Keeping tabs on what is happening in the neighborhoods where we work is almost MORE than a full time-job! Why? Because there is so much going on!! It’s hard to keep up with all the surrounding areas! I recently drove down a street I’d not been on in awhile, to find an entire section had been cleared and a townhome community was on it’s way. (Ok, admittedly I’d not been on the street in awhile.)

But when it comes to Midtown Atlanta, we do keep the radar on at full power. It seems the Midtown Alliance slipped in a DRC meeting this month that we were not aware of.  And this review was for no small building. And this gives some credit to…

North of 14th the New Midtown Hotspot?

Peachtree and 17th (as it was labeled at the DRC meeting) appears to be a 35-40 story tower proposed for the corner of 17th and Peachtree Streets. Now, if memory serves me correctly, this is the corner that is owned by Dewberry Capital. So, they have either agreed to sell it, or develop it, although their name is not mentioned in the brief DRC review.

What’s so “game-changing” about this building?  Well, first off the location. If you have watched the cranes of Midtown, you know that the focus of development has been between 5th and 12th Streets. So to see some new plans for the Northern part of Midtown that…well…has a pretty quiet street presence is exciting. Secondly, if in fact this building were to rise in any fashion as to what is indicated in this drawing, it would be seen from quite a distance on either I-75 or I-85 as you headed South into Midtown Atlanta.

The drawing also appears to be a much needed break from the solid green glass towers that are the building of choice of architects and developers. Personally, if I was designing any tower in Midtown, I’d want it to be a “Holy Cow, Wow, What is that?” kinda building.

This was just the first pass of this proposed development. So, we will be keeping an eye on it. But with the growing trend of companies looking to be in Midtown Atlanta and close to the walkability of the area as well as the talent pool of Georgia Tech, this my not be to far off in the future.

On another note for North of 14th the New Hotspot…on the map below, you’ll see an arrow pointing to the green space, 17th and Peachtree. The second arrow is the almost 8 acre site owned by MetLife that could be another killer location for an urban corporate campus. We’ve got our eye on this one too!