By Laura Newsome

The nerve center of Atlanta, Peachtree Street begins in Buckhead, Atlanta’s quintessentially Southern neighborhood, where Bradford pears and crepe myrtle bushes garnish the elegant curbs of white-columned mansions and trendy boutiques selling designer handbags.

Atlanta’s signature street also travels through Midtown, a mature borough that bears more than a passing resemblance to midtown Manhattan, with its grassy pocket parks, loft-style living and tall oaks that compliment a towering array of modern glass skyscrapers.

Going south into the city, the street once known as Peachtree Trail crosses into Downtown, where it mingles with the great stone edifices, statues and imposing steps that characterized Atlanta a century ago, and now stand at the heart of the city’s business and architectural renaissance.

With its many identities, characterized by Buckhead, Midtown and Downtown, Atlanta’s urban core is fast becoming a hub for the young, the creative and the well appointed, as a place where an eclectic, walkable lifestyle blends with big-city business and nightlife.

Buckhead
For a taste of the Tara South, few places in Atlanta have retained a sense of Southern gentility quite like Buckhead, where private schools and sweet tea abound, and historic plantation homes display verdant garden-club lawns shaded by live oaks planted more than a century ago.

Buckhead is known for its collection of old money and its stable of doctors, lawyers, retirees and businessmen who call this urban-suburban oasis home. However, away from the well-heeled golf clubs and quiet neighborhoods dominated by families, the intersection of Piedmont and Peachtree Streets is ushering in a new era of Buckhead living, where glass and steel skyscrapers mingle with the luxury of Phipps Plaza and Lenox Mall to attract a new residential clientele to Buckhead—young, urban professionals looking for a taste of the sleek, lock-and-leave condo craze.

“The demographics of Buckhead have really changed,” says Jason Frost, vice president of development for Cousins Properties, the company behind the gleaming Terminus, a mast-like pinnacle overlooking the corner of Peachtree and Piedmont. “A lot of young, college-educated professionals are tired of their long commutes, and living inside the perimeter, just minutes from city center, has become very popular.”

Like glass and steel art pieces for a future age, Buckhead’s recent condo boom has given rise to the clean modern lines of Terminus, The Astoria, The Mansion, Mezzo and Sovereign. “Over the last 10 years, Buckhead has developed the finest retail and dining experiences in the southeastern United States,” Frost says. “As property values soared, Buckhead built itself out. There are no new subdivisions, so the only option is to construct vertical high-rises.”

To attract the hip new discerning homebuyer, high-rise condo developments like Terminus are offering up media and fitness rooms, massages on the premises, on-site dog grooming, golf training facilities, outdoor grilling stations, dog walk parks and saltwater pools, all framed by street-level retailers, boutiques and restaurants just steps from the front door.

With two of the city’s high-end malls—Lenox and Phipps—within its boundaries, Buckhead is easy to navigate by car or Marta train, and is as renowned for its numerous retail options as it is for its luxury abodes. Notable names include Versace, Armani, Kate Spade, Louis Vuitton, Coach and Gucci. “There is not a player worth their salt who is not in the Buckhead area,” Frost says. “The list of restaurants alone is phenomenal.” From the creative Southwestern cuisine cooked up at Nava, to the complex gourmet flavors of The Atlanta Fish Market, Craft, Dante’s Down the Hatch and Imperial Fez, Buckhead is home to some of the city’s finest restaurants and most unique nightlife experiences—reason enough to buy a place in this new era of luxe Buckhead living.

Midtown
If Buckhead is Atlanta’s Beverly Hills, then Midtown is the city’s version of Manhattan, an eclectic arts and business district framed by the rolling green meadows of a signature city greenspace—Piedmont Park. With Peachtree Street as its marquee thoroughfare, Midtown begins under the sparkling lights of the Fabulous Fox Theatre, and continues through booming blocks filled with historic brick mid-rises and gleaming glass high-rises with street-level shops occupied by trendy gourmet restaurants, modern furniture stores, sparse art galleries and boutiques displaying the latest fashions.

“Midtown is really the center of the city. It has experienced enormous growth, with high-quality, high-density redevelopment of all kinds,” says Shannon Powell, a spokesperson for the Midtown Alliance. Indeed, in just the last three years, Midtown has experienced a monumental vertical expansion, as vacant parking lots have been leveled to make way for mixed-use development projects that combine hotel, residential and retail into one irresistible package that appeals to residents who want walk to a coffee shop across the street.

