There's a new player with a familiar face in the race to build apartment towers in Buckhead, ground zero for top-shelf rentals. Developer John Kusmiersky is planning a 39-story luxury high-rise next door to Phipps Plaza that, at more than 500 feet, would be Atlanta's tallest residential tower in several years, the Atlanta Business Chronicle reports. The project is called 1000 Park Avenue, and it would launch the second phase of Kusmiersky's "Park Avenue" concept near the luxury mall. The proposed tower would include at least 200 units and basically mirror the existing 750 Park Avenue tower (pictured here), which was opened in 1999.

If the California developer's name rings a bell, that's probably because Kusmiersky is credited with starting Atlanta's luxury high-rise cravings when he built Park Place on Peachtree Street nearly 30 years ago, the newspaper writes. Kusmiersky recently submitted plans for the 39-story tower to the zoning watchdogs at Livable Buckhead, and the project would also be subject to the stringent Development Review Committee for SPI-12.

Competition for renters could be fierce. From Buckhead to Brookhaven, nearly 3,000 apartment units are in the works — and construction has begun on more than 2,600 of those. It's possible that Park Avenue is aiming for a more upper-crust clientele than many of its competitors in the neighborhood. As the newspapers notes, there's also a chance some units could be switched to condos, should the market dictate.

[The existing Park Avenue tower in Buckhead. Photo: Zillow]

· 39-story apartment tower proposed for Buckhead [Atlanta Business Chronicle]

· For $825K, Views Don't Quit At Atlanta's 'Park Avenue' [Curbed Atlanta]

· Post Adds Tower to 3,000 Planned Buckhead Apartments [Curbed Atlanta]

· 19 & 26-Story Apartment Towers Slated for Buckhead [Curbed Atlanta]