AGL realizes tall ambition

By Kevin Duffy
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 03/01/08

Atlanta Gas Light is looking skyward for new customers.

The gas pipeline company is striking deals with developers of condominium towers to install gas meters for each unit — a new concept in metro Atlanta.

Next winter, residents high up in Mezzo, a 20-story tower under construction in south Buckhead, will be able to cozy up on a patio in front of a gas-log fireplace.

Mezzo, which is scheduled to open this year, and the planned Trump Tower in Midtown will be the first Atlanta condo buildings to have gas meters for every residence.

AGL is in discussions to expand its vertical service to 17 other condo projects. That could be 5,000 additional customers, said the parent company, AGL Resources.

The utility has always had the capability of growing upward to serve homeowners. But it didn't seriously consider that direction until last year when two converging trends became apparent: Condos are increasingly popular, and so is cooking as a hobby and social activity.

Homeowners, even those 30 stories up, want to create gourmet meals like celebrity chefs do on television. And those chefs use gas.

"At this price point and this level of buyer, gas cooking is certainly the preferred method," said Jimmy Baugnon, a director with Wood Partners, developer of the two Trump Towers.

Wood Partners initiated a conversation with AGL more than a year ago about providing gas service for the first tower, which is 47 stories tall.

That building, scheduled to break ground this year and open in 2011, will have 363 homes with gas cooktops. Approximately 50 units will also have fireplaces. The eighth-floor amenities area will include a gas-heated pool and a gas fire pit.

Arthur Ahn, a Warner Robins resident who owns three Japanese steakhouses, bought a condo on the 37th floor of the Trump building. He and his wife plan to retire there —- and cook. A favorite dish is a slow-cooked soup with chicken and ginseng.

"Right now I use a gas stove, and electric as well," Ahn said. "It's good to have those combinations."

East Cobb County resident Andy Heygate bought an eighth-floor, one-bedroom unit at Mezzo as an investment. Gas is a plus, he said.

"In terms of marketability, it has more appeal to future buyers, and people who will rent it," Heygate said.

AGL holds classes to teach real estate brokers about gas so they can use it as a selling tool. Broker Barbara Malm of Jenny Pruitt and Associates took the AGL class twice.

"Cooking has become much more of a way of entertaining for people," Malm said. "And a fireplace is almost a have-to-have in a condo these days."

At Mezzo, units on the 17th, 18th and 19th floors will have patio fireplaces.

"It started with AGL trying to sell gas," said John Jones, executive vice president of Tivoli Properties, the Mezzo developer. "It was an idea that evolved out of multiple meetings."

Offering gas adds little to the developers' cost. As long as the condo building is big enough to justify the work, AGL will shoulder the cost of running the gas line to the meters. It owns that infrastructure, and the homeowner owns the gas pipes inside the condo.

Developers say the one construction challenge posed by gas is installing enough vents to expel carbon dioxide. Solving that problem can mean making compromises, such as eliminating gas dryers and building just a few fireplaces. At the Trump Tower, for example, fireplaces will be available only in the big homes up top and in smaller corner units.

The gas meters will be grouped in utility closets on each floor. The meter reader will ride the elevator and point his meter-reading device at the closets to measure the units' usage.

Donna Peeples, vice president of marketing for AGL Resources, said that when it comes to providing gas service, a condo high-rise is not all that different from a cul-de-sac neighborhood.

"It's a subdivision in the sky," Peeples said. And "it's a great market niche."

HOT FACTS ABOUT GAS

300: Length in feet of the vertical gas main at Mezzo

15: Maximum time in minutes that will be spent reading gas meters in high-rise condo building

5,000: The number of potential new customers if AGL provides gas service to 17 future condo buildings

90: The percentage of natural gas used as energy and not lost

4: The percentage increase in a home's value if it has gas

9 out of 10 chefs prefer natural gas over electricity, the American Gas Association says

Source: AGL Resources