ATLANTA | Development Thread V

[Libertarian]

There would be great views to the north, east, and south.

[TarHeelJ]

Originally Posted by TothebackofPhipps

Cheese n' F'en Rice - what's with the attitude? Prior to Simms' post, I was not excited about a brown box turning into apartments. Now I can see what the possibilities are (albeit in another city).

Chill out Brah!

[atlantaguy]

Originally Posted by AtlantaMustang

Exactly. Not that something like that will necessarily happen in Atlanta, but more residential units is something downtown really needs, so even if this doesn't end up being pretty, just from an urban perspective it could really help that side of downtown out to get some residents. I'm excited for the next cycle and I hope downtown gets some more residential development soon. Now that I'm working downtown I really see the great potential that Fairlie Poplar and the Centennial Park area have in revitalizing the downtown core as a whole. We already have the hotel and office density, now we just need more actual residents in the area.

I hope you end up falling in love with working Downtown. I have twice in my career, and even though I'm extremely happy to be working from home now, I still miss it.

Hope you take it all in and enjoy everything it has to offer.

[cabasse]

Originally Posted by simms3_redux

Well check out what Emerald Fund is doing with a similarly obsolete office building in SF's "downtown" (aka Civic Center, aka the grungy part of the city much like Atl's DT). 399 units, only 112 parking spaces.

that's a pretty amazing transformation - i would hope they choose to reclad 250 as well, and something that like that would make a huge difference in that part of town. (not to mention the postcard skyline view from the bridge over freedom)

[bryantm3]

Originally Posted by AtlantaMustang

Exactly. Not that something like that will necessarily happen in Atlanta, but more residential units is something downtown really needs, so even if this doesn't end up being pretty, just from an urban perspective it could really help that side of downtown out to get some residents. I'm excited for the next cycle and I hope downtown gets some more residential development soon. Now that I'm working downtown I really see the great potential that Fairlie Poplar and the Centennial Park area have in revitalizing the downtown core as a whole. We already have the hotel and office density, now we just need more actual residents in the area.

that part of downtown is the weirdest part of downtown. it's like completely useless at this point, just office space and abandoned buildings, and the majority of properties are not even historic. and walkability is a joke! i literally can't think of a single place, restaurant, store, apartment building in that part of downtown. there's no subway station there either— it's the only section of downtown that is over a quarter mile away from a train, besides a spot right southwest of the capitol. all that, and the connector is a giant ditch from hell that no one wants to encounter. the folk art plaza over there was a failure, it's still incredibly unwalkable, only now the sidewalk is smaller because someone put up a rusty windmill.

does anyone go over there for anything? i'm referring to the part of downtown east of peachtree center and north of auburn. i love that something new is going to be developed there, but i question its viability if other locations around that area aren't improved.

[jnihiser]

Driving down Cobb Pkwy yesterday, I noticed that the project on Cobb Pkwy and Cumberland Blvd is back up and running, I wasn't able to snap a shot, but they were really far along in construction.

For reference, here is the project:
http://atlanta.curbed.com/archives/2012/07/25/riverwood.php

[shivtim]

Some construction updates from along the Beltline Eastside Trail:

Ponce City Market progress along North Ave. 259 apartments, office space, market. 2.1 million sq ft redevelopment of old Sears complex.



Bohemian House apartments ("BOHO 4W"). 276 units.



No demolition yet for 280 Elizabeth Street, but trees are marked for removal. 201 apartments; 39,000 sq ft retail.



Highland Park townhomes. 66 townhouses.

[bigstick]

Originally Posted by shivtim

Some construction updates from along the Beltline Eastside Trail:

Ponce City Market progress along North Ave. 259 apartments, office space, market. 2.1 million sq ft redevelopment of old Sears complex.



Bohemian House apartments ("BOHO 4W"). 276 units.



No demolition yet for 280 Elizabeth Street, but trees are marked for removal. 201 apartments; 39,000 sq ft retail.



Highland Park townhomes. 66 townhouses.

Thanks for the amazing pics and updates................

[simms3_redux]

Is it just me or do the Highland Park townhomes bore me to tears? I cannot wait for 280 Elizabeth...that and Elan Westside are good architectural milestones for infill in Atlanta - their costs aren't so extreme where they will be unaffordable, but they still look good and they conceal the parking fairly well.

