A former Shopping Center Group CEO and his partner have fallen in love with Westside Atlanta and the rest of the Atlanta CBD retail.(We're writing a romantic comedy based on it.)
Frank Buonanotte (above) and his Westside Ironworks partner
Jeff Stein—with a
kitty of family money—are moving forward with the redevelopment of a number of Westside Atlanta properties. So far, the duo has lured Switch Modern, a popular Midtown furniture retailer, to its 670 14th St building. (How do you woo a furniture retailer? Promises of cherrywood?) Frank, who co-founded retail real estate advisory firm The Shopping Center Group, tells us he sees the acquisition of the Westside properties—
75k SF of commercial space along Northside Drive, Howell Mill Road, and 14th and 11th streets —as
"generational real estate" and a long-term hold.
Switch Modern is taking over the
27k SF building immediately west of the Progressive Lighting facility. Frank, who
founded and sold the Georgia franchise of
Party City, says he and Jeff will continue to pursue Southeast retail properties and redevelopment. But only for so long. "I'm not sure how long
the window lasts for us," he says. "We bought because things have been priced properly. Things are starting to
become a little more expensive again, and soon things will be over priced, and we'll stop buying."
