This story begins where it ends: With metro Atlanta again focused on the CBD. When long-time CRE vet Tom Statham jumped into theindustry in 1982with Landauer Associates (long since absorbed into Newmark Grubb Knight Frank) after graduating the University of Georgia, he did property appraisals. After two years, he was brokering property sales. His first: The Darlington Apartments in Buckhead, sold in 1984 at a time whenthe metro population just surpassed 2.5M people. (And a time when those 2.5M people all had terrible haircuts.) And he sees CREs attention come full circlesince then: When he started, developers and companies were focused in the CBD. Then in the '80s and '90s, Atlantasprawledoutward. Now,Atlanta's back looking inward,with afocus on the urban core for the next decade or so, he says.And I think Atlanta is growing up as a city.

Tom is now making a new career turn at Lee & Associates after spending a handful of years at the late Staubach Co and in his own company. Tom handles Lees retail and MOB investment sales. And, he says the market is very strong right now for Class-A properties or for infill properties within the City of Atlanta. If youre a Publix- or Kroger-anchored center, youre going to get a lot of attention these days, he says.