Offering everything from dry cleaning services, on-site spas and spacious gyms to panoramic city views, walk-in closets and granite countertops, Midtown’s new skyscrapers include the likes of the elegantly curved 1010 Midtown—offering shopping, an Irish pub and banking on the first floor—Aqua, Spire, Viewpoint and many more sparkling towers are in the works. In fast-developing Midtown, there is hardly a parcel of land that isn’t spoken for and scheduled for a reveal two to three years down the road.

As Atlanta’s population moved farther and farther afield, settling into the sprawling suburban neighborhoods of the ’70s and ’80s, Midtown remained a haven for artists and single professionals, retaining much of the urban character of a booming big city, even as Atlanta’s downtown corridor rotted from within. As a result, Midtown was able to develop and retain a distinct small-town character through a stable of long-running restaurants and art houses, historic homes and mature greenery.

Today Midtown is returning to its former glory, bouncing back with a level of density previously unseen in the area. The most ambitious project slated for development is the construction of the Midtown Mile, a retail quarter stretching from the modern lines of the High Museum of Art on 14th Street to the doors of The Fox on North Avenue. “Midtown has experienced a dramatic transformation, and the Midtown Blueprint calls for more amenities that make city life alluring,” Powell says. The Midtown Mile will bring more than one million square feet of street-level retail to Peachtree Street, embellished by elegant street lamps, landscaping and trees draping over the road. With such an expansive offering of shopping, dining and nightlife, Peachtree’s Midtown Mile will rival Phipps Plaza in terms of total retail space.

Midtown’s urban renaissance has also spread beyond new condo towers and abundant street-level retail. The neighborhood’s beautification also include the Savannah College of Art and Design’s renovation of the historic Peters House on North Avenue, new green roofs and a canopy walkway at the Atlanta Botanical Garden, a 53-acre addition to Piedmont Park and numerous architectural revelations and greenspace additions to Georgia Tech’s campus.

“Midtown is centrally located—you can go anywhere in the area and the quality of life is great,” Powell says. “Midtown excels in a number of areas. It’s a mecca for growth, a hub for office and retail development, a gem for greenspace and a dining destination, with more than 80 top-rated restaurants serving all kinds of food.”

More condensed than Buckhead, Midtown scores high on the walkability quotient and offers more in the way of housing options, from historic Craftsman bungalows on Piedmont Road, and artsy and airy lofts overlooking the city lights of Peachtree Street, to elegantly-appointed walk-up townhomes and modern, clean-lined condo conversions. “People want to get off the highways—they want to live intown in little villages where they can walk to restaurants and get to know their neighbors in a small-town, organic way,” says Benita Carswell, a realtor with Bo Bridgeport Brokers. “Younger couples are beginning to move in with their families as the schools are improving, and the population is changing age-wise.”

The gentrification of Midtown is unprecedented, as young, college-educated professionals are moving in to take advantage of the artsy nightlife, and retired couples from beyond the perimeter are making their way intown to take advantage of the city’s newfound glamour. Many art and design firms, architectural firms, law offices and corporate headquarters now call Midtown home, further attracting a bevy of professionals who want to live, work and play in the city.

Besides the great housing stock and the convenience of being able to walk to it all, Midtown is the hub of Atlanta’s cultural life, with the Woodruff Arts Center home to the city’s premier symphony, as well as the renowned High Museum of Art. Verdant Piedmont Park hosts numerous festivals and plays, and the historic Fox Theatre is the place where blockbuster musical acts and theatrical productions mingle with sliver screen gems of the post-war era.

Hidden among its scenic streets, Midtown also has many edgy and independent clubs, concert halls and theatres, as well as art galleries, pottery shops, retro clothing stores, the hip new W Hotel, featuring the popular bar Whiskey Park, pub-like night spots like The Nook and Engine 11 and the whimsical Center for Puppetry Arts. Fine dining can be found on every corner, with the likes of the Zagat-rated Greek tavern Avra, the award-winning Ecco, trendy Atlanta Straits, pastry heaven Chocolate Pink, the five-star Eno, Italian favorites Baronda and Enotecca Carbonara, ethnic eateries like The Tenth and Nan, and the edgy burger haven The Vortex.

