Accelerating Land Development Across Atlanta

A Q&A With Chad Riddle

As Atlanta’s population is projected to grow by 1.8 million by 2050, reaching 7.9 million, the city’s development landscape is rapidly evolving to meet increasing demand. Fueled by strong job growth and a business-friendly environment, Atlanta is attracting investors and developers eager to tap into its booming market.

In this Q&A, Bohler’s Chad Riddle, Branch Manager of our Atlanta office, shares insights on the biggest opportunities for growth in the region and discusses the challenges the development community faces keeping pace with the city’s expansion.

What are the hottest sectors in Atlanta right now–where is the most opportunity for development?

Multifamily development is one of the hottest sectors in Atlanta, with over 22,000 units delivered in 2023 and 34,000 more expected by 2025. However, success in this high-cost market requires strategic site selection, aligning amenities with demand, and leveraging cost-saving technologies. Affordable housing is also a key focus, particularly with initiatives like Atlanta Beltline aiming to create or preserve 5,600 affordable units.

Data centers are another hot sector in Atlanta, hitting record construction levels in 2024. The region’s favorable geography, affordable power, strong fiber connectivity, and low risk of natural disasters make it an ideal location. Georgia Power’s proposed grid improvements further enhance its appeal.

Adaptive reuse is gaining momentum, transforming historic sites into vibrant retail and entertainment spaces, such as the Krog District and the Coca-Cola building. While complex renovations and regulations can be challenging, adaptive reuse projects preserve community heritage, offering benefits that residents often see as positive transformations rather than gentrification.

What is challenging the development community right now?

A key challenge for Atlanta’s development community is the growing emphasis on sustainable stormwater management, driven by the updated Georgia Stormwater Management Manual and varying local authority interpretations. Developers face complexity in site selection and design, as many authorities now require site infiltration testing, significantly impacting project layouts and stormwater management strategies.

How is Bohler helping to streamline the development process?

Bohler streamlines the development process by fostering collaboration between our survey and engineering teams, allowing for swift issue resolution and real-time adjustments. Our Atlanta survey team, led by John Newman, PLS, drives efficiency with advanced technology. Additionally, our team can perform desktop reviews to assess land features and general topography before deploying survey crews. This approach helps reduce costs and streamline workflows.

We adopt a multidisciplinary approach by integrating site planning, landscape architecture, and civil engineering from the start. This collaboration allows the team to identify site constraints early, enhance design efficiency, and blend aesthetic and functional elements like stormwater management seamlessly. The result is a cohesive and efficient project that achieves both technical and user experience goals.

What are you most excited about in the coming year?

I’m excited to expand the scope of our office’s work to include more multifamily and affordable housing projects. While we currently excel in industrial sectors, like data centers, renewable energy, and programmatic retail, we’re eager to leverage the firm’s national expertise in multifamily development and apply it to Atlanta’s local market. We have established partnerships with jurisdictional officials, which allows us to support our clients through each phase of the land development process.

I’m also looking forward to strengthening relationships with key industry players like architects and land use attorneys. Collaborating with these key players will help our clients streamline the development process, improve speed-to-market, and take a more comprehensive approach to project design, minimizing permitting delays and costly redesigns.

With Bohler’s national footprint, our local Atlanta team can leverage expertise and insights from across the country. This empowers us to be a true consulting partner, helping clients make informed decisions on everything from building placement to transportation routes. Bohler’s integrated approach gives us the unique opportunity to showcase the value of having site civil engineers involved early in the land development process, and that’s exciting! It’s great to be part of a team that pushes boundaries and delivers innovative solutions.

Ready to accelerate development across Atlanta? Connect with Chad.