When the Atlanta Braves vacated their home stadium in 2017, it was reasonable to worry that the surrounding Summerhill neighborhood might suffer from the loss of a major commercial player.
Instead, the neighborhood just south of downtown Atlanta has thrived with new commercial development along Georgia Avenue, including restaurants and apartments. The former Braves stadium got an upgrade and a new tenant when Georgia State University bought the property for its athletic programs.
As of last summer, Summerhill also has a grocery store. Publix moved into a nearly 50,000-square-foot space at the Summerhill Station shopping center, giving the neighborhood something it lacked for years. The Publix-anchored shopping center was named the 2024 CoStar Impact Award winner for commercial development of the year in Atlanta, as judged by a local team of real estate professionals familiar with the market.
The shopping center is 100% leased with a tenant roster that includes a Piedmont Healthcare urgent care and primary care center and an assortment of restaurants and other retailers.
About the Project: Branch Properties acquired the Publix site in 2021 from Carter, which has developed other parts of the Summerhill neighborhood. Publix opened in June. Branch sold the Summerhill Station shopping center in January for $48.6 million to Stockbridge Capital Group in San Francisco.
What the Judges Said: "The impact includes ending a food desert for that section of the city, listening to the community and then bringing on under-represented groups and the addition of medically related services," said Neil Matthee, research manager at Newmark.
They Made It Happen: Jesse Shannon, Jack Haylett and Brett Horowitz at Branch Properties; Bridgid O'Connor and David Parry at Publix; Jerome Hagley and Robert Peterson of Carter; and Brian Core of VCC Construction.