A healthcare and medical insurance provider is taking steps toward a presence in the South Downtown area. 

The Kaiser Permanente medical building at 1175 Cascade Parkway in Atlanta

Kaiser Permanente announced Tuesday it purchased 7 acres in the Summerhill neighborhood for $31.5M for a “long-term investment in one of Atlanta’s most culturally significant and rapidly evolving neighborhoods,” the company said in a press release.

Ravae Graham, a Kaiser spokeswoman, said the company purchased 550 Hank Aaron Drive and 41 Fulton St., a former Atlanta Braves parking lot across the street from Georgia State University’s new planned baseball stadium. 

Atlanta-based real estate investment firm ANiMAL was the seller of the 41 Fulton St. property, the Atlanta Business Chronicle reported.

Without going into specifics, Kaiser stated it planned to use the land “for a variety of purposes to improve access to care,” according to the release.

Graham said the firm has no definitive plans “on purpose” in order to engage with neighborhood and community stakeholders on what is most needed. The final plan will be dictated by that feedback, she said. 

“We don’t want to just come into a community and say, ‘This is what it needs.’ We want to be as collaborative as can be,” Graham said. 

Kaiser Permanente is the second major healthcare operator to take a land stake in the city of Atlanta since the closure of Wellstar Health System’s Atlanta Medical Center in 2022.

In 2024, Charlotte-based Atrium Health bought 40 acres near the West End MARTA Station. One city council member predicted the parcel would become a new hospital for the area, the Atlanta Business Chronicle previously reported. 

Atrium has not revealed its plans for the land since the purchase.

Earlier this month, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens called on Fulton County and the state of Georgia to address the lack of medical care facilities in Southside Atlanta during a speech at the Kiwanis Club of Atlanta.

“The city’s responsibility is not healthcare. That’s not in our charter. We can give outreach, we can give advice, but we’re not responsible for healthcare,” Dickens said.

When we last reported on growth plans in Argyle, H-E-B and Baylor, Scott & White had not received government approval to build in the Heritage development. Now, things are firmed up. The Argyle Planning and Zoning Commission recommended approval for nearly 124 acres of the Heritage development, which will include an H-E-B grocery store and Baylor Scott & White wellness campus. It will be located on the southwest corner of I-35W and Robson Ranch Road.

Phase one will include a 100,000-square-foot grocery store with gas pumps, 44,000 square feet of medical office space and 36,000 square feet of retail space. Five phases are being planned.

Community Impact reports that the wellness campus proposal includes retail, fitness and medical spaces. The medical hospital is proposed to be six stories, and the medical campus may include four-story buildings. The rest of the proposed development would be dedicated to commercial retail and not exceed 50 feet in height.

In an increasingly digital telecommunications world, there continue to be millions of residential and business customers who depend on technology their great-grandparents may have known: POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service) lines that transmit analog signals over copper loops. Aware that such systems are rapidly becoming obsolete, providers such as VirtualPBX are helping businesses make the switch and in the process future-proof their communications. Connect CRE recently spoke with Justin Goodpaster, Sales Manager with VirtualPBX, on what’s at stake in this transition. 

Q: Are there cohorts, either business or residential, that still use POTS widely? Are they sizable enough to represent a stumbling block for phasing out landlines altogether? 

A: Yes, there are still tens of millions of copper lines in use. Many businesses rely on them for critical systems like elevators and fire alarms, while a sizable group of consumers continues to use them for straight forward telephone service as well. Our focus is primarily on the business side, with our AirDial product providing a solution that’s ideal for property managers and those managing multiple buildings. 

Q: From a regulatory standpoint, what are some of the factors behind regional differences in the rate of phasing out POTS? 

A: The breakup of AT&T’s Bell System created a patchwork of regional telecom providers, such as CenturyLink, Frontier, and AT&T, each controlling different areas. As a result, the phase-out timeline varies by region. In some areas—like Delaware, Connecticut, and parts of Michigan—providers have given clear deadlines, telling customers they must transition by a certain date because they no longer have the technicians or equipment to maintain the physical lines. Another factor is pricing. Telecom companies are using a carrot-and-stick approach, significantly increasing the cost of POTS lines to encourage migration. I’ve seen nonprofit organizations paying over $1,000 per month for a single POTS line just to connect a fire alarm. 

