We caught up with Carter's newest hire, Jerome Hagley, who'll lead the firm's multifamily and mixed-use development. Jerome jumps over from The Dawson Co, having already worked with Carter on The Banks mixed-use stadium development in Cincinnati and Lindbergh City Center in Atlanta. So what's changed about today's development world? Developers are more measured in the projects they take on, he says.

You also need to underwrite a development on a long-term basis. (No one night developments around here, they need a commitment.) As the market improves, Jerome says Carter is beginning to eye more projects locally again. Already, it's pursuing the right to be master developer for Sandy Springs City Center development (above, which looks curiously like the giant road carpet we had as a kid). And Jerome says there could be a focus on apartments as Carter looks to grow its multifamily development biz.