Combine a career based on building Atlanta with a long record of service to the community, and you’ve got yourself a description of William A. “Billy” Mitchell, chairman of Carter & Associates.

“There have been a lot of people that have been successful in this industry, but Billy Mitchell stands out,” said Michael Pelt, chief investment officer of M.D. Hodges Enterprises Inc., and president of the Georgia chapter of the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP). “He exemplifies character and integrity he’s truly a first-class individual in both the industry and the community.”

Mitchell is this year’s recipient of The Carter/Mathis Award, the highest honor bestowed by the local NAIOP chapter. Named for Atlanta commercial real estate icons Frank Carter and Harvey Mathis, the annual award recognizes a firm or individual that has made a lasting, positive impact on the real estate industry and the community.

A native of Atlanta with a degree in economics from Vanderbilt University, Mitchell began his real estate career in 1967 with Carter & Associates after working for Trust Company Bank and briefly heading up Security Federal Savings and Loan. He was hired by Frank Carter, an event that marked the beginning of a relationship that had a major impact on Mitchell.

“Frank was looking for some new young people to work for him, and I was fortunate enough to get offered a job,” Mitchell said. “I was kind of his assistant for a number of years. Frank Carter trained me in everything I know about the real estate business and I also gained a lot of what I know about life from him.”

First serving as Carter’s senior development officer and progressing over the next 35 years to his present position, Mitchell has played a lead role in putting together a number of developments that have both blazed trails in Atlanta’s suburbs and dramatically redefined the city’s urban skyline.

Projects developed by Carter & Associates under Mitchell’s watch include Northlake Mall and Northlake Office Park, as well as Cumberland Mall (the metro area’s first enclosed mall with four anchor tenants) and Cumberland Office Park, all in the early 1970s. Later on, after completing 1100 Spring Street and working with Prudential Life Insurance on a major renovation of mixed-use mega-development Colony Square, Carter developed projects that included its own headquarters building at 1275 Peachtree St., the 433,000-square-foot long-lines building for AT&T Corp., and the 557,000-square-foot 1100 Peachtree and 429,000-square-foot Campanile buildings, both for BellSouth Corp.

Mitchell also has overseen Carter developments in other Southeastern markets, including the 891,000-square-foot Bank of America Plaza mixed-use complex and 1.1 million-square-foot Carolina Place regional mall, both in Charlotte, N.C.

Over the course of his career, commercial real estate has evolved from a business dominated by entrepreneurs to one with a greater emphasis on professionalism, Mitchell said.

“I think that the people involved in the real estate business have worked hard to become more integral parts of their communities,” he said.

ATLANTA – The House Democratic Caucus elected State Representative Billy Mitchell (D-Stone Mountain) as the House Minority Caucus Chairman during caucus elections on Tuesday, November 10, 2020.

“I do consider it an honor to be elected by my peers – some of whom are among the best public servants this state has ever known – to chair the House Minority Caucus,” said Chairman Mitchell. “Even during these pandemic times and on the horizon of reapportionment and other legislative challenges, I look forward to working with every member of the House of Representatives in fashioning policy that will benefit all Georgians.”

This will be Chairman Mitchell’s 10th term in the Georgia House of Representatives and his first term as Minority Caucus Chairman, after serving terms as Chief Deputy Whip and Vice Chairman.

Chairman Mitchell will also assume the presidency of the National Black Caucus of State Legislators (NBCSL) come December 2020.NBCSL is the organization that represents the interests of the nation’s African-American state legislators, who serve more than sixty million Americans and whose past members include 40 percent of the present U.S. Congressional Black Caucus and the 44th U.S. president.

Representative Billy Mitchell represents the citizens of District 88, which includes portions of DeKalb County. He was elected to the House of Representatives in 2002 and currently serves as House Minority Caucus Chairman. He also serves on the Banks & Banking, Health & Human Services and Regulated Industries committee.