After the FCC deregulated the public switched telephone network in 2023, providers have been eager to exit the POTS business. While modern telecommunications rely on IP-based networks, these companies still maintain aging infrastructure, which is costly to support. Regional differences play a significant role in the phase-out. In states like New Hampshire and Connecticut, I’ve heard from customers who say there’s only one technician responsible for the entire state. If a line goes down, it could take a week to restore service. This makes transitioning to a modern solution critical—not only for cost savings and future-proofing but also for compliance. Fire alarm and elevator lines being down for a week is simply not acceptable and often violates local codes. 

Q: Does VirtualPBX work with regulators on moving to digital formats, whether on a one-to-one basis or through industry groups?  

A: Yes. Our AirDial product has  been endorsed by the FDNY and the California Fire Marshal among others. Fire alarms and elevators are particularly critical since they must meet specific codes. Regulations vary by county and state, covering requirements like backup power duration, the number of lines, and other safety measures. Non-compliance can lead to significant fines—sometimes tens of thousands of dollars—for fire and elevator systems. 

Q: Are there specific concerns that regulators bring up as far as making the transition?  

A: One of the biggest concerns is ensuring systems meet redundancy and battery backup requirements. Some customers have adopted solutions that lack these features—such as a single-line setup without backup power—only to face fines for non-compliance. Regulators want to ensure that critical systems, like elevator phones and fire alarms, continue functioning during a power outage. If someone is trapped in an elevator, for example, both the phone and alarm must remain operational. 

Another concern is network reliability. Over the past year, we’ve seen downtime incidents with AT&T and other wireless carriers. That’s why we provide redundancy through an Internet connection—typically fiber, with 4G as an additional backup. If one network goes down, communication can continue. Relying solely on a 4G SIM card can be risky because if cell towers fail, service is lost. Likewise, traditional POTS lines aren’t foolproof; if a telephone pole is damaged, the line goes down with no redundancy. 

Overall, modern solutions improve reliability, but regulators emphasize that battery backup and redundancy are essential for compliance and safety. Many customers come to us after being fined because their initial solution didn’t meet these requirements. We not only meet the requirements, we exceed them with options like customizable notifications that inform stakeholders when emergency calls are made or when their unit switches to use backup battery power.  

Q: Let’s skip ahead about five years. What do you anticipate that the telecommunications landscape will look like in 2030?  

A: Over the next two to three years, we expect increasing pressure from major providers like AT&T and CenturyLink to phase out legacy copper lines. We’re already seeing this, with AT&T raising prices and introducing alternative solutions to push customers off POTS. While it’s unlikely that the transition will be fully complete within five years, entire regions will be well on their way to shutting down their copper PSTN networks, forcing businesses and property owners to switch to cellular, IP-based solutions, or services like ours. 

For property managers and commercial real estate owners, now is the time to prepare. In some areas, businesses are still paying relatively low costs for POTS, but that will change soon—likely within the next two to three years. We’ve already seen full network shutdowns in other countries, including Canada. By 2030, I expect entire regions, if not most of the U.S., to have fully transitioned away from copper-based networks. 

South Hills Mall will finally get its new look. Three years after spending $38.4 million to buy the mall in Cary, the town has greenlighted developers to build a mixed-use project on the 44 acres.

Loden Properties and Northpond Partners are the team behind the large project, which calls for a mix of residential, office, hotel, retail and a sports complex. A bond referendum on the November ballot in Cary would provide funding for the sports complex.

The timeline for the 44.35-acre development will span 10 to 15 years, with Loden and Northpond planning to start construction late next year. In addition to 1,755 residential units and 350 hotel rooms, here’s what Loden and Northpond are looking to bring to the site:

• 935,000 square feet of office space
• 550,000 square feet of retail/commercial space
• 328,000 square feet for a community and sports recreation center
• 235,000 square feet for research and lab space

Crescent Communities is hoping to get final approvals from Mecklenburg County to build a 31- story high-rise at 1102 S. Tryon St. in South End. The company took out permits with the county totaling $126.3 million.

The Charlotte Business Journal reports Crescent, along with Nuveen Real Estate, announced the project in February 2022. The developers paid $37 million in 2022 for the 3-acre property at the intersection of Carson and South Tryon streets.

The mixed-use development called Carson & Tryon included 560,000 square feet of office space, 10,000 square feet of retail space, 200 Novel-branded apartments and a 200-room boutique hotel.

It is also to include an 18,000-square-foot sky terrace with outdoor meeting space, casual lounge space and unobstructed views of uptown and South End, as well as a 12,000-square-foot indoor amenity lounge will have a fitness center, locker rooms, wellness programming and on-site conference and boardroom spaces.