“People really want to get back to a sense of intown community living,” Carswell says. “With neighborhoods like Midtown, the only place to go is up—to more densely populated streets where you can walk or ride your bike to work. I can’t say enough good things—I adore our city!”

Downtown
Driving south down Peachtree, into the heart of Downtown Atlanta, is like channeling the grandeur of Chicago’s Magnificent Mile or New York City’s Broadway. The road is wide, and at certain times of the day, the sun barely make its way through the canyons of glass and steel, adorned with sculptures, marble steps and ornate stone pediments.

Deserted during decades of suburban flight, Downtown Atlanta became a hub for corporate headquarters and a convention destination known for spacious meeting halls, tourist attractions and packed mid-day lunch crowds that gave way to empty streets at sundown, as white-collar workers commenced their evening commute back to the suburbs.

“Downtown has changed drastically since the Olympics,” says Ellen Mendelsohn, senior project manager of economic development for Central Atlanta Progress. “It was a commercial and convention hub, but now Downtown has 27,000 permanent residents and there has been tremendous growth in the number of residences—we are seeing a new vibrancy.”

The 1996 Olympics brought redevelopment to the core of Downtown, creating the monumental urban greenspace known as Centennial Park, which spurred residential and commercial growth in the surrounding areas. The newly built Georgia Aquarium and World of Coke surround the park, creating a destination point for residents and tourists alike. “I think the Aquarium has changed the way people use and think about Downtown,” Mendelsohn says. “They can do more than they thought, and people now think of Downtown as one of the safest parts of the city. It has really changed from a dead zone to a center of activity.”

While many of Buckhead and Midtown’s grand buildings were lost to years of speculation, condemnation and the development of large-scale parking decks, Downtown’s dense urban core remains flush with the architectural heritage of the 20th century—from the blocky utilitarian buildings of the ’60s and ’70s to ornate pre-war Arts and Crafts towers carved with stone trim. Downtown’s historically black neighborhood, Sweet Auburn, is also experiencing an aesthetic and residential renaissance, while Georgia State’s neighborhood renovations include new dorms that are bringing an element of 24-hour youth culture to Downtown’s landscape. Hip and affordable restaurants, bars, bowling alleys and concert venues are sure to follow.

Rooftop restaurants and bars have gathered around the perimeter of Centennial Park, music blares from the Balthazar and Rialto theaters, Underground Atlanta buzzes with the hum of late-night revelers, and jazz clubs and art studios are popular destinations in the brick-lined streets of Castleberry Hill and Fairlie-Poplar. “In all, the city has seen more than $4.1 billion in investments and development, with historic buildings, new hotels, condos and apartments, and retail on the ground floor of every building,” Mendelsohn says. “The quality of life is great—you can walk out of your office and go grab a coffee or something to eat. Many people like going to work more—they are a lot happier after moving into the city.”

Resting at the mighty convergence of Interstates 75, 85 and 20, and located just 15 minutes from the Atlanta airport, Downtown is a hub for major corporations like Ernst & Young, Georgia Power and The Coca-Cola Company, as well as smaller graphic design and PR firms, major law firms and glimmering, high-rise hotels in the heart of it all. “There are a lot of younger professionals moving into Downtown,” Mendelsohn says. “They are fresh out of college or coming from other urban cities, and they are seeking a high-rise feel.”

As the densest neighborhood of Atlanta’s urban core, few single-family homes are available in Downtown, leaving only space for airy lofts, many converted from old factories with stacked brick walls, and modern glass condos with expansive views of the city skyline. In the works for the future is a new greenspace to enhance pedestrian play—a linear green line park that will extend from the golden peak of the Capitol to the Georgia Dome.

Besides being able to find a dream home in the air, walk to work, relax in a signature greenspace and take in major tourist attractions, Downtown is known for its abundance of nightlife, including brew pubs like Max Lager’s, steakhouses like Stats and Prime Meridian, the rollicking Shakespeare Tavern and the Sun Dial, set atop the rotating Westin, as well the CNN Center news hub and Philips Arena, where rock concerts and hockey games are on tap every night of the week.

“Downtown is poised for a lot of new retail and is ready to become the residential center we’ve been waiting for,” Mendelsohn says. “There is a lot of history, and the city’s buildings really give you a sense that things happened here. Downtown has a character that can’t be duplicated. There is a strong sense of place in Downtown—you really get a feeling that ‘this is Atlanta.’”