Georgia’s Newest Lake: Hickory Log Creek Dam in Canton
Posted: Wednesday, December 26th, 2007, 8:05 am EST
Category: Real Estate News
Construction on the dam to build Hickory Log Creek Resorvoir, in Canton, GA finished up last week. The reservoir will cover 370 acres when full, and offer 15 miles of shoreline. Compared to Lake Lanier’s 38,000 acres of water, and 692 miles of shoreline at normal level and Lake Allatoona’s 12,010 acres. Now if we could just get some rain to slow the drought, the resorvoir could begin to fill. It is projected to take 2 years to fill the lake. The AJC has good coverage of the process and added this about the drought and resorvioir: "The ongoing drought — the harshest on record — has reduced Hickory Log Creek to a trickle. Last week, the flow of the Etowah River tributary was about 2 cubic feet, about 15 gallons, a second. Normal flow is 10 cubic feet a second. That’s one reason it will take as long to fill the reservoir as it did to build the 180-foot high dam."
You can view a photo slideshow with informational comments at ajc.com.
Visit the official Hickory Log Creek Dam website and gain useful info at Hickory Log Creek Wikipedia.
Here is a cool ‘bird’s eye view’ of a conceptual model of what the lake might look like.
Canton is Moving On Up: Sembler Names Stores
Posted: Saturday, December 22nd, 2007, 10:31 am EST
Category: Real Estate News
Almost everyone I come across in Cherokee County asks me what I know about the Sembler Project: Canton Marketplace?
I know a lot about the Canton Marketplace project… I have walked the site, in the mud. Yes, we chose one of the 2 days it has rained in Georgia this year to walk freshly graded real estate. I have seen where the new parkway will go down to cross Canton Creek. I have met with the property owner who owns the site directly behind the Sembler Project. I also talked the City Manager of Canton and I continue to check in on Sembler’s website for updates. I can tell you where the parkway is going, where the sewer lift station is going, how many beds the new Northside Hospital is projected to be upon completion (300), and I can tell you that York is planning an apartment project along the new parkway. I can also tell you that the parkway is to be primarily funded with private money, although the DOT has committed to help and it’s my understanding that some county/City of Canton SPLOST dollars may contribute as well. But what everyone really wants to know is…
What stores are going to be at Canton Marketplace? So, here’s a list of committed retailers and restaurants:
Retail Announced for Canton Marketplace
Lowe’s (139410 SF)
Super Target (178,137 SF)
Kohl’s (89,911 SF)
OfficeMax (18,000 SF)
PetsMart (20,000 SF)
Best Buy (30,428 SF)
Dick’s Sporting Goods (45,000 SF)
Linens ‘n’ Things (28,500 SF)
T.J. Maxx (28,000 SF)
Off-Broadway (18,000 SF)
Old Navy (15,000 SF)
The Cherokee Ledger also reports Books a Million and Marshalls, although they don’t appear on Sembler’s Site Plan
Restaurants Announced for Canton Marketplace
Taco Mac (6,900 SF)
Steak ‘N Shake (3,800 SF)
Olive Garden (7,399 SF)
Jim n Nick’s BBQ (6,537 SF)
Golden Corral (11,835 SF)
The Cherokee Ledger aslo reports…The opening of the first stores in the 800,000-square-foot center has been extended about six months beyond the previously announced timeline, from 2008 to 2009. Extensive planning has been put into Canton Marketplace, (Sembler Company President Jeff) Fuqua said, adding the entire center is to be completed by summer of 2009. “It’s architecturally very attractive,” Fuqua said.
Here are some links to other Sembler projects in Georgia, to give you a feel for their architectural quality: Perimeter Place, Town Brookhaven, & Edgewood Retail District
Canton Marketplace Site Plan:
Price Reduced! Great East Cobb Home!
Posted: Thursday, December 20th, 2007, 12:40 pm EST
Category: Real Estate News
Price Just Reduced on this East Cobb Gem! $330,000! This is a fabulous 3BD/3 1/2 BA home in the active swim/ tennis community of St. Charles Square!
This home sits on a great level and private lot with wonderful lush wooded views! The Master bedroom is located on the Main floor and boasts a beautiful fireplace perfect for cozy nights!
Enjoy the full -finished basement w/Rec. Room and stone fireplace. The Rec. Room is perfect for entertaining or even possibly converting into a 4th bedroom!
Don’t miss out on all this home has to offer! You can’t beat the location! Convenient to great shopping and I-75/ I-575!
Don"t Miss out on the GREAT BUYER INCENTIVES!
