region, as well as to connect Buckhead to other areas of the city and the region. We intend not to be insular in our approach to our work, but to seek to understand the regional context of our collective issues and to discover how we might make a difference by working not only within our community, but also outside of it.
The Coalition is an opponent of Buckhead cityhood. In previous years, the Coalition has touted Buckhead as a distinct, quasi-independent place, even inventing a flag and stumping for semi-official boundaries. Going forward, how do you see the Coalition promoting the neighborhood without also promoting separatism?
We have always promoted the Buckhead neighborhood as part of Atlanta and we always will. Buckhead is a unique place in our country — for residents, businesses, and visitors. It is part of the fabric of individual neighborhoods and communities that make the City of Atlanta so exceptional. The Coalition will continue to work toward promoting businesses and economic investment for Buckhead, while helping to improve the quality of life for those who live here. We can be strong advocates for our neighborhoods and proud to be part of the City of Atlanta at the same time.
Unfortunately, your dealership in Buckhead has been the site, or near the site, of a couple of crimes that are part of the cityhood debate: attempted looting during the May 2020 spree, and an assault on customers that has been spotlighted by cityhood supporters in TV and General Assembly appearances. How have those incidents informed your thinking on crime and such solutions as the “Buckhead Security Plan”?
There are two things that we could choose to do about the spate of violent crime that we have experienced, not only in Buckhead, but in other parts of the city, the region, and the state. We could choose to complain, demand action, and split apart or we could choose to roll up our sleeves, sit down with others, and plan to do something to be helpful. We have chosen the latter and are very pleased with the outcome to date. The Buckhead Security Plan was developed in late 2020, funds have been raised and spent in 2020 and 2021 with more fundraising planned, and we are heading in the right direction. We have great partners in the Atlanta Police Foundation, the Atlanta Police Department’s Zone 2, and in Mayor Andre Dickens, who is committed to responding to our needs and addressing the problem. Mayor Dickens has already shown great energy and leadership. We will continue to work with him to help him do his job effectively.
For clarification of your reference to crimes near my business, I shared evidence with the Atlanta police that the perpetrators who entered our building were indeed out-of-towners, which the APD later confirmed. Additionally, the APD recovered the one stolen vehicle within a week of the incident.
2021 was another fantastic year for Buckhead real estate! Not only was a new record set for the highest-priced home sale ever (more on that below), but the overall demand has remained strong and steady. The overall inflation story in the economy and demand driven by the Covid-induced “Great Relocation” are the top two driving forces.
Here is a look at average sale prices and total number of sales over the last 4 years:
| Year | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
| Number of Homes Sold | 1,048 | 1,137 | 1,244 | 1,437 |
| Average Single Family Home Sale Price | $1,127,676.17 | $1,156,070.17 | $1,211,784.08 | $1,358,109.42 |
| Average Condo/Townhome Price | $364,608.50 | $404,225.33 | $373,275.00 | $407,598.42 |
Not only did the average single family home price in Buckhead jump to $1,350,000, but the total number of sales also saw a substantial increase. Meanwhile, Buckhead condo prices made a full recovery from their 2021 dip.
Are you thinking about buying or selling in Buckhead? Now, more than ever, you need the top Buckhead Realtor in your corner to help navigate this market. The expertise, marketing, and personalized service that I provide led me to over $115,000,000 in Buckhead home sales during 2021. I also sold four of the top ten sales for the year, no agent sold more. Contact me directly HERE.
Enough statistics, you probably came here to see the top home sales! Without further ado:
This home set the record for the most expensive home sale in Atlanta history! It sold off-market, having never been listed publicly. More details here.
Valley Road in Tuxedo Park ranks among the most beautiful streets anywhere, so no surprise that #1 AND #2 on our list share the same street. This home at 165 Valley Road closed at $8,375,000
You may have toured this 4.5 acre Mediterranean estate when it was the 2020 Showhouse. It landed #3 on our list at $7,150,000
This home in Historic Brookhaven is a one-of-a-kind design, offering some truly unique features. Click the photo below to see for yourself! Closed at $7,107,531
Some lucky buyers that I was fortunate to represent were able to snag this home in an off-market transaction. The home features a dream yard on a double lot just a block or two from the Buckhead Village. Closed at $6,800,000
Arguably one of the most beautiful homes in the Paces neighborhood. I sold this home in record price territory, not once, but TWICE in 2021. Closed at $6,700,000
This home had all of the bells and whistles needed to break into the top 10, having been extensivly upgraded since it was built in 2017. Closed at $6,500,000
This new home on Knollwood was sold before completion, making it the third home in Tuxedo Park to make our list this year. Closed at $6,400,000
This home, designed by William T Baker 20 years ago, still pulls off a timeless English manor look with a stone beautiful exterior that won a buyer’s heart at $6,375,000
The St Regis residences continue to reign supreme among Buckhead condo sales.
