It’s no secret that the BeltLine trail system has had a truly positive impact on the city of Atlanta and commercial real estate. As the planned segments get closer to being built, we decided to compare office / flex assets located around finished sections of trail to assets located along the planned routes. We surveyed approximately 0.5 miles on either side of the completed BeltLine and planned BeltLine routes, and looked at five years of historical data on over 240 assets. Here is what we found.
According to our survey, office/flex rent per SF along the BeltLine has increased by about 300% in the last five years to $33.76 per SF, while rent along the planned sections of BeltLine path have increased about 85% to $25.69 (the average increase in Atlanta was about 40%). Interestingly, during the same time period, average sales price for assets on both the completed (higher rent) and not-yet-completed (lower rent) sections of the BeltLine were $263 per SF. Does this indicate there is still upside for rents in the to-be-completed sections of the BeltLine or are buyers in the completed sections getting really good value? Presently it seems to be anyone’s guess. We will continue to monitor the market.