For Midtown’s tallest office tower in ages, new images, details emerge

Blade-like structure of glass to be called “8th at West”

By Josh Green@JoshGreen1234 Jun 21, 2018, 2:58pm EDT

A rendering of a knife-like tower proposed for Midtown Atlanta. — How the office tower is planned to jut over its neighbors.

What could become Midtown’s tallest office tower in nearly a decade has a name—and what developers say will be an engaging street-level experience.

Cousins Properties plans to erect a 31-story office stack resembling a glassy blade on a small plot between 7th and 8th streets, now occupied by The Daiquiri Factory and a cleaners.

The Atlanta-based developer is calling the project, designed by Pickard Chilton and HKS, “8th and West Peachtree,” and trumpeting the site’s walkability to both Tech Square and Midtown MARTA Station.

CLARIFICATION: Cousins reps say the project hasn’t officially been named yet, but is being called “8th and West Peachtree” for now.

Looking southward on West Peachtree Street.

Cousins brought the concept before the Midtown Development Review Committee last week, noting the tower will consist of a series of modulated surfaces and culminate in rooftop balconies with abundant skyline views.

At the building’s base, expect 6,000 square feet of retail spaces, with a combination of wood, steel, and glass elements meant to create “an inviting human-scale environment that reveals the hive of activity that will animate the lobby lounge,” according to a Midtown Alliance recap.

The Midtown DRC enthusiastically supported the pitch, though questions were posed about vehicle exits onto 7th Street and whether more on-street parking could be incorporated.

A Cousins development team is expected to come back with answers and additional information about streetscape details in a follow-up submittal, per Midtown Alliance.

The site in question, at lower right, is most recognizable as being home to The Daiquiri Factory.

How the multifaceted base would meet the street.

Cousins’s proposal isn’t the only large, angular project being floated in the subdistrict.

Among several other skyscrapers in the works, a high-rise project by developer JLL would take a long-underutilized site across the Connector from Atlantic Station.