Over the past five years, in just the 1.2-square-mile subsection of Atlanta that is the Midtown Improvement District, some 40 high-rises, block-altering residential communities, and significant building alterations have materialized. A dozen more have been proposed.

And right now, as another red-hot summer for Atlanta development transitions to fall, 14 more significant projects are under construction.

It’s this latter group we’ll be focusing on for the latest installment of Visual Journeys, which tours around Midtown to see where major construction sites stand in Atlanta’s most drastically changing neighborhood.

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Apartment towers

Midtown’s boom-times since the Great Recession have translated to thousands of new rentals in towering buildings, from the bright-white 39 stories of Icon Midtown to the Jenga-like geometry of lilli.

Among the newest entrants are Hanover Midtown on Peachtree and Alexan on 8th (below), which lords over the Cheetah from West Peachtree Street.

The building has Google Fiber, fireside rooftop alcoves, and a heated pool up top with a 90-inch television for what marketers call a “dive-in movie experience.”

Studios start at $1,567 for 644 square feet.

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Higher ed

Just south of the recently finished Coda project, CA Ventures is under construction on a 27-story building at 699 Spring Street marketed toward students, according to Midtown Alliance.

Joining a high-rise wave of student-focused housing in recent years, it’s projected to finish in 2021 with 320 student apartments and 7,500 square feet of retail.

Replacing surface parking just up the street from The Varsity, the tower will be walkable to Georgia Tech.

Meanwhile, a few blocks north, a student-housing tower called The Mark has climbed about 10 stories out of the ground, en route to 28 stories. It’s replacing a longstanding Dominos.

The Spring Street building, at last check, will also entail two retail spaces at ground level (9,400 square feet total), with six levels of above-grade parking.

All told, it’s expected to add another 320 units—or 715 beds—for Midtown scholars in the making.

Near Midtown’s northernmost point, Savannah College of Art & Design Atlanta’s new 14-story residence hall overlooks the Connector—with eye-catching light installations that make it glow at night.

The new facility features 596 student beds on 13 residential floors. The 14th floor is home to event space and a rooftop terrace.

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Retooled Landmarks

The redevelopment of Midtown’s Colony Square, a 50-year-old mixed-use community landmark, has had a momentous 2019, marked by the topping out of an office building and another that will house the Main & Main food hall and luxury dine-in movie theater IPIC.

The installation of a Rumi’s restaurant and other attractions is ongoing at the busy corner of 14th and Peachtree streets, while the tree-shaded Grove has emerged as an option for Midtowners looking to hang in the great urban outdoors.

Across the street at the Campanile building, a 21-story structure owned by Dewberry Group, nearly 47,000 square feet of retail is going in to add a more lively street presence.

Midtown Alliance pegs this retail delivery as coming next spring.

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Hotel additions

Where West Peachtree meets 15th street, North Point Hospitality Group is putting finishing touches on a Hampton Inn & Suites tower.

It’s expected to deliver 186 hotel rooms sometime this fall. Maybe.

Meanwhile, farther south in Midtown near the Fox Theatre, a surface parking lot has been scraped away in preparation for a 282-key hotel dual-flagged as a Marriott Courtyard and Marriott Element.

The project will share the intersection with a host of historic Atlanta structures, including The Fox, The Georgian Terrace hotel, and the Ponce Condominium building—three early 20th century landmarks.

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Corporate wins

In the southern reaches of West Peachtree Street, Cousins Properties is moving forward with a nearly 1-million-square-foot development that will house the headquarters of Fortune 500 company Norfolk Southern, relocating from Virginia.

Construction for the 996,870 square feet of offices (with a smidgen of retail) has gone below street level. The project’s expected to deliver in 2021.

A block north, site work continues at the 712 West Peachtree site, another component in the future home of healthcare giant Anthem.

It’s also expected to open in 2021.

Anthem’s first glassy tower topped out earlier this year, as the neighboring Coda complex opened, showcasing the world’s tallest spiral staircase.

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Office Space

Cousins Properties has control of a site on West Peachtree Street, a block from Technology Square and NCR’s headquarters, where The Daiquiri Factory most recently operated.

Midtown Alliance lists this striking project as being under construction right now. Plans call for it to reach 31 stories, climaxing with a blade-like slope.

Cousins Properties

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Mixed-use Goliaths

Last but not least are two titanic, truly mixed-use ventures that could substantially change the feel of Midtown’s northwestern flank.

The first phase of Midtown Union, which was approved last year, calls for office towers, a 250-key hotel, 350 residences, 100,000 square feet of retail space, and roughly 1,800 parking spots.

The development is expected to start opening in 2022.

Granite Properties recently toned down designs for the 3.8-acre site at the corner of 17th and Spring streets, but should it come to fruition as envisioned, the impact could still be significant.

And by the fall of 2020, Selig Enterprises is expected to have completed a transformation of sites at 1105 West Peachtree and 40 West 12th.

Plans call for the full mixed-use gamut: 675,000 square feet of offices, 178 hotel rooms, 20,000 square feet of retail, and even 64 swanky Midtown condos.

Courtesy of Selig Enterprises