26-story Georgia State University student housing tower is officially a go

Remember when, in August, about 400 Georgia State University students were shacked up at the downtown Sheraton Atlanta because a spike in applications for dorms created a sudden shortage?

Well, a proposed, 26-story student housing tower that just landed financing hopes to eliminate the university’s need for short-term hotel takeovers.

Officials with SunTrust Bank announced today they’d closed a $58.3-million loan that will green-light construction of South City Partners’ stack of student apartments called 120 Piedmont.

With a total cost of $90 million, the tower will rise at the corner of Piedmont and John Wesley Dobbs avenues, near the GSU campus. Expect beds for 685 students and 8,200 square feet of retail, officials said.

But don’t expect the threadbare dorms of yesteryear.

Like other towers catering to Georgia Tech scholars in Midtown, 120 Piedmont will boast amenities that include a “resort-style pool and clubhouse,” rooftop deck with outdoor living room and grilling area, and—for some reason—an “onsite study lounge.”

Predicted rents weren’t specified, but Will Casaday, South City Partners vice president of development, said the needed flats will be “affordable student housing options.”

“Georgia State is a growing university with a student body that desires urban living that’s close to campus,” Casaday said in a press release. “This development augments GSU’s efforts to draw more students to live near its downtown campus.”

The tower’s construction is expected to launch soon, with move-ins anticipated in August 2019.

Elsewhere in Atlanta, South City helped develop Inman Quarter and Square on Fifth near Georgia Tech.

Other developments in the works to help remedy GSU’s housing pinch include the proposed conversion of a 1960s office tower on Edgewood Avenue—the United Way building—into student residences.

• Georgia State housing shortage spotlights need for new student residences [Curbed]