Buckhead skyline: even boosters wary of what's ahead. (Georgia)(Market Report: Buckhead)

Sam Massell has never shied from tooting Buckhead's horn. But the neighborhood's staggering growth projections evoke some anxiety, even from the one-time Atlanta mayor.

With 14 million square feet of office space, 4,700 hotel rooms and 16,500 apartments and condominiums, the affluent 28-square-mile community already is grappling with anti-development sentiment, land-use questions, traffic congestion and strained infrastructure.

Now, consider what's still on the drawing board: 17 million square feet of office space, 3 million square feet of retail development, 5,000 multifamily units and 2,600 hotel rooms.

The numbers are sobering. "It's not a bragging point …