clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Photos: How Poncey-Highland’s 725 Ponce and Beltline-side Kroger is turning out

New, 101 comments

The 60,000-square-foot grocery store could debut in coming weeks

By Sean Richard Keenan
101 comments / new
A picture of a new white Kroger logo hung on a white brick wall in front of the Beltline.
Coming soon: growlers beside the Eastside Trail, bought from Kroger.
Photos: Sean Keenan, Curbed Atlanta

In coming weeks, the felled “Murder Kroger’s” beefier, urbanized successor is slated to debut between Ponce de Leon and North avenues, in the Poncey-Highland neighborhood.

After that, the concrete commercial office building standing above, 725 Ponce, is expected to welcome its first tenants.

Exactly how those projects fit into the changing landscape where Poncey-Highland, Old Fourth Ward, and the Atlanta Beltline converge is becoming clearer by the day.

At the massive, $200 million mixed-use development by New City, construction crews are getting closer to wrapping up. The site has already become a major artery connecting patrons of the Beltline and Ponce City Market with Midtown and other Poncey-Highland restaurants and retail attractions.

A beige Kroger sits in the shadow of the glassy, 12-story office building.
A view from the Ponce de Leon side of the development, where mourners gathered in 2016 for a Murder Kroger sendoff vigil.

Once complete, 725 Ponce, a glassy 12-story—177-foot—office stack will span 360,000 square feet, lording over the Beltline’s most popular leg, the Eastside Trail.

The grocery store—replacing the demolished one that had a checkered, sometimes tragic criminal history—will span 60,000 square feet atop a buried parking complex.

New City reps have yet to respond to inquires about when specific components will open. But 725 Ponce topped out last summer, and it’s secured leases with downtown-based consulting company McKinsey & Co., coworking giant WeWork, and BlackRock, the world’s largest asset management firm, which will claim more than 120,000 square feet, according to Bisnow.

A green “Beltline parking” sign directs cars to the underground parking deck. It sits in front of 725 Ponce.

New City is also working to woo Starbucks to take over the remaining office space, according to the publication.

The Kroger—which, if the developer has anything to say about it, will be known as “Beltline Kroger”—is now adorned with fresh signage fronting both Ponce de Leon Avenue and the Eastside Trail.

Beltline patrons can now utilize the pedestrian-friendly plaza—decked out with new trees, garden boxes, and seating—linking the multi-use trail with what will eventually be the parking lot for the soon-to-open grocer, and later the development’s second phase.

Take a peek below at what the construction site looks like today.

A parking garage entrance sits beneath a grey concrete pedestrian plaza.
Parking access beneath 725 Ponce, and the towering, public-accessible connection between the Beltline and Kroger.
A plaza allows pedestrians to move from the Beltline to the mixed-use development.
A plaza allows pedestrians to move from the Beltline to the mixed-use development.
A wooden bench is part of a metal water fountain.
Why not grab a seat by a water fixture?
A young e-scooter rider cruises passed the complex.
The project offers easy access—and seating beneath the shade of trees—for Beltline patrons.
The glassy office tower looks blue, thanks to the reflection of the sky, over the Beltline.
The project’s western facade and the new Eastside Trail split over North Avenue.
Construction workers stand on a cherry-picker and work on an old building that once housed the Masquerade.
Across the Beltline, the former Masquerade music park’s oldest buildings are worked on by construction crews.
A new Kroger sign is seen behind a construction fence covered in graffiti.
The Beltline-side entrance to Kroger.
New plants line the Beltline in front of 725 Ponce’s concrete and metal pedestrian plaza.
A grey staircase in the pedestrian plaza is surrounded by metal planters and greenery.
The Ponce de Leon entrance to Kroger is still wrapped in construction fencing.
The office building is shown next to the brick Ford Factory Lofts.

Next Up In Atlanta Development News

Loading comments...