~ $2,500 Decorative Allowance
~ 1 Yr. Home Warranty
2008 Outlook: As Wachovia Sees It
Posted: Thursday, December 20th, 2007, 8:58 am EST
Category: Real Estate News
I have a great resource and wonderful business partner in David Bell at Wachovia. They have great loan products and excellent business services for commercial real estate buyers and tenants. As a trusted partner, David Bell provides the Wachovia "outlook" on a monthly and occasional basis. Today he sent me the following forecast/outlook for 2008:
"Each month I send out Wachovia’s monthly economic outlook with some highlights and comments. This month the report is our 2008 Annual Outlook for the Economy. This document is 20 pages long and I have opted to provide a link for to read vs attaching to this email. As usual, I have provided highlights.
Simply select the link above and you can read the details.
Executive Summary
.. The outlook for the national economy continues to depend upon how well the
consumer navigates through four major headwinds: the housing slump, rising
energy costs, a tightening credit environment, and a weakening job market.
The American Consumer
.. Consumer spending will slow, but not collapse in 2008, as job and income
growth underpin continued gains. Despite slower average employment gains in
the coming year, job growth should be sufficient to produce wage and salary
gains of around five percent.
.. The slowdown in consumer spending coupled with steady income growth
means that income growth will outpace spending growth for the first time in
five years. As a result, the saving rate will rise.
.. Growth will not be uniform, many areas will face sharper declines in home
prices, and these adjustments will weigh heavily on local economies.
Housing & Residential Construction
.. Housing will continue to decline into the new year and we do not expect any
meaningful recovery on a national basis before the end of the decade. Many
areas are facing longer workout periods.
.. Prices need to decline as much as 20 to 30 percent in markets such as California
and Florida, where the run-up in home prices has created severe affordability
issues for potential residents. Nationally, prices will need to decline only 10 to
15 percent from peak-to-trough.
Interest Rates
.. The Fed will need to cut the federal funds rate twice more in the first quarter.
Recent actions suggest the Fed is committed to ensuring liquidity and the
stability of global money markets. However, with renewed growth in the U.S.
economy and lingering concerns of inflation, the FOMC will be in a position to
begin tightening by year-end.
.. Treasury yields will remain range-bound in the coming year, and newfound
steepness should remain in the curve in the coming year.
.. The Fed’s coordinated action with other major central banks may not be a cureall
for the credit market problems, but it was certainly a step in the right
direction. We look for LIBOR-to-Treasury spreads to narrow after the year-end
pressures subside.
The Dollar
.. The Dollar may have reached a bottom in its five year slide recently. It should
begin a slow move higher against European currencies by the second half of
2008, when foreign central banks will be easing into the face of renewed Fed
tightening. However, we look for the greenback to depreciate further versus
most Asian currencies. "
Thanks David for providing our readers/web viewers with a macro-outlook for 2008. On a local level , I do expect the real estate market to recover sooner than California and Florida. It is obvious that Metro Atlanta has never experienced inflated appreciation. Therefore we will not be as slow to recover as other beach and over-inflated growth ares will be. I expect Metro Atlanta to stabilize by 3rd Quarter 2008 and begin a new growth phase in 2009. In other words, NOW is the perfect the TIME TO BUY REAL ESTATE in Metro Atlanta. It may not be a great to sell, but things will change will sooner than the national market as job growth is steady, interest rates are low and Atlanta continues to have one of the lowest cost-of0living factors in the country.
If anyone is considering purchasing commercial real estate in the I-575 Corridor of Cobb, Cherokee or Pickens County, please consider David Bell for your finance resource.: David Bell, Business Banking Manager, 678-627-3716.
Ready for a New Pad? First Time Home Buyers Won’t Want to Miss This!
Posted: Wednesday, December 12th, 2007, 2:27 pm EST
Category: Real Estate News
First Time Home Buyer’s Seminar
January 24, 2008
6:30pm-8:00pm
2401 Lake Park Drive Suite 300
Smyrna, GA. 30080
Are you looking to buy your first home? Join us for a free First Time Home Buyer’s Seminar! There is absolutley no cost to you! Reservations must be made by January 22,2008! Call (404) 348-0420 to reserve your spot!
Training materials will be given to each family! This seminar will give you the great information and preparation you will need to purchase a home!
Light refreshments will be served. Registration starts at 6:30pm!
Seminar presented by:
Jennifer Cowan
Maxsell Real Estate
www.TheCowanConnection.com
and
Sally W. Hamby
Sunshine Mortgage Corporation
www.sunshinemortgage.com/sally.hamby
