An international real estate company is shopping a downtown Atlanta space next to what's arguably the city's most visible eyesore, the long-abandoned Medical Arts Building. As ATL Urbanist points out, the wedge-shaped hole next to the Medical Arts Building was once occupied by the Atlanta Packard dealership. Avison Young, a real estate company with properties across the United States and Canada, is proposing a low-rise, 31,000 square-foot space fronting Peachtree Street for sale or lease. Given its neighbor, is this proposal already doomed?
The 12-story Medical Arts Building was a marvel when it opened in 1927. Ravaged by a four-alarm fire in 1995, the building has stood vacant ever since, peering down on The Connector (at least someone had the gumption to mask the appalling "White Power" graffiti scrawl across the building's roof). Years of vacancy at the property have taken a toll, and numerous redevelopment plans have not materialized. Its second life as a massive billboard was shot down a couple of years ago, when that usage was declared illegal. According to The Georgia Trust, which counts the Medical Arts Building among its "Places In Peril," the current owners have listed it for $11 million.
All this raises interesting questions: Given its record of setbacks, does the Medical Arts Building stand a chance? What would be the ideal tenant? More apartments? For-purchase lofts? And is it a fool's errand to try to market space next door?
· ATL Urbanist post
· Curbed Atlanta's map of endangered, historical properties [Curbed]
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