clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

AmericasMart overhaul to launch soon at prominent downtown corner

New, 58 comments

Sidewalk activation along Peachtree Street is the beginning of broader improvements, says new ownership

A planned new face for the northeast corner of Peachtree Street and John Portman Boulevard.
A planned new face for the southwest corner of Peachtree Street and John Portman Boulevard.
ASD | Sky renderings courtesy of International Market Centers

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.

Planned changes at 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.

How the Building 1 entry would meet Peachtree Street.

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.

Off Peachtree, the lobby’s planned look.

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.

How a second-floor lobby expansion at Building 1 would look.

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.