First look: Functional redesign, coworking planned for East Atlanta shopping center

Five blocks south of East Atlanta Village, a small midcentury shopping center is set for an overhaul that developers call thoughtful, environmentally responsible, and indicative of where the neighborhood is heading.

Clark Property R+D bought the 7,000-square-foot building at 714 Moreland Avenue, built in 1965, late last year. It’s situated where East Atlanta meets Ormewood Park, next door to Hodgepodge Coffeehouse, which was fashioned from a former auto garage.

According to Jesse Clark, a principal with the real estate firm, a redesign will launch soon that embraces the center’s original midcentury modern facets, while updating it with a fresh facade.

The most significant addition will be a 3,500-square-foot coworking space, offering 14 private studios and 12 desks for lease. Meanwhile, outside, an underutilized area of asphalt will be covered into a courtyard for tenants and business visitors, a “respite from the busy Moreland Avenue,” said Clark, who lives in EAV.

An existing laundromat and hair salon will be retained in reconfigured spaces, while developers are seeking a health-conscious grab-and-go restaurant or deli to take a 1,200-square-foot space in between.

Expect interiors with an industrial feel: modern lines, concrete floors, exposed ceilings. The office studios will aim to complement the communal, creative vibes next door.

Joining Clark Property R+D in the venture are Perry King, developer of The Jane and The Dickey, and Tony and Diane Riffel, cofounders of Octane Coffee, Elevator Factory, and Pancake Social.

Renovations are expected to begin in March and wrap by July.

The shopping center redo isn’t the only development activity in the vicinity.

Across the street, the first section of modern townhome community The Ormewood has risen over Moreland, with prices in the $500,000s. Two more phases are planned on vacant land.

Neighboring the townhomes, however, a planned “micro mixed-use development” called Elway shows no signs of life, and for-sale signs have emerged at the corner property. Inquiries about the status of Elway haven’t been returned.