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Photos: After five years, Reynoldstown’s Atlanta Dairies redevelopment is springing to life

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The formerly derelict Memorial Drive property is becoming a hub of activity, with a brewery and concert hall on tap

By Sean Richard Keenan
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A nighttime shot shows the modern details brought to the decades-old brick complex.
The redevelopment’s coffee-shop nucleus.
Photos by Josh Green, Curbed Atlanta; unless noted

Five years ago, developer Paces Properties announced plans to rehab an old industrial site in Reynoldstown into Atlanta’s next hot mixed-use community.

The big idea: Memorial Drive’s version of Krog Street Market, only larger, with a music component. And offices.

Today, the Atlanta Dairies project is abuzz with activity—apartment tenants, revitalized commercial spaces, the works—with plenty more on the way.

Back in April, the first residents began moving into Alta Dairies, a 312-unit apartment complex overlooking Memorial Drive.

A corridor made of brick and steel with cars beyond.
A corridor overlooking Memorial Drive where old structural elements meet new lighting and design flourishes. An office component is planned for the empty lot at left.

Around that same time, just a catwalk away, the Dairies Coffee House and Cold Brew Bar debuted in a section of the old brick building maintained as part of the development’s adaptive-reuse efforts.

Last month, the new restaurant concept Wonderkid, which also features a whimsical ice cream station by King of Pops, opened its doors with a menu of diner classics, fancy cocktails, and strong coffee, as Eater Atlanta reported.

A derelict old building with graffiti on it.
The space where Wonderkid operates now, as seen in 2015.
Jonathan Phillips, for Curbed Atlanta
A derelict old factory.
The decayed Parmalat milk-production facility in 2015 and a bridge structure that’s been preserved.
Jonathan Phillips, for Curbed Atlanta

On tap for later this winter or early spring is Decatur-based brewer Three Taverns’s “Imaginarium,” which aims to be “equal parts laboratory, brewery, and tasting room,” officials have told Curbed Atlanta in the past. A buildout has recently launched.

That’s not all, though.

A stroll through the Atlanta Dairies backyard, a pedestrian-friendly garden that opens up among the retail, office, and apartment offerings, lends a view of a roughly 2,000-seat concert hall that’s on the rise now.

The modern, concrete-laden garden sits between the main retail part of Atlanta Dairies and the under-construction music venue.
Beams from the concert hall construction shoot up from the ground behind the terraced patio.

Poised to be a main attractions at the 11-acre development, the indoor venue is expected to be called “The Eastern.”

A venture by the owners of Variety Playhouse and Athens’s Georgia Theatre, the venue is slated to feature its own rooftop hangout, hosting roughly 150 events each year.

One facet of Atlanta Dairies that isn’t yet showing signs of life is the 45,000-square-foot office building planned to squeeze between the apartments and Memorial Drive. That’s TBD.

Have a look around the site today.

Old metal beams accented by brickwork hang over an open-air walkway.
A former loading dock has been transformed into a walkway and seating for Wonderkid.
Brown paper covers the inside of the glass windows where the brewery is under construction.
The future brewery’s windows are now covered while progress is made inside.
A daytime view of the back yard garden and under-construction concert venue.
Interstate 20 is visible beyond the construction.
Tiered seating appears to be under construction at the concert hall site.
Where stadium-style seating is on the rise at the concert hall site.
In the daytime, the new architecture casts unique shadows around the aging brick and concrete.
Outdoor seating for the coffee shop and other food and drink options to come.

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