Sam Massell delivers strong economic recovery message during casual State of Buckhead talk

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The unofficial but undisputed Mayorof Buckhead Sam Massell gave his annual State of Buckhead talk to the BuckheadBusiness Association on Thursday. The message was about a strong economicrecovery, but the presentation was unusually casual before the crowd of about100 attendees.

Sam Massell speaking to BBA

Massell told the crowd ofpredominantly business owners/representatives and civic leaders his predictions tothis group of a few years ago about the recession were right on point.
“I said Buckhead would be the lastto feel the recession and the first to come out of it, and that’s exactly whathappened,” Massell told the group at the BBA’s weekly breakfast meeting at theCity Club of Buckhead.
Theman who has presided over the Buckhead Coalition for over 24 years as itspresident joked and kept the audience smiling as he discussed the variousdevelopments coming up for Buckhead as it emerges from the economic downturnand why Buckhead has and will continue to prosper and grow.

 “We know that if we make the place pleasant enoughand attractive enough, it becomes the address of choice. It will pay dividends,and that’s exactly what’s happening today,” Massell said. “Buckhead hassomething for everybody, and it will continue to be so, in my opinion.”
The Buckhead name and thecommunity’s legacy is national and even international, the former Atlantamayor, real estate professional, travel agency executive and civic leader said.

Sam Massell, left, with BBA President Brian Daughdrill 

“When you go to Little Rock, Ark.and tell them you’re from Atlanta, they don’t say, 'Tell me about Midtown.'They say, 'Tell me about Buckhead.' That’s not by accident. The image ofBuckhead has been built with the leadership of the community and over and overwith the help of the media explaining what we have and what we offer.”
Massellquipped, “If from time to time it looks like I’m competing with downtown andMidtown, I am.”
The Buckhead Coalition is oneexample of the community’s leadership, providing 25 years of service as asupplement to local government….an advocate for Buckhead but not as anadversary to local government officials.  
In addition to the Coalition,Massell pointed out Buckhead has 40 neighborhood associations, 34 houses ofworship, 13 PTAs, nine service organizations “which all have leaders who arepushing forward for the progress and prosperity of our community.”
Massell rattled off a list ofaccomplishments that show the strength of the Buckhead community:

• There currently are 3,549 apartmentsunder development in some stage in Buckhead that were announced between Jan. 1,2012 and now. If the area continues with this pace, Buckhead will have doubledits inventory in six years.
• Buckhead has 50 banks, representing21 firms–six of which are headquartered in Buckhead. “Because that’s where themoney is,” he said.
• Most of Atlanta’s population growthfrom the 2000 to 2010 census was in Buckhead,. "It's a pretty goodindicator we got something going that's good," he said.
• It was a Buckhead resident whoarranged to buy the New York Stock Exchange for $8.2 billion….”That’s billiondollars,” he emphasized.
• Retailsales in Buckhead grew by 6 percent in 2012 over the previous year.
• Buckheadhas the lowest office space vacancy rate in Atlanta, which is 23 percentlower than the rates in Midtown and Downtown.
• Early into the recession, Buckhead had four half-millionsquare-foot office buildings under construction for which the community was “ridiculedby the Wall Street Journal as well as the Atlanta Business Chronicle,” Massellexplained. He said he is proud that three of the buildings are “practicallyfull and the other is underway. We had the supply when the demand came back.”
• While there is no new office spacebeing built in most of Atlanta, he said there are two under construction inBuckhead, on Peachtree Road at Tower Place and a medical office building atPeachtree Road and Bennett Street.

Part of the Buckhead Business Association audience that heard Massell
speak on the State of Buckhead at the City Club of Buckhead Thursday.

 Massell said he wanted to keep his talk this year unscriptedand allow more time for audience questions, which he did.
One association member asked about the status of the BuckheadAtlanta mixed-use project, formerly called Streets of Buckhead and owned byBuckhead developer Ben Carter, and now owned by San Diego-based developerOliverMcMillan. It had remained dormant for more than 2½ years beforeconstruction resumed in August.

“It’s under way. It looks slower than what youmight have wanted to see,” he said. “But cranes are moving, concrete is beingpoured, bricks are ready to be stacked.” He said the project will provideseveral new opportunities for Buckhead retail and buying, and it will beopening late next year.

Buckhead CID Chairman David Allman, left, was at the head
table with BBA President-elect Brian McGuire, center, and
Buckhead Coalition President Sam Massell. 

Massell also praised the Buckhead Community ImprovementDistrict and its chair David Allman for “its wonderful partnership,” raisingabout $50 million from its commercial property stakeholders and spending mostit to provide safer, smoother transportation through Buckhead.
“You see much more pedestrian traffic along Peachtree Road inBuckhead now and the beautification is a win, win, win,” Massell added.
Allman was at the head table for the meeting and waspresented his 2012 “Bullish on Buckhead,” award trophy, which he was not present toreceive at the BBA’s annual luncheon in January.

The former Realtor closed his speechwith a reminder he has offered each year: “Think about the opportunity, when itpresents itself, of buying a little bit of Buckhead and taking care of it nowand it will take care of you later.”