Atlantic Station, Atlanta
 |
- This article describes a recently developed mixed-use neighborhood in Atlanta, Georgia. For the Atlantic Avenue subway stations in New York City, see the list of New York City Subway stations. For the light-rail station in Newark, New Jersey, see Atlantic Street (NLR station).
Atlantic Station is a large urban renewal project at the northwestern edge of Midtown Atlanta, Georgia. First planned in the mid-1990s and officially opened in 2005, its 138 acres (558,000 m²) of mixed-use land development is on the former brownfield site of the Atlantic Steel mill. At completion, the redevelopment is ultimately projected to include 12 million square feet of retail, office, residential and hotel space as well as 11 acres of public parks. Its size encouraged the Postal Service to award the neighborhood its own ZIP code: 30363.
Layout
Atlantic Station is comprised of three distinct areas that are lined along 17th Street between the Downtown Connector and Northside Drive. They are known (from east to west) as The District, The Commons, and The Village.
The District
Retail & Residential
The District is where most of Atlantic Station's retail and office space is located. Opened on October 21, 2005, it is set up in the style of an outdoor mall, with many choices of shopping, dining, and a 16-screen Regal movie theater. Above the retail levels is an additional two to three stories of condominiums known as ATLofts. The District is actually above two stories of one of the country's largest parking decks. With the 7,300 space parking garage underneath, the shopping area is pedestrian friendly and many of the surface level streets are often closed off for special events. The southwest corner of The District is home to the 26-story, 336-foot TWELVE Hotel and Residences Atlantic Station, which was completed in December, 2005. In addition, townhomes constructed by Beazer Homes in 2004 line 16th Street one block south of The District.
Office
The District's office space is located along the six-lane 17th Street Corridor and is currently home to two office buildings: the 22-story 171 17th Street (known as the Wachovia Building and formerly SouthTrust's headquarters), which was completed in 2004, and the 17-story 201 17th Street, which is expected to be completed in July, 2007. In addition, there are two holes between 201 17th and TWELVE which are slated for future development.
The Commons
The Commons is home to many low-rise condominiums, apartments, townhomes, and a large man-made pond that is actually located within the median of 17th Street.
Residences
Icon - Apartments
Art Foundry - Condos
Element - Condos
Park District - Apartments
Millenium Gate
The Millennium Gate is an expression of world class architecture and sculpture, as well as a generous gift to the citizens of Atlanta from the National Monuments Foundation. Located at the center of the Atlantic Station community, the $18 million arch will celebrate human peace and prosperity, with special attention paid to Georgia's rich history and people. The Millennium Gate will house Gateway Galleries, a unique collection of interrelated displays and exhibits showcasing the pioneering and philanthropic spirit behind the development of Atlanta.
The Millennium Gate is comparable to Washington Arch in New York, the Wellington Arch in London, the Carrousel Arch in Paris and the Siegestor Arch in Munich. The structure’s exhibits and art galleries will be open to the public. The rooftop will be available for weddings and other events. The history exhibits within the Gate will recreate the office of Thomas Glenn, the late chairman of Trust Company bank, who in the 1930s ran Atlantic Steel the previous owner of the land that is now Atlantic Station. Glenn's family is among the project's supporters.
The Millennium Gate is scheduled to open in the Summer of 2008.
The Village
The Village is located on the westernmost portion of Atlantic Station and comprises an IKEA store that opened on June 29, 2005, and private student housing known as The Flats.
Transportation
The primary roadway access to and through Atlantic Station is an extension of 17th Street constructed by the developers. As part of the project, the Georgia Department of Transportation erected the yellow 17th Street bridge over the I-75/85 Downtown Connector expressway that separated Atlantic Station and the Home Park residential neighborhood from the rest of Midtown.
Controversy developed at the time of construction not only because of the bridge's unusual yellow color (resulting in its local nickname, the "Big Banana"), but also for GDOT's insistence that the bridge and street meet suburban highway standards. Indeed, the bridge is eight lanes wide, and the enormous right-of-way afforded to 17th Street east of the bridge lacks street parking and utilizes an unusual arrangement of placing street trees and lamps at the edge of the adjacent buildings' property lines instead of against the street. The section of the Street west of the bridge consists of four through-lanes of traffic, in addition to a bus lane, bike lane, and turning lanes in each direction, also lacking street parking.
