Overlooking Beltline’s Eastside Trail, ‘Common Ground’ brewery, retail vision unveiled

Developers have revealed the name and finalized vision for an adaptive-reuse project they say could embrace the Beltline’s Eastside Trail like no commercial concept has before.

Meet “Common Ground,” an under-construction gathering place overlooking the popular trail and Historic Fourth Ward Park, just south of Ponce City Market.

Officials with developer Third & Urban said Tuesday that Common Ground will serve up two restaurant concepts, loft offices, and an outdoor, pop-up retail component in addition to New Realm Brewing Company.

Aside from the occasional mural, the former Western Electric Company facility has offered Beltline patrons little more than a blank wall since the Eastside Trail debuted five years ago.

All told, 34,000 square feet of office lofts and retail will be offered, and two restaurant concepts by The Diligence Company will take 12,500 square feet.

Next to the brewery, at the northernmost corner of the project, expect a pop-up retail component built on a platform to house “a series of repurposed shipping containers featuring a rotating calendar of regional and national merchants offering unique products,” officials said.

Ambitiously expected to open this fall, the overall project is described as follows:

Airy, well-lit corridors and open, expansive tenant suites provide a contemporary feel throughout, while expansive front porches and breezy verandas will uniquely position the building’s retail and office tenants to engage visitors along 600 linear feet of the Atlanta Beltline.

“Many buildings have historically had their back turned to the Beltline [but] the trail is now one of Atlanta’s greatest physical assets,” Third & Urban partner Pierce Lancaster said in a release. “This project is intended to face and embrace the Beltline perhaps more than any other to date.”

Invest Atlanta/New Realm Brewing

New Realm Brewing Company—headed by Stone Brewing’s celebrated, former brewmaster Mitch Steele—is currently building a restaurant with a rooftop patio, Beltline-facing beer garden, tour center, and tasting rooms alongside a 20,000-square-foot brewery.

The restaurant concepts announced so far are described as follows:

Bazati Hall, a European and Latin-inspired brasserie with eight artesian shops, will utilize 7,000 square-feet of interior space and 2,500 square-feet of outdoor garden terrace along the Atlanta BeltLine.

Estrella, comprised of 3,000 square-feet, will be a sophisticated rooftop champagne and cocktail bar focusing on small plates with an atmosphere influenced by Miami and Paris.

Elsewhere in Atlanta, Third & Urban has redevelopment projects in the works on the Westside and at Amour Yards near SweetWater Brewery.

Curbed Atlanta

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