[shivtim]

I think they have a classic southern look that fits in perfectly with Inman Park. The large double-decker porches with fans are great. Nice contrast to all of the apartments going up that pretty much look exactly the same (BOHO, AMLI, Walton Westside, Elan, 280 Elizabeth etc). Even if it's only 66 townhomes, it's great to see condos instead of more apartments. I know someone who bought one prior to construction, and it has increased in value by 20K already.

While the new apartments being built in-town are great for density and foot traffic, none of them are anything special architecturally. They're non-offensive, interchangeable designs that have no contextual architectural features specific to their sites or to Atlanta.

[scania]

Originally Posted by shivtim

Some construction updates from along the Beltline Eastside Trail:

Ponce City Market progress along North Ave. 259 apartments, office space, market. 2.1 million sq ft redevelopment of old Sears complex.



Bohemian House apartments ("BOHO 4W"). 276 units.



No demolition yet for 280 Elizabeth Street, but trees are marked for removal. 201 apartments; 39,000 sq ft retail.



Highland Park townhomes. 66 townhouses.

Nice pics...were these taken today?

[TarHeelJ]

Originally Posted by bryantm3

that part of downtown is the weirdest part of downtown. it's like completely useless at this point, just office space and abandoned buildings, and the majority of properties are not even historic. and walkability is a joke! i literally can't think of a single place, restaurant, store, apartment building in that part of downtown. there's no subway station there either— it's the only section of downtown that is over a quarter mile away from a train, besides a spot right southwest of the capitol. all that, and the connector is a giant ditch from hell that no one wants to encounter. the folk art plaza over there was a failure, it's still incredibly unwalkable, only now the sidewalk is smaller because someone put up a rusty windmill.

does anyone go over there for anything? i'm referring to the part of downtown east of peachtree center and north of auburn. i love that something new is going to be developed there, but i question its viability if other locations around that area aren't improved.

Are you talking about the area around 250 Piedmont (former Trust Company building)? There is a residential high rise across Piedmont from it...the Landmark. The GA Department of Labor is in a high rise building 2 doors down from it and there is a low rise office building beside it - not sure what is in that one. The Hilton is behind it on Courtland, and the Georgia State residential buildings are just down the street past another hotel (not sure of the name). And don't forget the gentleman's club across Baker Street.

It's not like that is an abandoned area of downtown, but you're right that it's a far cry from some of the more vibrant areas. It could definitely use some help, and I think more residents might be part of the answer.

[BunkyWay]

Originally Posted by bryantm3

that part of downtown is the weirdest part of downtown. it's like completely useless at this point, just office space and abandoned buildings, and the majority of properties are not even historic. and walkability is a joke! i literally can't think of a single place, restaurant, store, apartment building in that part of downtown. there's no subway station there either— it's the only section of downtown that is over a quarter mile away from a train, besides a spot right southwest of the capitol. all that, and the connector is a giant ditch from hell that no one wants to encounter. the folk art plaza over there was a failure, it's still incredibly unwalkable, only now the sidewalk is smaller because someone put up a rusty windmill.

does anyone go over there for anything? i'm referring to the part of downtown east of peachtree center and north of auburn. i love that something new is going to be developed there, but i question its viability if other locations around that area aren't improved.

For this reason, GSU has targeted part of this area for expansion of its campus. Perhaps one of those blocks could one day house a football stadium?

http://www2.gsu.edu/~wwwmsp/images/2006/masterplan/5.1_small.gif

GSU continues to be a driving force for Downtown's revitalization. If they could accomplish a clean-up of Woodruff Park, the closure of Underground, and an overhaul of Peachtree Street south of Alabama Street, Downtown might finally turn a corner.

[skapunkskatedude]

Originally Posted by BunkyWay

For this reason, GSU has targeted part of this area for expansion of its campus. Perhaps one of those blocks could one day house a football stadium?

http://www2.gsu.edu/~wwwmsp/images/2006/masterplan/5.1_small.gif

GSU continues to be a driving force for Downtown's revitalization. If they could accomplish a clean-up of Woodruff Park, the closure of Underground, and an overhaul of Peachtree Street south of Alabama Street, Downtown might finally turn a corner.

