Coke — the company and the cola — is an integral part of the culture and the fabric of Atlanta. And counting a workforce of nearly 7,500, the Coca-Cola Company is the largest consumer product employer headquartered in the city.
The Coca-Cola campus lies at the edge of where Downtown meets Midtown just off the busy I-75/85 Downtown Connector at North Avenue. Thousands of workers travel every day to and from the beverage company's corporate headquarters, many from apartments in and around the city. The length of commute time is one of the most important factors for that personnel in deciding where to lease an apartment to come home to after a long day at the Coke office.
So, if you factor in distance from work, drive time to get there and back and value of living conveniently, which are the best apartments in Atlanta for Coca-Cola Headquarters employees?
The 30-story building at One Coca-Cola Plaza sits just off one of the most bottlenecked highways in the nation. That means that suburban and outlier commuters can expect to sit in their car on the highway stopping and going for a good portion of the morning and evening. In fact, Atlantans spend nearly two hours on the road each day on their way to and from the office.
At the most ideal time, the average fastest commute measured for workers at Coca-Cola headquarters runs about 17 minutes driving at the fastest average of just more than 40 miles per hour. If you're coming from just inside the Perimeter, the ideal best case commute is about 15 minutes to Coke HQ. For employees traveling from far-flung suburbs like Marietta, Stonecrest or Forest Park, the optimal commute time can be up to a half-hour.
Of course, those speeds decrease and commute times increase rapidly around rush hour, as anyone who has driven on 75/85 through downtown on a Thursday morning can attest. While even at midnight you could be spending a half-hour in your car, when you extrapolate that to peak times, you can get an idea of how commutes are spread throughout Metro Atlanta into Downtown/Midtown when driving from a distance away.
Unless you can snag yourself an apartment very close to the Coca-Cola campus, or at least close enough to not have to brave miles on an interstate to get there, you're going to get stuck in rush hour traffic for a good chunk of your day. Fortunately, there are a number of apartments within striking distance of Coke headquarters from which to consider.
There are 10 requisite apartments within about five to 10 minutes of Coca-Cola corporate. Each of these 10 properties would save you more than 10 minutes of ideal commute time over the average Coke worker's commute, and a whole lot more at peak traffic rush hours. The Point at Westside, about a mile to the southwest from the office, and Centennial Place, half a mile to the southeast and just a block from the Connector, top the list with just more than 14 commuting minutes saved.
| Rank | Name of Property | Time Saved During Commute |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Point at Westside | 14.3 mins |
| 2 | Centennial Place | 14.1 mins |
| 3 | The Residences at CityCenter | 11.8 mins |
| 4 | Gables 820 West | 11.7 mins |
| 5 | Nine15 Midtown | 11.5 mins |
| 6 | Broadstone Midtown | 11.1 mins |
| 7 | Arts Center Tower | 11.0 mins |
| 8 | Accent Waterworks | 10.3 mins |
| 9 | Altitude | 10.3 mins |
| 10 | Steelworks | 10.3 mins |
So obviously, the closer you can rent to Coke headquarters, the more you'll be able to slash your commute time. But time in your car isn't the only metric on which to base your choice in an apartment. A potential renter must consider not just proximity or travel time, but the value of the rent at each property as well. After all, if you would be paying $3,000 a month for the closest apartment, but you can get a comparable one for a thousand dollars less that's just a bit farther away, that would be a better deal.
As is shown in this visualization, there are another 10 apartments near Coca-Cola that balance travel time saved to the office with lease value.
So, which Atlanta properties have the best ratio of rent to commute minutes saved? To determine the answer, we calculated how much slower or faster the commute time to Coca-Cola HQ is for each individual Atlanta-area rental property relative to the overall average for all Coke employees, then divided that number by those property's average monthly rent for a two-bedroom unit. That number determines how much the employee would shell out for that saved commuting time.
Among the top 10 best values, five properties also appeared on the above list of commute time minutes saved. But when the rent is added into the calculation, five new properties appear, including a handful upwards of three to four miles away which underline their value.
| Rank | Name of Property | Average 2BR Rent | Rent per Commute Minute Saved | Time Saved During Commute |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Residences at CityCenter | $1,140.00 | $96.37 | 11.8 mins |
| 2 | The Point at Westside | $1,675.00 | $116.89 | 14.3 mins |
| 3 | Centennial Place | $1,918.00 | $135.74 | 14.1 mins |
| 4 | Arbors at Berkeley | $1,150.00 | $138.06 | 8.3 mins |
| 5 | Oglethorpe Place | $1,185.00 | $176.08 | 6.7 mins |
| 6 | Gables 820 West | $2,172.00 | $185.17 | 11.7 mins |
| 7 | 2100 DeFoors | $1,375.00 | $194.21 | 7.1 mins |
| 8 | Accent Waterworks | $2,009.00 | $194.48 | 10.3 mins |
| 9 | 1280 West | $1,900.00 | $196.62 | 9.7 mins |
| 10 | Marquis Midtown District | $1,785.00 | $199.89 | 8.9 mins |
So, what is the best apartment in Atlanta for Coca-Cola Company headquarters employees, based on commuting time and value?
The closest property overall to Coke HQ is The Point at Westside, just under two minutes away by car based on an ideal commute time over the course of a day. That's a savings of 14 minutes compared to the average best daylong travel time for all Coke workers at a speed of 48 m.p.h. without congestion. Even at rush hour, the automotive commute from The Point at Westside is just three minutes compared to a full 32 minutes on average for all employees at a crawl of just 6.8 m.p.h.
But once you factor in rent and calculate the value of distance and lease price together, it's The Residences at CityCenter that comes out on top. While it was not the closest property to the Coke offices, it's the best value for the commute time saved. The average rent is $1,140 a month for a two-bedroom unit, with a commute time 11 minutes below the average time for all Coca-Cola employees.
As the top value for distance and price, The Residences at CityCenter is our choice for the best apartment in Atlanta for Coca-Cola Company employees.
Michael is a Philadelphia-based writer with a variety of interests, including music, TV, politics, travel and sports (Fly Eagles Fly!). His background includes a decade as a programming executive in network television, six years as a marketing executive at a technology company and time at two magazines and two advertising agencies. He also sits on the board of a non-profit law firm that assists veterans with disabilities. His work has been featured in nexxt.com, Ale Street News and Radio TV Interview Report Magazine. Michael is a proud Syracuse grad (Newhouse) who has lived in Kansas, Chicago, Saratoga and beyond.