Gultch/CIM Group Development

[Terminus]

Originally Posted by Sojourner_Terminus

Upon taking a closer look at the hotel on Elliot St, It's apparent to me that if this rendering is correct, they have drastically changed this buildings dimensions. Previous reporting on Urbanize and other sites shows the building stretching the full width from Mitchell Street to Nelson Street. But in these latest renderings, it seems to stop roughly midway at around the point where the Fire stations property line starts across the street.

Renderings are seldom accurate - they're for marketing, not reality.

The approved amended SAP shows the entire parcel being used for the hotel.

[testarossa50]

Impressive. Even in its current form that has lost some of the promise of housing and neighborhood orientation, this is am extremely ambitious and complex project.

[smArTaLlone]

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/timjacobw...=ACoAAA4QTEcBRqM2oK1F8VmBEzNEy4kTnxmsC8Y

[Julien]

This thing is on fire.

[Julien]

Thought I would never live to see this.

[bigstick]

Awesome pics guys, thank you.

[bryantm3]

Exciting plans. The only thing I'm questioning is the apartment buildings behind the Norfolk-Southern building. They are so close, it's going to block the views from both the NS building and the new apartment buildings. Your view will be staring into someone else's room.

On that particular site, I am hoping that they toss that idea, and instead build a couple of short parking decks for the Norfolk-Southern buildings that rise up to street level. They could build a plaza on top of them with reflecting pools, benches, some greenery and open space. Call it the trainyard battery park, and connect the plaza with Mitchell, Nelson and Trinity. That way they can keep the views across the tracks toward Castleberry Hill intact.

I do hope that they are able to complete the development they've started, the Elliot Street building, and the one behind the Russell Federal building. But after that— I think we need to take a pause and reassess the situation.

I don't want to lose the opportunity to build an Amtrak or commuter rail station. With the orange man in office, those programs are being gutted right now. I would rather wait and keep the northern part of the gulch as-is until we can get some movement on that— whether it's coming from GDOT's current study, or the federal government.

[bryantm3]

https://atlanta.urbanize.city/post/hotel...first-hotel-restaurant-pool-fresh-images

With its opening on the horizon, fresh details and imagery for megaproject Centennial Yards’ first hotel have come to light, as its hired leadership team is being put into place.

Hotel Phoenix, scheduled to open later this year, will include a Southern-inspired brasserie called Zephyr and poolside bar Bless Your Heart, according to Centennial Yards officials.

The 19-story hotel, bedecked with large LED signage, will offer 292 rooms at 70 Centennial Olympic Park Drive, across the street from Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Other facets will include a rooftop pool and event lawn combo, plus roughly 15,000 square feet of event space.

Situated near Centennial Yard’s first apartment tower The Mitchell (also 19 stories, now open) and the rising entertainment district, Hotel Phoenix is considered a cornerstone of the $5-billion, 50-acre remake of downtown’s Gulch. The project topped out in December, two years after breaking ground.

According to the hotel’s website, bookings will begin in early November. Nightly rates for a grand-opening package with gifts and perks start at $1,195; otherwise, rooms start at $265 nightly, according to posted rates.

To help launch Hotel Phoenix, hotelier Martin Wormull has been appointed general manager. His 30 years of experience includes stints at five-star Loren Hotel Austin at Lady Bird Lake, Conrad Nashville, The Drake Hotel in Chicago, and The Candler Hotel downtown, where he helped establish signature restaurant By George, per Centennial Yards officials.

Alongside Wormull, Morehouse College graduate Omari Buncum has been brought aboard as director of food and beverage to oversee culinary operations at Zephyr and Bless Your Heart.

Buncum’s 15 years of experience includes, most recently, a similar position during the launch of Forth Hotel Atlanta, a $150-million project in Old Fourth Ward, and leadership roles at Live! Hospitality and Entertainment.

[bryantm3]

[Tag for deletion]

[Julien]

Company coming to MB Stadium town.

[bryantm3]

Thanks Julien. I went by an hour ago but it was too late to really see anything.

I'm trying to figure out if the new street on the east side of where they're building is going to be a true, usable continuation of the one behind the Russell building, or if it's going to be offset in some weird way. Same with the new road going south behind the Phoenix hotel. The traffic through there is horrible, and new roads will help.

[Terminus]

Originally Posted by bryantm3

Thanks Julien. I went by an hour ago but it was too late to really see anything.

I'm trying to figure out if the new street on the east side of where they're building is going to be a true, usable continuation of the one behind the Russell building, or if it's going to be offset in some weird way. Same with the new road going south behind the Phoenix hotel. The traffic through there is horrible, and new roads will help.

Yes, the street along the west side of the Russell building will be extended into CY. The current project takes it from its current terminus to the end of the entertainment district, where it intersects a second new street that runs west to the MARTA station. The third new street between COSM will run from COP Drive to MLK for now.

You can find the detailed plans on the City's Accela website. Create an account, then search for 99 Centennial Olympic Park Drive SAPs. The plans will be under "attachments."

[bryantm3]

Thanks, I'll take a look at those plans.

Elliot Street is a go.

https://atlanta.urbanize.city/post/centennial-yards-gulch-new-hotel-moving-forward-downtown-images

This is good. I hope they can get the building proposed in the hole behind the Russell building going too...

After that, I think they need to pause and reassess the situation, while GDOT and Amtrak put their heads together and figure out what they need to put a station downtown.

The remainder of the preliminary renderings, outside of what they're working on, plus these two sites— look like they're kind of "spamming" the site.

The mid-rise behind the Norfolk-Southern building, in particular, seems kind of short-sighted, literally and figuratively— the N-S building has a great line-of-sight that would be eliminated by constructing a second building right behind it.