I doubt GSU will get there own stadium, not for many years. The Georgia Dome (and any stadium that replaces it) is as close to campus as any on campus stadium would be, and it being a pro stadium is a huge selling point for recruits. GSU's athletics master plan calls for a new baseball, softball, and soccer stadium though, and they certainly want them closer to campus.

[bryantm3]

i have a question, and this might seem stupid because i'm a current student at GSU— is GSU even in the same division as colleges like GA Tech and UGA? i've never heard of us playing football with anyone big at all. what are the qualifications for us to compete with the biggest NCAA division?

[NYC2ATX]

Originally Posted by simms3_redux

Is it just me or do the Highland Park townhomes bore me to tears? I cannot wait for 280 Elizabeth...that and Elan Westside are good architectural milestones for infill in Atlanta - their costs aren't so extreme where they will be unaffordable, but they still look good and they conceal the parking fairly well.

I agree and disagree with this...with projects like 280 Elizabeth, Altanta is certainly making new architectural strides. However, in a city lacking density in several intown areas, the fact that they can build dense townhomes that look like they've been there forever literally flabbergasts me. The infill townhomes in Glenwood Park I'm also a huge fan of, and they're doing similar things in Houston's Heights area, to which I was also like OMFG.

Welcome to dense living club, sunbelt cities.

Originally Posted by shivtim

Ponce City Market progress along North Ave. 259 apartments, office space, market. 2.1 million sq ft redevelopment of old Sears complex.

Also, is Ponce City Market really this far away from Bank of America Plaza/Peachtree Street? For some reason I imagined the core of the city to be less spread out...I knew Atlanta had sprawl, but for some reason this photo surprised me a lot.

[NYC2ATX]

P.S. you all might enjoy this tumblr I just found, if you don't already know of it:

http://atlantaskyline.tumblr.com/

[bryantm3]

Originally Posted by StatenIslander237

Also, is Ponce City Market really this far away from Bank of America Plaza/Peachtree Street? For some reason I imagined the core of the city to be less spread out...I knew Atlanta had sprawl, but for some reason this photo surprised me a lot.

ponce city market is at the far east end of the old fourth ward— it's not in the "core" of the city. the core is downtown and midtown and is pretty linear going north to south. the old fourth ward is a neighbourhood straight east of there. so you've got about 15 blocks of historic homes between the "core" and where PCM is.

it's not really "sprawl", it's just a different hub of the city. that photo is totally misleading because atlanta has a tree canopy— if you aren't used to it, you'd look at atlanta from above and think there was nothing there. but that stretch of trees you see in the photos has hundreds of homes and apartment buildings underneath it. the other side of the equation is that as little as 10 years ago, the O4W was a place you didn't want to be, so development has been stifled for a while. those blank spots along north avenue in the photo are where a public housing project used to be.

here's some photos of the O4W:





here's some street views:

http://goo.gl/maps/hc477

http://goo.gl/maps/VQUuo

[ATLaffinity]

Originally Posted by bryantm3

i have a question, and this might seem stupid because i'm a current student at GSU— is GSU even in the same division as colleges like GA Tech and UGA? i've never heard of us playing football with anyone big at all. what are the qualifications for us to compete with the biggest NCAA division?

You are Division I like GT and UGA. But you haven't been an FBS school. You were basically Div I AA in football.

You are moving to the Sun Belt Conference in 2014 which will make you an FBS school, eligible for bowls.

So now teams like Alabama will pay you $500,000 to get an easy win on their schedule...

[ChrisInmanPark]

Originally Posted by bryantm3

that part of downtown is the weirdest part of downtown. it's like completely useless at this point, just office space and abandoned buildings, and the majority of properties are not even historic. and walkability is a joke! i literally can't think of a single place, restaurant, store, apartment building in that part of downtown. there's no subway station there either— it's the only section of downtown that is over a quarter mile away from a train, besides a spot right southwest of the capitol. all that, and the connector is a giant ditch from hell that no one wants to encounter. the folk art plaza over there was a failure, it's still incredibly unwalkable, only now the sidewalk is smaller because someone put up a rusty windmill.

does anyone go over there for anything? i'm referring to the part of downtown east of peachtree center and north of auburn. i love that something new is going to be developed there, but i question its viability if other locations around that area aren't improved.

All true. But the one, and probably only good thing going for it is that it is right at the beginning of the Stone Mountain trail. So people living there could easily hop on the trail, get the Beltline, etc.