As we reported last week, it appears as though the Atlanta Civic Center will be sold to Texas-based developer Weingarten Realty Investors for somewhere in the neighborhood of $30 million. Weingarten, known for developing shopping centers, plans to demolish the almost half-century-old facility and construct a mixed-use development on the 19-acre site. According to the Atlanta Business Chronicle, the area will include 250,000 square feet of office space, almost 225,000 square feet of retail and a whopping 656 housing units. In addition to the dense housing, which is to be divided between condos, apartments and en vogue townhouses, the biggest impact on the neighborhood is the inclusion of a grocery store, which will help address the issue of a food desert in downtown. In total, the development is expected to be an investment of around $300 million, a hefty sum in a neighborhood that's on the verge of a Renaissance.
The Boisfeuillet Jones Atlanta Civic Center, constructed back in 1967, sits at the intersection of Midtown, downtown and Old Fourth Ward. While served by a MARTA station and located in a rather enviable nexus of neighborhoods, the area has been left out of the development frenzy closer to the Beltline and just north in Midtown. Many attribute the void in part to the nearby Peachtree-Pine shelter — which Mayor Reed is doing everything in his power to close — just two blocks from the Civic Center. As that moves toward a resolution, it's likely the Civic Center project will be joined by others in the area.
If realized as planned, the project will be the first big step in connecting the three neighborhoods more closely. And it could be a major catalyst for change in the city.
· Texas developer to buy Atlanta civic center [Atlanta Business Chronicle]
· City's Super, Duper Serious about Civic Center Sale Now [Curbed Atlanta]
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