MIDTOWN | 740 West Peachtree Street | Two Office Towers | 600,000 Sq. Ft.

skyscraperpage17 · #1 Posted **Sep 28, 2017, 6:23 PM**

First look at Portman's big new project at Midtown's Tech Square

https://webcache.googleusercontent.c...&ct=clnk&gl=us

Today's update from Curbed Atlanta suggests this could break ground by the end of this year.

In Midtown, block-filling Portman project could move forward within months

https://atlanta.curbed.com/2017/9/28...west-peachtree

Street Advocate · #2 Posted **Sep 28, 2017, 10:06 PM**

As much as I want jobs in midtown I have a hard time being excited for this project. Just seems like half of it is parking. Cannot help but feel it will be a dead space outside of regular office hours.

skyscraperpage17 · #3 Posted **Sep 28, 2017, 10:08 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Street Advocate

As much as I want jobs in midtown I have a hard time being excited for this project. Just seems like half of it is parking. Cannot help but feel it will be a dead space outside of regular office hours.

At least it's infill with some decent scale. It could be far worse.

skyscraperpage17 · #4 Posted **Oct 4, 2017, 1:50 PM**

According to someone on the main forum, demolition and building permits have been filed for this project.

So I suspect groundbreaking is imminent.

smArTaLlone · #5 Posted **Oct 4, 2017, 2:14 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by skyscraperpage17

According to someone on the main forum, demolition and building permits have been filed for this project.

So I suspect groundbreaking is imminent.

It typically takes around 3 months minimum to go through the permit process so it will likely be a while before this breaks ground. But it does seem that they have every intention of starting this tower in the near future.

Ant131531 · #6 Posted **Oct 4, 2017, 2:27 PM**

Ofc it's always the worst looking towers that break ground quickly, while the best projects often take forever.

jayden · #7 Posted **Oct 4, 2017, 2:31 PM**

Any kind of mid-rise infill in this area is good news.

skyscraperpage17 · #8 Posted **Oct 4, 2017, 3:32 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by smArTaLlone

It typically takes around 3 months minimum to go through the permit process so it will likely be a while before this breaks ground. But it does seem that they have every intention of starting this tower in the near future.

True. The word "imminent" is used very loosely when it comes to building construction.

Street Advocate · #9 Posted **Oct 4, 2017, 4:09 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ant131531

Ofc it's always the worst looking towers that break ground quickly, while the best projects often take forever.

smArTaLlone · #10 Posted **Oct 5, 2017, 12:26 AM**

Bisnow reports that they intend to go full spec on this tower and will start construction even without any office tenants committed.

https://www.bisnow.com/atlanta/news/...eachtree-79904

Pemgin · #11 Posted **Oct 5, 2017, 1:11 AM**

Huzzah for the infill, I guess, but this is a real turd of a building.

RocketSurgeon · #12 Posted **Oct 5, 2017, 11:31 AM**

I really like it, especially if it doesn't get value engineered. The reflective scoops behind the glass are fantastic.

Is the second tower also being started? Curbed indicates yes, but that's not a very reliable source and I don't think I've seen renderings of it.

jwbab · #13 Posted **Oct 5, 2017, 12:30 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by RocketSurgeon

I really like it, especially if it doesn't get value engineered. The reflective scoops behind the glass are fantastic.

Is the second tower also being started? Curbed indicates yes, but that's not a very reliable source and I don't think I've seen renderings of it.

No. The permitting is only for the first tower. They plan to build the towers in two phases.

skyscraperpage17 · #14 Posted **Oct 5, 2017, 12:32 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by RocketSurgeon

I really like it, especially if it doesn't get value engineered. The reflective scoops behind the glass are fantastic.

Is the second tower also being started? Curbed indicates yes, but that's not a very reliable source and I don't think I've seen renderings of it.

According to the Bisnow article above, the answer to that is unknown. We don't even have an official floor / height count for these buildings yet (the rumor I heard was 21 or 22 stories for one of the towers, but I'm not certain).

There is the one crude rendering of the 2nd tower (along with the 1st tower) in the OP, but that's about it.

RocketSurgeon · #15 Posted **Oct 5, 2017, 8:37 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by skyscraperpage17

There is the one crude rendering of the 2nd tower (along with the 1st tower) in the OP, but that's about it.

Yeah I did see that, I meant something more detailed.

cabasse · #16 Posted **Oct 5, 2017, 9:28 PM**

i really dislike the design of the parking podium which is right in your face. i understand that they're a must, but they should really be masked into the facade of the building like 1180.

Nanosolar · #17 Posted **Oct 6, 2017, 12:48 AM**

Portman is such shit. No taste, no design skills, no vision. Hope these die on the vine

Libertarian · #18 Posted **Oct 6, 2017, 3:17 AM**

Rather than putting in parking I thought the mostly empty huge parking deck that already eats up most of the block would be incorporated. I guess not. Also, I believe the parking right across W. Peachtree St. sits mostly empty as well.

Atlanta3000 · #19 Posted **Oct 6, 2017, 9:50 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Libertarian

Rather than putting in parking I thought the mostly empty huge parking deck that already eats up most of the block would be incorporated. I guess not. Also, I believe the parking right across W. Peachtree St. sits mostly empty as well.

Portman doesn't own the adjacent lot with parking or the parking lot across the street. Furthermore, these two parcels could easily be developed in the near term with parking for just their respective buildings. This would leave Portman with a $250+ Million project without parking and would make it almost impossible to market to commercial and residential prospects or a bank to finance the project.

Although I agree almost unequivocally Portman's Brutalist building are pock marks on Atlanta's face, for some reason I don't mind this project. I think they look very high-tech which is appropriate for the users they are targeting. Also, I don't think every building has to have street-level retail. The last thing Atlanta needs is blocks and blocks of empty or severely under utilized retail.

skyscraperpage17 · #20 Posted **Oct 6, 2017, 11:40 AM**

In my opinion, the building isn't THAT bad.

If a better job was done to make the parking structure more discrete (Bridgestone's HQ in Nashville is a textbook example of how to integrate a parking structure into a skyscraper), it would actually be pretty decent-looking IMO. Also, it will have *SOME* street-level activation based on the spec showing ground floor retail, so that's a plus.