Trendy Office Building Planned a Block from Boulevard

On an Old Fourth Ward corner where drug houses recently operated, developers have unveiled plans for a low-rise office building they say would echo the aesthetic of Ponce City Market and the vibe of hip urban projects across the country. Slated to rise a block from Boulevard on North Avenue, the $55 million project, in the words of the district's city councilman, Kwanza Hall, proves that investment is "slowly marching west" from catalysts such as Historic Fourth Ward Park and the Beltline, the Atlanta Business Chronicle reports. The building, called 525 North, would be built of glass and terracotta stone as a nod to the mixed-use behemoth down the street. Plans call for a rooftop terrace and below-grade retail on the North Avenue side, according to renderings. It would replace several properties that neighborhood officials described as notorious crack houses, recently bought up and shut down.

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The project hasn't secured financing yet, but interest is reportedly high, and developers are hopeful it can be opened by the end of 2017. In the ABC article, RPG Holdings managing principal Pat Gilroy discusses assembling the acreage and his desire to steer away from building a rental community: "I wanted to (do) something cool and impactful, not another stick-built apartment, because there are already so many," he said.

At least one parcel used to be a large, green rooming house that was damaged by fire a couple of years ago. The bank-owned property sold for $110,000 in 2013.

If the 525 North project materializes, it would join another ground-up office building in the Old Fourth Ward a few block away. Catered to millennials and bicycle commuters, "The Willoughby" would rise four stories near the Historic Fourth Ward Skatepark. Developers have said that construction should begin by this past January, but the idle site suggests that didn't happen.

· Office building latest coup for Old Fourth Ward [ABC; subscriber]
· 525 North Ave. NE [Realtor.com]
· Behold, the Beltline's First Office Building—in Technicolor [Curbed]