AmericasMart overhaul to launch soon at prominent downtown corner

Like the recently finished Hub redevelopment at Peachtree Center, another iconic John Portman property in downtown Atlanta is set for significant changes.

Updates are in the works for the sprawling AmericasMart campus as part of a multi-phase initiative the property’s new owners, International Market Centers, are calling Atlanta NEXT.

IMC acquired AmericasMart a year ago. Capital improvements will extended to all buildings across the 7.2-million-square-foot campus, company officials announced today.

First up: a street-level facelift at one of downtown’s busiest intersections.

Stage one will include an ASD | Sky-designed redo of the AmericasMart Building 1 lobby at the southwest corner of Peachtree Street and John Portman Boulevard.

Changes described by company leaders as “dramatic” will include a two-story redesign at street level that’s meant to create a seamless transition to an enlivened interior.

Expect outdoor lounge spaces, digital signage, a new restaurant, and a grab-and-go cafe to complement an existing Starbucks that faces Peachtree.

Inside, plans call for a new two-floor lobby space with a lounge, modernized meeting and work spaces, and enhanced showroom space.

According to IMC reps, construction is expected to begin immediately after the Summer 2019 Market season and wrap up next winter.

Details on future Atlanta NEXT phases—to include enhancements at AmericasMART Buildings 2 and 3, a block to the west—will be announced in coming months, officials said.

Across the street from Building 1, Peachtree Center owners Banyan Street Capital recently removed walls and incorporated a glass staircase to open up that property, lending a more inviting entry point to subterranean shopping and eateries at The Hub.

Between the two Portman-designed and developed centers, a proposal has been floated to convert Peachtree Street into a half-mile, Dutch-style “woonerf”—a shared space welcoming to pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers.