Plans for a brand new development that would replace the Atlanta Civic Center are still open to change, apparently. According to Saporta Report, the chosen developer, Weingarten Realty Investors, has said plans for the site are "still fluid." Okay, so that sounds a little wishy-washy.
Weingarten was the winning bidder for the Civic Center project — agreeing to pay $30 million for the city-owned property. Their statement about fluidity at the site was echoed by Mayor Kasim Reed recently. "That story is not over yet," Reed said. "We've been working to try to create a better product. We are achieving a higher value for the asset."
The core vision for the site remains the same at this point: a mixed-use development with "necessity-based" retail, such as a food-desert-alleviating-grocery store, 650 living spaces and an estimated 300,000 square feet of "new generation" office space.
But, Weingarten has run into some problems finding appropriate tenants. EUE/Screen Gems would have developed film and video production space, but their plan would have involved reusing the existing SciTrek building, a piece of the standing Civic Center.
"We have talked to that group," Weingarten Vice President Bill Coats told Saporta Report. "Our whole plan has never contemplated keeping the Civic Center."
Coats also said a number of hotel groups have now taken interest in the site.
The area has been left behind in the mad dash for new or reused property near the Beltline and Midtown. Many have said that's a side-effect of the nearby Peachtree-Pine homeless shelter. Coats told Saporta Report, "It's something we think is going to be resolved," when asked about the shelter.
· Weingarten: Civic Center redevelopment plans still fluid [Saporta]
·Civic Center Development Could be a $300M Whopper [Curbed]
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