Former Old Fourth Ward church making switch to office space

After serving as the home to various congregations through the years, the church at 629 Highland Avenue in Old Fourth Ward is en route to being born again as office space.

The 1954 structure, now referred to as 629 Highland, hosted three different churches in the past decade and a half. Now, the interior has been gutted and renovated to create three floors of office space.

It’s the latest example of intown churches being repurposed in the face of red-hot residential and office markets.

Not surprisingly, the 629 Highland ground floor contains the most space, with 3,140 square feet; the second floor measures approximately 1,600 square feet, and the third comes in at nearly 2,800 square feet.

The initial construction for converting the space is nearly complete and should wrap up within the next two weeks, according to Ward Bradshaw, who co-owns the property with his parents, Bo and Cathy Bradshaw of The Old Highland Bakery LLC.

Once that’s complete, tenant buildout can begin immediately, Bradshaw told Curbed Atlanta.

Although no contracts are signed yet, Bradshaw said he was in talks with a company to occupy the top two floors.

The Bradshaws purchased the building 17 years ago and, in the ensuing years, leased it out to three different church congregations. However, after parting ways with the third church, the company decided to move in a different direction.

Eric Bethany/Kronberg Wall

“We were burnt out on churches being there,” Bradshaw said. “We saw the neighborhood didn’t have a lot of office space, and there was a demand for it.”

629 Highland is the third property owned by The Old Highland Bakery LLC in Old Fourth Ward; the company also owns the building housing Highland Bakery (no affiliation) and the building at the corner of Bernina Avenue and Elizabeth Street where Melrose & Mcqueen Salon is located.

The church conversion at 629 Highland is just one more in the trend of such renovations throughout the city, including the changeover of Druid Hills United Methodist Church on Ponce de Leon Avenue to a townhome and condominium community; comedy troupe Dad’s Garage’s takeover of Atlanta Metropolitan Christian Church; Inman Park’s Lizzie Chapel Flats; and architecture firm Kronberg Wall’s reimagining of a Reynoldstown church, among others.