The Spectrum Cos.’ Virginia Luther and Dillard Williams are handling office leasing at the project.

The City of Atlanta and a team of developers are ready to move forward with the redevelopment of Mall West End. The 12-acre site will be redeveloped into a mixed-use project led by BRP Companies and The Prusik Group. The acquisition is the first step in the $450 million redevelopment of the property into a mixed-income, mixed-use affordable housing development.

Funding includes a $5 million acquisition loan from Atlanta Urban Development, $5 million from Atlanta Beltline, Inc., and $19 million in acquisition financing provided by Merchants Capital.

Construction on the Mall West End redevelopment is expected to begin in 2025, with phase one completion slated for 2026.

The current plan includes:

125,000 square feet of retail, including a grocery store, fitness center, food & beverage, and local boutiques. 900 mixed-income rental units, with 70% workforce housing, 20% affordable at 50% AMI, and 10% at 80% AMI. A minimum of 10,000 square feet of affordable commercial space is allocated for qualified small, local businesses. Student-targeted housing. A planned 150-key hotel. A planned 12,000 square feet of medical office space.

Capkov Ventures has acquired all of the necessary entitlements to move forward on a mixed-use project on 99 acres in Hillsborough. In total, the development will have 450 apartments, 205 townhomes, 40,000 square feet of neighborhood commercial space and 200,000 square feet of medical office space. There will also be a public connection to the University of North Carolina and its nearby medical campus. The medical office space will sit directly next to the UNC Hospitals Hillsborough Campus and could eventually include a new hospital. An economic analysis done for Capkov indicated the project could create more than 1,500 jobs.

The rezoning came with a handful of conditions including performing upgrades to the Hillsborough sewer system and making 15 percent of the housing units at Waterstone affordable to those making 80 percent of the area median income.

The developer would most likely start construction in fall 2025. The first portions to be developed would be the for-sale townhomes and medical and commercial side.

Vestcor and Group 4 Design have received approvals from Jacksonville to begin construction on two affordable apartment complexes, in different parts of town.

The Vestcor Cos. received a $13.1 million permit for the construction of the Gavin Point Apartments on the town’s Southside at 4025 Salisbury Road. The 105-unit affordable complex will be four stories and 102,800 square feet. Vestcor has a handful of developments up and going in and around Jacksonville.

Group 4 Design, received three permits totaling $13.2 million on behalf of Ability Housing. The nonprofit will construct three buildings, each with 30 units, at 5051 Harlow Blvd., called Village at Cedar Hills (photo).

Each apartment building is 32,568 square feet and three stories. Ability Housing purchased 7.2 acres of land for the project in 2021 for $950,000. The company plans to convert a vacant Northside elementary school into apartments beginning this summer.

Larry Ellison, the company’s CEO, said the move of its headquarters was made to be closer to healthcare facilities. Oracle is heavily invested in a Nashville healthcare company, Cerner Corp., buying it for $28 billion in December 2021. It’s unclear how much of a presence the company will still have in Austin, the home of its current headquarters.

Ellison said the $1.3 billion Nashville site will have office buildings, a community clinic, restaurants, hotels, a concert venue, and a floating stage on the lake for community concerts.

The campus will be built on a 70-acre parcel along Nashville’s downtown riverfront that Oracle purchased in 2021 for $250 million. In 2021, Metro Council members voted to approve the plan for a 65-acre campus in East Nashville. The software giant’s move to Nashville is expected to create 8,500 jobs over the next decade. Company officials have said the offices will be open and operating by 2031.

In a move that is sure to be a shot in the arm to the flagging occupancy rate in Charlotte, Vanguard acquired the newly constructed 700,000-square-foot office complex in the University City Neighborhood. The company paid $117 million for it. The building and 91-acre site was initially planned to serve as Centene Corp.’s East Coast headquarters. Centene dropped the idea in August 2022.

The new offices will house all of the area’s 2,400 employees, who are dispersed around town in various other offices. JLL brokers represented Vanguard in the sale, while Cushman & Wakefield represented Centene. 

The new campus, located at 2405 Governor Hunt Road near the Charlotte Blue Line rail link, is expected to open in 2025. Amenities include dedicated collaboration spaces, a conference center, full-service cafeteria, outdoor eating and walking areas, EV charging stations, and a fitness center.