The Loudermilk Cos. CEO Robin Loudermilk hosted the opening Thursday of the sales office for The Charles condo/retail development in Buckhead Village, not long after the company announced it was putting 85,000 square feet of Midtown properties on the market and refocusing its attention on Buckhead.
In mid-October, BuckheadView reported that, with a handful of condominium sales apparently already in the house, Loudermilk said he was “about to press the accelerator on The Charles condo mixed-use project in the heart of Buckhead.”
Thursday, the company opened The Charles Sales Gallery in the former Alan Avery Art Gallery space at 315 East Paces Ferry Road, next to the former headquarters building for Aarons Inc., the rent-to-own company Charlie Loudermilk founded in Buckhead decades ago. and just one block from The Charles site.
The plans call for 57 “luxury” two- and three-bedroom condo units, averaging 2,900 square feet, in an 18-story tower above 30,000 square feet of ground-level retail on both Peachtree and East Paces Ferry Roads. It also includes a three-level parking deck. Construction is expected to begin on the 213,000-square-foot development early in the second quarter of 2017.
Loudermilk told BuckheadView, “We have five or six reservations for condos already. We need to have commitments on 30 percent to begin construction and I don’t think we are going to have a problem getting that.”
The Charles offers residences and penthouses available from $1.3 million. “Open floor plans and expansive terraces will make these homes ideal for entertaining and taking in the breathtaking skyline views,” according to the sales materials. Each home will include a Gaggenau appliance package.
Until earlier this year, the approximately 1-acre site was a single-story strip retail center at Peachtree Road and East Paces Ferry, anchored on the corner by Mitchell Gold & Bob Williams furniture store and including long-time tenants Chuck’s Firearms and The Fish Hawk, both fixtures in Buckhead since the ’70s. Mitchell Gold & Bob Williams will remain in place.
The Charles will overlook the Buckhead Village triangle corner across the street from the Buckhead Theatre and Charlie Loudermilk Park, named for Robin’s father, and will be directly adjacent to the shopping and dining experiences of The Shops Buckhead Atlanta.
At 225 feet, Loudermilk’s new project will be among the tallest buildings in the Buckhead Village, rising over Peachtree and East Paces Ferry roads. John Mears is a development partner with Loudermilk on The Charles and Lord Aeck Sargent Inc. is the project’s architect. Brasfield & Gorrie is the contractor.
The Loudermilk Cos. decided to name the condominium/retail building “The Charles” in recognition of three generations of the Loudermilk sons named Charles, beginning with Buckhead benefactor Charlie Loudermilk.
That legacy has been carried on by Charlie’s son Robin Charles Loudermilk, president and CEO of The Loudermilk Cos. and one of Buckhead’s most prominent land owners and active developers.
Also a significant part of The Loudermilk Cos. now is Robin’s son, Robert C. (Charlie) Loudermilk III, who is project manager for some of the firm’s active developments within the Buckhead Village.
Lately, Loudermilk has focused its development acumen and capital on its home turf of Buckhead Village, including redeveloping the former Aaron’s Inc. headquarters building, the 359 East Paces Ferry office project and the 371 East Paces Ferry medical office building project—which are in the early stages of development—in addition to The Charles.
Loudermilk told BuckheadView, “With all the opportunities we are working on in Buckhead right now, it just makes sense to focus all of our efforts, personnel and capital on Buckhead.”
The former Aaron’s building has been totally gutted and the new construction on it will begin in January, Loudermilk said. He also said the construction on the 371 East Paces medical building will begin in the first quarter of 2017 and then The Charles in the second quarter of 2017. He said construction of the 359 East Paces office building has been put on hold for now.
The Loudermilk Cos. has put more than 85,000 square feet of Peachtree Street properties in Midtown on the market–all of which are leased to a number of banner retailers, including Five Guys Burgers & Fries, QuikTrip, Sprint, BB&T, Starbucks and Fresh2Order. The portfolio also includes a parking lot on Juniper Street that could act as a major Midtown development play.
“We’re really focusing on Buckhead. So from a capital standpoint, I think it makes sense,” Robin Loudermilk recently told Bisnow online real estate reporting service. “I’ll probably kick myself once I sell them, but you can’t own everything.”
Loudermilk has tapped Skyline Seven’s Kenny Holzer, Elliott Kyle and Chase Murphy to market the Midtown properties. The Charles is being represented by Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby’s Realtors for The Loudermilk Cos. To schedule an appointment at the Sales Gallery, call 404-975-3770 or visit thecharlesbuckhead.com.
Originally appearing in the Buckhead View
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