Both buildings would have windows facing each other, with just a few feet of distance separating them, eliminating any kind of privacy, and lowering property values for both.

Not to mention that the northern part of the Norfolk-Southern building, north of the bridge, remains empty and unfinished. Across the street, 222 Mitchell (the old C&S building) has been quiet since Newport pulled out. I would really like to see those projects be completed.

There's an Atlantic Station type opportunity that could be wasted if they get in too much of a hurry to fill it out. There might be space for a skyscraper or two on the site, and of course, the Amtrak station we all want.

But for right now, I'm glad to see them continue to move forward.

[edg1]

Originally Posted by bryantm3

Thanks, I'll take a look at those plans.

Elliot Street is a go.

https://atlanta.urbanize.city/post/centennial-yards-gulch-new-hotel-moving-forward-downtown-images

This is good. I hope they can get the building proposed in the hole behind the Russell building going too...

After that, I think they need to pause and reassess the situation, while GDOT and Amtrak put their heads together and figure out what they need to put a station downtown.

The remainder of the preliminary renderings, outside of what they're working on, plus these two sites— look like they're kind of "spamming" the site.

The mid-rise behind the Norfolk-Southern building, in particular, seems kind of short-sighted, literally and figuratively— the N-S building has a great line-of-sight that would be eliminated by constructing a second building right behind it.

Both buildings would have windows facing each other, with just a few feet of distance separating them, eliminating any kind of privacy, and lowering property values for both.

Not to mention that the northern part of the Norfolk-Southern building, north of the bridge, remains empty and unfinished. Across the street, 222 Mitchell (the old C&S building) has been quiet since Newport pulled out. I would really like to see those projects be completed.

There's an Atlantic Station type opportunity that could be wasted if they get in too much of a hurry to fill it out. There might be space for a skyscraper or two on the site, and of course, the Amtrak station we all want.

But for right now, I'm glad to see them continue to move forward.

PAUSE??? LOL

These backwood bumpkins had 30+ years to get this right. This project will probably take no time to complete. They have a few months to get it together and if they can't get it right by then well screw it

[bryantm3]

Originally Posted by edg1

PAUSE??? LOL

These backwood bumpkins had 30+ years to get this right. This project will probably take no time to complete. They have a few months to get it together and if they can't get it right by then well screw it

This is the first time GDOT or the state has gotten involved seriously in relocating the Amtrak terminal downtown. I would rather wait a couple of years for that, rather than have a bunch of low rise buildings permanently removing the option of that ever happening.

Maybe "pause" isn't the right word, because there's plenty of meaningful work they can complete in the meantime:

-Start and complete the Elliot Street building
-Finalize the plans for the development between the Russell building and The Mitchell, permit, and complete it
-Demo the decks between the new entertainment district and Wall Street
-Demo the press building behind the old AJC headquarters

[edg1]

Originally Posted by bryantm3

This is the first time GDOT or the state has gotten involved seriously in relocating the Amtrak terminal downtown. I would rather wait a couple of years for that, rather than have a bunch of low rise buildings permanently removing the option of that ever happening.

Maybe "pause" isn't the right word, because there's plenty of meaningful work they can complete in the meantime:

-Start and complete the Elliot Street building
-Finalize the plans for the development between the Russell building and The Mitchell, permit, and complete it
-Demo the decks between the new entertainment district and Wall Street
-Demo the press building behind the old AJC headquarters

Gotcha

[Sojourner_Terminus]

Originally Posted by bryantm3

This is the first time GDOT or the state has gotten involved seriously in relocating the Amtrak terminal downtown. I would rather wait a couple of years for that, rather than have a bunch of low rise buildings permanently removing the option of that ever happening.

Maybe "pause" isn't the right word, because there's plenty of meaningful work they can complete in the meantime:

-Start and complete the Elliot Street building
-Finalize the plans for the development between the Russell building and The Mitchell, permit, and complete it
-Demo the decks between the new entertainment district and Wall Street
-Demo the press building behind the old AJC headquarters

Don't quote me on this, but I think I heard they were planning to build on top of the existing parking deck.

[bryantm3]

Originally Posted by Sojourner_Terminus

Don't quote me on this, but I think I heard they were planning to build on top of the existing parking deck.

Are you sure you're not thinking of the GWCC plan to do that?

If not, believe it or not I have fond memories of that deck. I got my first portable CD player with headphones and listened to Genesis' self-titled 1983 album all day, and had a good time at the CNN center. I liked the skybridge over Centennial Olympic Park Drive (was called Techwood then)— and that's one thing I hope they can keep.

They used to have a movie theatre at the Marietta Street end, and it had some amazing curved, red-tiled stairs leading down to it. At the other end, just across from the Omni, they had a 2-story McDonalds and as a kid that was just crazy fun to me.

When they built the Philips Arena and connected it to the CNN center, they sucked out all of the color and fun in the building. I'm hoping the rehab into "The Center" will bring back some of that sense of whimsy.

There was another 2-story McDonalds downtown, around the corner from where Hooters was, which was my favorite one. It looks like this now.

[montydawg]

Originally Posted by Sojourner_Terminus

Don't quote me on this, but I think I heard they were planning to build on top of the existing parking deck.

Those prefab decks are nearly 50 years old and certainly were not designed for any building on top, let alone streets. . They are nearing end of life and adding sewer and utilities would be difficult. I think those decks are coming down if they ever develop that site.

Edit: you are thinking of the GWCC park next to the State Farm arena. They are planning some low rise retail on top. I was talking about the CNN decks.

[smArTaLlone]

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/centennia...ownatl-activity-7371966047480057856-Ox6s