Fetch Park — a combo dog park, bar and gathering space — made its long-awaited debut in Buckhead Village this week.
Fetch replaces a 1.3-acre parking lot at 309 Buckhead Ave. at the intersection with North Fulton Drive. Its artificial turf is open to dogs that are vetted for behavior and vaccinations for a membership fee, and to any dog-less human for free. Fun for human visitors includes a bar in an Airstream trailer, food, and music, trivia and other live events.
“I think the biggest thing we would like people to know is, you don’t need a dog to come,” said Fetch founder and CEO Stephen Ochs, speaking on the phone as he tossed a tennis ball to a canine friend in the park. “We are not a dog park. We are a dog-friendly social hub.”
Ochs opened the first Fetch in 2018 in the Old Fourth Ward and had a hit on his hands. He’s now expanding across the metro area and into other states, and even launching a franchise model. An Alpharetta location is under construction, and work will begin soon on sites at the Works in the Upper Westside and in Nashville, Tennesee. A location in Colorado is in a permitting phase as well, Ochs said.
Fetch’s Buckhead landlord, Jamestown, has proposed a dog park on the roof of a movie theater as part of its forthcoming renovation of a Sandy Springs shopping center. Ochs said he “can neither confirm or deny” Fetch’s involvement there.
As for the Buckhead location, enjoy Fetch while it’s here, because it is likely not to last forever, at least on this exact spot. Ochs said last year that Jamestown, which also owns the Buckhead Village District complex across the street, has long-term plans to construct a new building on the site. That could be in a five- to 10-year timeframe.
While Fetch is not just for dogs, they are a center of its life and a big reason for the Buckhead location. Buckhead has a huge dog population — estimated at 82,000 in a survey last year by the nonprofit Livable Buckhead — and a boom in residential construction in the dense business areas with few park spaces. Ochs said that as the Buckhead park’s opening was delayed by around six months, he was getting around 100 private messages a day on social media asking when it would open.
“Two years ago, if you would have told me I’d be opening a park surrounded by highrises in this dense of an area, I probably would have laughed at you,” he said of his surprise at the demand.
The first big event scheduled is dog-oriented, too: a “Puppy Bowl” on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 13. It’s a fundraiser for Canine Assistants, a Milton-based nonprofit that trains service dogs. The park turf will be painted like a football field, on which the service dogs will attempt to play a version of the game. Ochs says the public playtime in part helps the dogs acclimate to the busy sights and sounds they will encounter as service animals.
For regular visitors who want to bring a dog, be aware the pet will be vetted as safe for other dogs and people, and it will be recorded and tracked on an app. You’ll have to provide proof of vaccines and sign a liability waiver. Admission per dog is $10 for a day pass and $30 a month for a year-long commitment or $40 month-to-month. A $275 annual membership is also available.
People without dogs can enter for free unless there is a special ticketed entertainment event. Some of the live entertainment gearing up at Buckhead Fetch is an “Unleashed and Unplugged” concert series and “Bark and Banter” comedy.
For full details, see the Fetch website.
Perched high above the city in the iconic Waldorf Astoria Buckhead, this exceptional half-floor residence is a statement in architectural elegance and refined living. From the moment of arrival, you are enveloped in a world where breathtaking panoramas and sophisticated design are in perfect harmony.
The main salon is a masterpiece of design, balancing open, light-filled spaces with intimate zones for conversation and relaxation. Floor-to-ceiling windows present a living canvas of skyline and forest, anchored by the warmth of a modern fireplace. Adjacent, a dedicated dining area is defined by a gracefully curved wall of windows, creating an immersive backdrop for every meal.
The culinary heart of the home is a testament to form and function, featuring a premier suite of Wolf appliances, fine stone countertops, and a generous walk-in pantry. This space flows effortlessly onto a magnificent covered terrace, where a second fireplace awaits, offering a private outdoor haven for dining and lounging among the clouds.
The primary suite is a sanctuary of unparalleled comfort, complete with a wet bar and a tranquil seating area. Its ensuite bath is a study in serenity, with a deep soaking tub placed to capture the most dramatic city views, creating a truly transportive experience.
Two additional bedroom suites, each with private baths and custom details, ensure every guest feels perfectly at home. A convenient Murphy bed adds to the functionality of the third bedroom.
This is not merely a residence; it is a gateway to a life of effortless luxury, complemented by the legendary service and amenities of The Waldorf Astoria.
Enjoy indulgent amenities that only the Waldorf Astoria can provide such as climate-controlled enclosed salt-water swimming pool, full spa, personal training in the state-of-the-art fitness center, sauna, steam room and vitality pool, cocktail lounge and cafe. Here you will find the privacy and convenience of a fine home with the luxuries and services of a world-class hotel within walking distance to Buckhead’s finest shopping, dining and business center.
