Downtown Atlanta

Unfortunately, downtown has never developed into what the city and developers had hoped. Some parts of the area have a constant presence of homeless people, and for the most part, it can be seen as a bit isolated at night. The area off lower Peachtree around Underground Atlanta is particularly a bit troublesome.

Downtown Atlanta is like living in Lower Manhattan, downtown Houston, or downtown Dallas… Not necessarily the best areas within their respective cities. Truly, for those from out of state who do not see other parts of the Atlanta, it really is a shame that it leaves such a poor impression. Hopefully, Mayor Kasim Reed can work harder to clean up the area and make it more pedestrian friendly. That said, downtown is not necessarily the most desired part of town to live in and “it is what it is”.

However, there is a bright area towards the northern tip of downtown that includes the W Hotel and Residences (condos) and its famous BLT Steakhouse, Mellow Mushroom, and the Twelve Centennial highrise building. Unfortunately, that is the extent of this smaller area. Aside from what is in this three-block radius, it’s not walking distance to much of anything other than Centennial Park, the World of Coca Cola, and the Georgia Aquarium.

There is also a stretch along Peachtree central in downtown that has a piano bar, a Hooters, a Brazilian steakhouse, a seafood restaurant, and an Irish pub. These are all clustered around the Westin, Ritz Carlton, and Ellis Hotels. The Ritz’s Atlanta Grill and Cafe Intermezzo are three of the brighter spots of this area. Needless to say, many Atlantans do not visit downtown too often. That being said, the buildings that are located down here are priced accordingly. Given these attractive prices, my clients who are investors, doctors, and nurses working at Grady or Emory Hospital, or busy professionals seeking a second home near a MARTA station (which provides direct access to the airport), will likely gravitate towards this area.