Atlanta Retail Supply Tightens While Rents Stabilize

Atlanta Retail Market

2019 in Atlanta has seen an emphasis placed on experience-based retail. New developments, both in the surging urban core and in multiple suburban centers, have had success selling experiences in mixed-use settings.

Entertainment is evolving. The modern consumer wants to stay longer, and is prioritizing walkability and options more than years past. Alpharetta's Avalon has seen this hypothesis bear fruit, and many other suburban locales, such as Gwinnett's Revel and Forsyth's Halcyon have looked to replicate its success. The Beltline, while very different from the aforementioned suburban center, is another example of successful experience-based retail, albeit in a different setting. It provides the consumer with a broad range of activities and options that could span an entire day, all walkable from each other. 

Grocery is still the king of anchor tenants in Atlanta. Stores are quickly appearing in previous underserved markets such as Midtown. A new Kroger is set to open at New City's 725 Ponce project on the Beltline's Eastside Trail in October of 2019. The long-awaited store will include two "front doors", one of which will face the trail. Additionally, the largest Whole Foods in the southeast recently opened on 14th Street in Midtown.

Key Takeaways

• Atlanta has absorbed more than 750,000 square feet year-to-date, continuing the strong absorption trend we have seen since 2013.
• Vacancy is at its lowest point in 11 years at 6.6%.
• Rental rates have flattened out after a steady rise over the past few years.
• Metro Atlanta's jobless rate has dropped to just 3.5% in July of 2019, the lowest level since 2000. The metro area has added 58,000 jobs year-over-year.