30 Mar Downtown Forest Park LCI
Location: Clayton County, GA
Client: The City of Forest Park, GA, with the support of the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC)
Lead Consultant: Lord Aeck Sargent (LAS)
Services provided: Market Analysis and Real Estate Demand Forecast
The KB Advisory Group (KB) 2021 Market Study for the Downtown Forest Park LCI
In 2020, the City of Forst Park in Clayton County, GA, received a grant from the Atlanta Regional Commission. The award was for a study of the City’s Main Street Overlay District. The Downtown Forest Park LCI effort would update the previous Livable Centers Initiative Study (LCI). The update includes a five-year development and implementation strategy that capitalizes on vacant properties and creates retail, residential, and commercial development access.
A Perspective
Like the rest of the nation, the Atlanta region is experiencing societal shifts. Many factors impact the housing and real estate market in Forest Park. In 2020 and 2021, those included the following:
- The rise of smaller, non-traditional households
- Post-Great Recession Economics
- Post-COVID Impacts
The role of KB Advisory Group (KB) was to determine the current local real estate market trends and future needs that could be met in the Downtown LCI Study Area.
Market Analysis and Real Estate Demand Forecast
KB was the market study and implementation funding lead. The firm assisted Forest Park by comprehensively looking at the factors impacting real estate supply and demand and identifying Downtown’s development potential. KB also helped the LCI consultant team develop catalyst project concepts and an implementation strategy.
KB’s Scope for the Downtown Forest Park LCI
The analysts at KB collected and examined existing economic, demographic, and real estate market conditions over the next decade. They defined a Forest Park LCI Market Area, the geography expected to generate support for new real estate. Then the firm assessed and characterized the commercial and residential uses and development patterns in the LCI Study Area and the surrounding Market Area.
KB focused on answering questions about opportunities in the LCI Study Area. The firm provided a forward-looking assessment of how best to achieve Forest Park’s goals for the area. KB’s data-driven analytical evaluation helps leadership make appropriate decisions regarding the future development of the Downtown area.
The firm recognizes that societal shifts, new demographics, transportation, communication, and lifestyle patterns lead to transformative change. That change impacts the operation of our economies and communities. KB’s work on this LCI can inform land use and development policy decisions in the coming decade.