Do Restoration Hardware plans, drop of Cheesecake Factory lease foretell future for Buckhead block?

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Buckhead businessman andmajor land owner Peter Blum may have begun setting the stage this past week fora major redevelopment of the entire block of Peachtree Road between BuckheadAvenue and the south side of Pharr Road, across the street from BuckheadAtlanta.

Peter Blum

Blum reportedly signed alease last week with Restoration Hardware for the former previously announcedredevelopment of the former ESPN Zone property at 3030 Peachtree Road, wherethe retailer plans to build a new six-story store.
During the same period,Blum decided not to renew a lease with the Cheesecake Factory restaurant nextdoor at 3024 Peachtree Road after the national restaurant chain had beenlocated there for about 20 years.  It wasa move with risk in this economy that most landlords likely would not havetaken.
But, as BuckheadCoalition President Sam Massell told BuckheadView, “Blum is a smartbusinessman….a man with vision.  He ownsa great deal of property” and, according to Massell, he is well positioned,well capitalized and very stable.
Because of that he hasbeen able, according to Massell, to wait for the right opportunity for the 3030Peachtree Road property, which ESPN Zone vacated a few years ago. He apparentlyhad other opportunities to lease the property that others might have jumped at,but he was able to wait for the right tenant, meaning Restoration Hardware.
During the BuckheadVillage’s heyday as the entertainment district of Atlanta, Blum successfullylanded the two national chain restaurants for the side-by-side Peachtree Roadlocations in what was considered a major coup.

The ESPN Zone property at right has been leased to Restoration Hardware.
Peter Blum's other property next door, where the Cheesecake Factory has
been located for about 20 years (to the left) is being marketed for a high
scale retail or possibly high-rise with retail. Cheesecake Factory will move. 

Now, taking the longview of the continued redevelopment and densiï¬�cation of the Buckhead Village  area along Peachtree, Blum has decided to repositionthe two properties once again. He envisions a redevelopment of the site wherethe restaurant will be replaced by high-end retail, including possiblehigh-rise development, and is positioning the property for these opportunities.
“Restoration Hardwareplans to build an iconic flagship store at 3030 Peachtree Road across the streetfrom Oliver McMillan’s Buckhead Atlanta. Given the new development, we wantedthe opportunity to reposition 3024 Peachtree Road for something equally grand,”said Blum, the managing partner for both 3024 Peachtree LLP and 3030 Peachtree,LLC.
Blum’s vision is part ofa larger strategy for the north Atlanta district, which goes back over adecade. Business and community leaders have been successfully regainingmomentum in the Buckhead Village after the Streets of Buckhead project stalledduring the past recession. San Diego, Calif.-based Oliver McMillan hascommenced construction for the initial phase of Buckhead Atlanta, a 1.5 millionsquare foot mixed use project in the heart of Buckhead, directly acrossPeachtree Road from Blum’s properties.

The above photo is of Restoration Hardware's store in
Scottsdale, Ariz. The architectural style is the same as that
proposed for Buckhead, but the store on Peachtree Road
will be six stories tall.instead of this three-story store. 

“Buckhead has long beenthe shopping, entertainment, and dining destination for Atlanta and willcontinue to be,” said Blum. “There was a reason why two of the country’s bestrestaurant concepts in Disney’s ESPN Zone and Cheesecake selected these sitesmany years ago.
“As the former BuckheadVillage continues to evolve, we believe the 3024 Peachtree site has a uniqueopportunity to attract a flagship, stand-alone store alongside the newRestoration Hardware and across the street from one of the most exciting developmentsin the country,” he added.  The bigger question iswhether or not this redevelopment of the west side of Peachtree Road in thatblock will continue south. The property immediately south of 3024 PeachtreeRoad is presently occupied by a Sun Trust Bank branch. Whether the bank owns orhas a land lease for that property is not known.
Across Pharr Road to thesouth, is the former Three Dollar Café site, which has been vacant for years.The owner of that property, Frank Bradshaw, reportedly has turned down severaloffers for the property over the years, not wanting to lease it for a bar. Atone time Ben Carter had mentioned the site as the location for a hotel andtheater as part of his Streets of Buckhead plans. But it is presumed Carteronly had an option on the property, not a formal lease or purchase agreement.

Just south of Peter Blum's Cheesecake Factory property is the SunTrust
Bank property at the corner of Peachtree and Pharr roads. 

Meanwhile, as previouslyreported by BuckheadView, representatives for Restoration Hardware  filed for permits with the city of Atlanta alittle over a week ago for the company’s new concept retail store, which willmirror the style of its Scottsdale, Ariz., store, but will be six stories tallinstead of three.
As reported byBuckheadView the Restoration Hardware development team has met twice with theDevelopment Review Committee of SPI-9 (Special Public Interest district), inJanuary and earlier this month) to discuss plans for their new store.
At the February DRCmeeting, the Restoration Hardware team said it hoped to begin demolition of theformer ESPN building in May, begin construction of the new building in June andhave an opening of the new store in July or August of 2014. 
DionMeltzer, the president of Mainboard Equity, in August of 2008, purchased thesoutheast corner of Peachtree and Pharr roads, with reported future plans ofredeveloping the strip retail center with a boutique hotel and ground-floorretail to complement the original Streets of Buckhead.
But Meltzer’splan at the time involved holding the property for some time and seeing howCarter fared with  Streets of Buckhead.The stores in the strip center have turned since then, but there is noindication at present of new development.  
Thebig question is whether or not the redevelopment of the Blum properties mightjust jumpstart a snowball effect and bring about other redevelopments in thearea as Buckhead Atlanta development continues toward a late 2013 to 2014opening. We will have to wait and see.
As for the two Blumproperties, Jamie Hargather and Joseph Rogers with Wilson Hull & Neal RealEstate assisted 3030 Peachtree, LLC in negotiations with Restoration Hardware,and will spearhead the marketing efforts for the adjoining 1.75 acre site at3024 Peachtree Road.