In a positive sign for the Midtown Mile conceptual dream, officials with the massive 12th & Midtown project say recent residential and retail leasing activity has set the benchmark for Midtown. The third phase of the development's master plan — a 23-story mixed-use tower called 77 12th — has leased 95 percent of its luxury apartments and more than 90 percent of its 20,000 square feet of retail space, officials said in a press release. "The demand for hi-rise luxury apartments among young professionals has skyrocketed this year," said Steve Baile, Senior Vice President of Daniel Corp., part of a development team that includes Selig Enterprises. "Due to its prime location in the 12th & Midtown district and vast array of state-of-the-art amenities, (the apartment tower) was perfectly poised to answer that demand." Shirley Gouffon of Selig, who called the leasing activity "unprecedented," said it's also a testament to "Midtown's growing reputation as a major dining and lifestyle destination." An observer can't help but wonder if this project and others planned for the Crescent Avenue area have the potential to launch this section of Midtown into true attraction status, like a tamer version of the Buckhead Village circa 1998.

The leasing news has come in a flurry. The 77 12th tower began preleasing in September 2012, and move-ins commenced in May. (We're guessing it was a lonely early summer at the pool). The first retail lease was announced in February, and Raw Denim staked their flag as the tower's first retail tenant three months ago. The slate of additional, pending tenants is all food-focused: Tabla, a new Indian concept, BurgerFi, Taco Diner and Max's Wine Dive.

Broadly speaking, 12th & Midtown will consume about four blocks. It's a roughly three-million-square-foot, mixed-use Goliath, offering a Class A office tower, the Loews hotel, 1010 Midtown condos and the new apartments. Officials call it "the largest single contributor" to Atlanta's Midtown Mile. That initiative, you'll recall, hopes to transform Peachtree Street into a Magnificent Mile South, so to speak.

· Recent 12th & Midtown coverage and discussion [Curbed Atlanta]

· 12th & Midtown [Project website]