Living Jackson Magazine : Tom Kitchin

Tom Kitchin

Hometown commitment evident in developer's work

Being on the tenant side of retail development taught Tom Kitchin how to be the type of developer he is today. For years he owned dry-cleaning businesses in metro Atlanta, leasing space in shopping centers from Vinings to Stone Mountain, Acworth to Decatur.

“I learned from all types of landlords, the good and the bad,” said Kitchin, a developer best known for his boutique-type shopping centers close to residential areas. “I took the best from the best ones and remembered the mistakes the bad ones made so I wouldn’t repeat them. That’s how we created our philosophy.”

Kitchin and his wife, Deborah, own TDK Investments, which is directly involved in building and managing retail properties. They also have partners in their real estate development ventures: Ron and Mary Neuman and Dana and JoAnn Dow, all owners of Mulberry Village LLC, which developed Mulberry Walk in Braselton and Hoschton’s Traditions Walk. The Kitchins partnered with Pat and Kristie Burrows to build Hometown Walk, located just outside of Braselton. Andrew Depue is the executive assistant on the partners’ projects.

“I really value my partners,” Kitchin said. “Our goal is to provide a really good-looking center at a fair price.”
The buildings are typically a combination of Williamsburg and New Orleans architecture with iron, stone, stucco and brick. Each shop is distinct. Decorative steel railings and balconies complete the look.

Filling the Retail Niche with Hometown Atmosphere
Kitchin built his first property in Gwinnett County seven years ago at Hamilton Mill. The 12,000-square-foot Hamilton Walk included one of his dry cleaners. As growth moved north and east, so did Kitchin, heading to Jackson County and aligning himself with residential development.

“People can walk to shop and what we’re creating is a home-life center,” Kitchin said. “We focus on more boutiques and specialty shops and look for a good mix of tenants to suit the residents nearby.”

His Jackson County projects include the 31,000-square-foot Mulberry Walk Shopping Center in front of the Mulberry Park subdivision on Hwy. 211 in Braselton, Traditions Walk at Ga. 124 just outside of Traditions of Braselton, and Hometown Walk, a 25,000-square-foot center barely missing the town limits of Braselton and adjacent to the first location of Hometown Community Bank.

Mulberry Walk was built near Château Élan in 2004. At the time, very few new homes were nearby. Today, the center is surrounded by neighborhoods and other retail developers have followed Kitchin’s lead.

“Mulberry Walk is an excellent example of area citizens determining what happens in their own town,” said Jennifer Scott, Braselton’s town manager. “It’s always exciting for developers to show they really have great faith and caring for their community.”

Area developers appreciate the work that Kitchin’s companies do and the value his retail facilities bring to the area.

“After we led the residential march into Jackson County just four years ago, we are pleased to see the commercial beginning to rise out of the ground to support the hundreds of new families that have joined our neighborhood,” said Roy Batson with Traditions of Braselton. “What a great addition to the growing area to have an established commercial developer like Tom right next door to our community, putting together a fantastic shopping center that will benefit all the property owners here at Traditions.”

Traditions recently sponsored a concert and carnival event for property owners and used the opportunity to showcase area development.

“I placed a call to Tom and Andrew Depue to ask if they could provide me with a small rendition of their planned complex next door, something that our Traditions property owners could see would soon be right outside their neighborhood,” Batson said. “I was definitely surprised when two days later Andrew walked into my office with a 12-foot custom rendition of the complex. The Traditions neighbors were all inspired to see they would soon have a place to bank, shop and most importantly, enjoy.”

Kitchin focuses on bringing in smaller businesses, not larger retailers. When Traditions Walk Shopping Center opens later this spring, the 48,000-square-foot facility will be home to boutique and family shops, as well as smaller restaurants. It will have a branch location of Hometown Community Bank, the second in the county, plus a dry cleaner, nail salon, tanning studio and animal hospital.

As with his other developments, the property will have Kitchin’s small-town atmosphere. The design includes a clock tower as a centerpiece.

Plans are on the drawing board for Liberty Walk near Liberty Crossing subdivision on Hwy. 53 near Road Atlanta. It’s scheduled for 2008.

Putting Life in Perspective
Kitchin moved to Atlanta with his parents in 1971 from Charlottesville, Va., and subsequently attended Oglethorpe University. For 25 years, he owned and operated dry cleaning businesses. He also owned a limousine service, which he sold in 2001.

In the late 1990s, his life changed when his wife was robbed at gunpoint while working at one of the company’s dry-cleaning stores in Stone Mountain. She was unharmed, but it served as a wake-up call.

“Another dry cleaner was nearly killed in a robbery nearby, and that’s when we decided to make a change,” Kitchin said. “Moving farther out (from Atlanta) became very appealing.”

The opportunity to develop Hamilton Walk came up. “I’ve always liked building things and knew that I could be good in property management, especially since I’d been a tenant all those years,” Kitchin said. He operated the dry-cleaning store at Hamilton Walk for several years.

The Kitchins live in Jackson County and they have two children—Lara, an interior designer who graduated from the University of Georgia, and Daniel, a technician at Athens Mercedes, Nissan and Volkswagen.

Kitchin is involved in the community, serving on the board of directors for Hometown Community Bank.

“We really like being involved in the community and contributing,” he said. The family enjoys snow skiing and traveling. His uncle has researched the Kitchin family tree and discovered that Tom’s namesake, Thomas C. Kitchin from Great Britain, was brought to America to map the original 13 colonies.

“I guess I’ve got it in my blood to break new ground,” he said. “It’s great to be able to provide part of the live, work and play concept of community development.”

Tom and Deborah Kitchin are partners in both life and business, pictured here vacationing in Lake Tahoe, Calif.