Tall & Urban News

On 10 December 2019, the Midtown Development Review Committee (DRC) scrapped a proposed 46-story tower but advanced two other proposals for Atlanta’s skyline.

During its final meeting of 2019, DRC board members reviewed presentations for and gave recommendations to two projects that could wind up making Midtown a bit taller and denser.

At 1230 West Peachtree, across the street from the Arts Center Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) station, The Hanover Company aims to erect a 40-story mixed-use tower fronting the planned extension of 15th Street.

If realized, the development would produce 8,600 square feet (800 square meters) of ground-level retail beneath 258,000 square feet (24,000 square meters) of office space and 328 market-rate apartments.

With the DRC’s go-ahead, the developer is eyeing a 2021 groundbreaking. The timing coincides with the 15th Street expansion project.

The DRC ultimately commended the design team for its blueprints, but the board also suggested a few tweaks related to street-level changes and pedestrian connectivity.

They requested the Hanover project meet the same streetscape standards as neighboring developments and recommended better pedestrian access, as well as public art and greenery around the 15th Street link.

That meeting also guided forward a student housing project at 960 Spring Street, a short walk west of the Midtown MARTA station.

Chicago-based developer Core Campus is leading the charge on the residential venture, which is slated to feature nearly 800 beds in a 20-story tower. It will be located directly across the street from two other student housing developments, The Mark, which is under construction, and University House.

Dubbed “Hub on Campus,” the project would feature 5,600 square feet (520 square meters) of ground-level retail offerings fronting Spring Street.

The DRC urged the Hub on Campus design team to rework elements related to pedestrian connectivity.

First, it recommended that retail entrances should be re-oriented to face the public sidewalk, planting strips in front of storefront windows should be minimized and the internal floor slab for the retail spaces should be designed for maximum flexibility for future tenants.

The second recommendation was for green-screening on the north façade to mitigate the negative impact of the blank wall of the parking garage, as seen from both Spring and 10th streets.

The last recommendation was for landscaping and a lockable gate on the western edge of the site to provide additional screening and ensure that public safety is not compromised.

The project site is currently home to a nightclub, Opium Atlanta.

According to Fulton County property records, the club’s owner, Flesh & Soul Enterprises, still owns the property.

A timeline for the student housing project was not provided, and Core Campus is expected to present revised plans in 2020.

The news follows a flurry of other Atlanta tall building activity in December 2019.

During its final meeting of 2019, DRC board members reviewed presentations for two projects that could make Midtown taller and denser.

A high-rise condo tower is now under construction in West Midtown after securing US$105 million in financing from an affiliate of real estate giant and “Gulch” developer, CIM Group.

CIM Real Estate Credit provided the three-year construction loan for the 279-unit Seven 88 West Midtown, according to Fulton County property deeds.

Los Angeles-based CIM Group has made news in Atlanta over the past year for its proposal to redevelop downtown’s historic Gulch into a project it calls Centennial Yards.

In West Midtown, it will be financing construction of the glassy condo new tower, one of the tallest residential developments underway in the area.

The project is rising on a nearly 1.8-acre (0.7-hectare) property on West Marietta Street. It overlooks existing developments including Stockyards and King Plow Arts Center, and it is a short walk to several restaurants.

The condo tower is being developed by Peachtree Corners-based McKinley Homes LLC.

The deal between McKinley and CIM valued the site for the project at US$20 million, according to Fulton County records.

Seven 88 West Midtown one of the largest towers this deep into construction within the city. It already rises multiple stories over the surrounding neighborhood.

McKinley is offering units starting at just over US$300,000, and the units will likely average between US$450,000 to US$600,000 based on the value of the construction loan, said Alan Wexler, with Atlanta real estate research firm Databank Inc.

As of mid-2019, the project had 115 units under contract, according to Atlanta analyst Haddow & Co.

Goode Van Slyke; Smallwood, Reynolds, Stewart, Stewart; and Crosby Design Group have all worked on the design of Seven 88.

The company expects to begin taking reservations for units soon.

Another condo tower, The Graydon, is set to rise in Atlanta as well. It will feature 47 two- and three-bedroom units that will start at US$1.6 million.

This will be the first Atlanta project for real estate and investment firm Kolter Urban.

Construction is expected to begin at the site at 2520 Peachtree Road in early 2020.

“We see great potential for residential growth” in Atlanta.

The 47 residences will be spread across 22 floors, with views from Buckhead to downtown. The architecture will be done by Rule Joy Trammel + Rubio.

The project’s name, meanwhile, is an homage to prominent landowner Wesley Grey Collier, whose home was in the area, also on the west side of Peachtree.

It represents the most sizable new for-sale condo project between Midtown and Buckhead Village’s The Charles, following the switch of another new Buckhead tower, The Sutton, from luxury condos to rentals.

One of Atlanta’s most eagerly anticipated new tower proposals, Emerson, was canceled in 2018 at the Peachtree Road acreage.

Bobby Julien, Kolter Group CEO, noted in a prepared statement that “we see great potential for residential growth” in Atlanta, as with other projects the company has developed in urban markets across the Southeast US.

As for pricing, the smallest Graydon offerings, two-bedroom condos with two-and-one-half bathrooms and 2,200 square feet (204 square meters), will start at US$1.6 million.

The next step up, priced at $3.2 million, will be three-bedroom options, with four-and-one-half bathrooms and between 3,500 square feet (325 square meters) and 3,600 square feet (334 square meters).

Crowning the building will be just one penthouse on the 22nd floor, with four bedrooms, five-and-one-half bathrooms, and 5,850 square feet (543 square meters), for US$8.5 million.

Officials with JPX Works, developers of Inman Park’s Inman Quarter and Midtown’s lilli apartment tower, pulled the plug on Emerson in April 2018, where prices of 44 condos had begun at more than US$2 million.

At Graydon, building amenities will include concierge and valet, plus a large pool and spa, club rooms (both formal and informal), a green yoga lawn, a spin studio inside the gym, a dog spa and park, and something referred to as a “newsroom.”

Atlanta-based Susan B. Bozeman Designs will be handling the building’s interiors and common spaces, while Ansley Atlanta Real Estate will open a sales gallery at swanky Buckhead coworking hub No18.    

The tower is expected to deliver in mid-2022, per development officials.

For more on these stories, go to the Atlanta Business Chronicle and Curbed Atlanta.