Perimeter Business
A monthly section focusing on biuinejj in the Reporter News papers communities
More mixed-use developments likely
Perimeter
residents could
see more mixed-
use developments
like this one,
known as Town
Brookhaven. The
Peachtree Road
development
includes shops
and restaurants on
the ground floor
and apartments
above.
Dunwoody
Economic
Development
Director Michael
Starling said
dense mixed-use
development often
makes economic
sense.
“As values
of property
increase, those
empty parking
lots just become
very valuable.
To unleash that
value, they need
to be developed,”
Starling said.
Christopher North
By Melissa Weinman
As the Perimeter fills in, many believe mixed-use
development will become the standard pattern of de
velopment.
"When Perimeter was first built, it was retail and
then office, and that was really it," Dunwoody Eco
nomic Development Director Michael Starling said.
"Those uses were very much separated and typically
separated by large parking lots."
As the area has matured and taken on a more urban
profile, those vast parking lots have become prime real
estate for infill development.
"As values of property increase, those empty park
ing lots just become very valuable. To unleash that val
ue, they need to be developed," Starling said. "If we
were still way out in the suburbs and property was
still really cheap, you probably wouldn't see that."
Over the years, tastes have changed and communi
ties and local governments have started to demand a
more aesthetically pleasing mix of development in ur
ban areas. Though they can be more challenging and
costly to build, advocates say the "live, work, play"
aspect of mixed-use projects reduces dependence on
cars and creates a more interesting profile for the com
munities where they are built.
Mixed-use is defined as development encompass
ing more than one function, including residential, re
tail and commercial. Typically modeled after a tra
ditional town square, many of these developments
include pedestrian-friendly elements like wide side
walks and landscaping, and feature retail space on the
ground floor with apartments or office space in the
floors above. However, there are different mixed-use
models.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 15
Q&A: Auto dealer -Page 10 Profile: Dunwoody doc
-Page 11 Bouncing back
-Page 14
The general
manager of San
dy Springs Toyota
talks about the car
business in the Pe
rimeter.
Jules Sherwinter knew
in high school he wanted to
be a pediatrician. He loved
science and, after a stint as
a summer camp counsel
or, knew he liked kids. He's
been treating Dunwoody
youngsters for 35 years.
Mercer Univer
sity economist Dr.
Roger Tutterow tells
a Perimeter business
group that the econ
omy is on the re
bound, but it's not
back yet to pre-Re-
cession levels.
