Images: The Metropolitan is undergoing an art-centric, adaptive-reuse revival

In the early 1900s, the 1.1-million-square-foot warehouse district in southwest Atlanta now known as the Metropolitan served Georgia farmers who were struggling to make ends meet.

The district, built in 1914 by Coca-Cola cofounder Asa Candler, is said to have boasted the country’s largest single structure beneath one roof at the time.

Today, developer Carter is aiming to transform the massive property near the West End MARTA stop into a place where intown artists and other creatives live, work, and play. The same company is behind the revival of Summerhill’s commercial corridor and development around Georgia State Stadium.

Carter bought the Metropolitan property in June and has launched adaptive-reuse efforts, updating spaces ranging from 1,000 to 100,000 square feet for office, creative, maker, retail, residential, and event space uses, according to a news release.

Squeezed between Murphy Avenue and Metropolitan Parkway, the Metropolitan now goes by simply “The MET,” and Atlanta artists, entrepreneurs, and digital content developers can be spotted crafting new work all over the property, per developers.

“It is currently 95 percent leased and primarily comprised of warehouse space, but also has self-storage, residential, and retail components,” according to Carter’s website.

Still, more changes are afoot.

Carter is developing a new courtyard, entrance, and other spaces for patrons.

The courtyard is slated to be complete around the new year, and other additions are expected to follow further down the line.

The MET’s future, according to Carter’s property profile, could see new vertical construction, as well as “the creation of north-south connecting corridors and amenity space to make the complex more walkable.”

The property already has relatively easy access to the Beltline’s Westside Trail, which is roughly seven blocks away, and MARTA. It’s also expected to add a new parking deck.

Take a look below at how far The MET has come, and where it’s predicted to be going.

Photos, blueprints, and renderings courtesy of Carter/MET Atlanta