Near Gulch, Underground, former Atlanta Constitution Building to get new life

Just when it seemed there couldn't be any more good news for South Downtown’s redevelopment efforts, plans have emerged for the restoration and adaptive-reuse of the old Atlanta Constitution Building.

According to an Invest Atlanta document, developer Pope & Land, in collaboration with Place Properties, is proposing a nearly $40-million overhaul of the historic building.

To say the work is needed is an understatement. For decades, the shell of the streamlined Art Moderne building has languished at the western edge of Underground Atlanta. Trees grow on the roof, and its boarded-up and bricked-over windows have shielded homeless encampments over the years.

The newspaper left the building in 1953, and it was last occupied by Georgia Power staff in the early 1970s, per the AJC.

The building will be sold to the development team for $2 million, capping off a nearly yearlong RFP process, which caused consternation in preservationist circles.

Plans call for the building to house 67,000 square feet of loft office space, 2,500 square feet of ground floor retail, and a rooftop restaurant. An adjoining residential building will be constructed, with 112 residential units and 142 parking spaces.

Thirty-percent of the units will be income-restricted to 80 percent of the area median income. The housing is guaranteed for 30 years, according to documents.

via Invest Atlanta

A rendering shows the restored brick building, with the new modern glass residential building behind, facing The Gulch (which is also rumored to soon undergo a major transformation).

The sales process could take up to four months, meaning work likely won’t begin until next year.

Michael Kahn, Curbed Atlanta

• Pope & Land and Place Properties 143 Alabama RFP Fact Sheet [Invest Atlanta]
• Atlanta officials nix preservation requirement for downtown’s Constitution Building [Curbed Atlanta]