Access to public transportation is provided via a free shuttle that runs every 5 - 15 minutes to the Arts Center MARTA rail station and a recently extended MARTA bus route (Peachtree #23) which also serves the Arts Center Station. A railroad line runs along the northern border, but twice-daily passenger service is available only at the Brookwood Amtrak station, a significant walking distance away. Shuttle service is also provided by Georgia Tech's bus system.
Despite the pedestrian-friendly arrangement of much of the eastern section of the project, parking is inexpensive and easily available in underground parking decks; indeed most visitors arrive by car. The lack of any neighborhood retail services in the western section of the project has also necessitated a considerable amount of driving, even within the project, by its western residents.
==Tenants==
IKEA's store is one of the largest in North America at 366,000 sq. ft., with its second-largest restaurant, and the only one to serve grits. It's also currently the furniture chain's only store in the south and employs 600. A two-level underground parking garage is beneath the store. IKEA is now building a facility at the Port of Savannah, in part to support the new store.
Anchors & Majors
19th Street Dental
Allstate Insurance
American Eagle Outfitters
Ann Taylor
Ann Taylor Loft
Atlantic Grill
Au Bo Pain
Banana Republic
Boneheads
California Pizza Kitchen
City Sports
Cold Stone Creamery
Dillard's
Doc Green's
Dolce
Express
Fox Sports Grill
Gap
Geisha House
Guess?
IKEA (366,000 sq. ft.)
Journeys
Kay Jewelers
K-La
Knitch
La Fitness (46,837 sq. ft.)
Lobby at TWELVE
Old Navy (16,880 sq. ft.)
Pier One Imports (11,993 sq. ft.)
PJ's Coffee and Lounge
Publix (30,312 sq. ft.)
Regal Cinemas (86,989 sq. ft., 16 screens)
Strip
Target
Taste Clothing Boutique
The Grape
Victoria's Secret
Wachovia
Washington Mutual
West Elm (15,172 sq. ft.)
White House / Black Market
Wolf Camera
Z Gallerie (10,100 sq. ft.)
History
First opened in 1901, the steel mill had been nearly closed in the mid-1970s, remaining nominally operational primarily to avoid the huge costs it would have been assessed to remediate the soil contamination present after years of operation. It was purchased in the 1990s by developer Jim Jacoby, who also redeveloped Florida's Marineland.
The redevelopment was financed largely by private investment, but was heavily supplemented by a special tax district to pay for city tax bonds for public utilities (streets, sidewalks, and sewers).
The developer hopes Atlantic Station will be known for its energy efficiency and use of renewable energy, and wants much of it to be LEED-certified. It is also expected to somewhat mitigate urban sprawl and reduce air pollution by allowing many more people to live and work within walking distance of most everyday things they need. It also is relatively close to a MARTA subway station (to which is it connected by a shuttle bus), and the planned Belt Line transit/greenway project (which is expected to pass within a few miles or kilometers of the development).
Fire
In July 2005, a pre-dawn fire on July 24th completely destroyed a large wood-frame residential building under construction. Two days later, it was ruled arson after a major investigation. In addition to the destruction of the 65-unit Elements building, which was only framed-in at the time, another 80 inhabited units at the Art Foundry across Mecaslin Street had damage to the façade, including scorching, broken windows, and melted miniblinds. At least five million dollars of damage was to the buildings, 18 cars parked on the street were destroyed and another 7 were seriously damaged from the intense heat. A reward of 10,000 dollars is being offered by the state, plus another 50,000 from the Lane Company, which was constructing the building. Insurance by Lloyd's of London and Chubb Group will cover the company's damages.
Homeowners
The following is a list of prominent celebrities, athletes, and business people who are homeowners in Atlantic Station.
- John Abraham, Atlanta Falcons DE
- Frank Ski, DJ V103
- Crash Clark, 99x