PROPERTY ATLANTA
WORDS BY NICOLE FILE
BRIDGE TO THE FUTURE
Concept Drawing
Atlanta’s former industrial wasteland is being transformed through incredible feats of urban regeneration into a spectacular, environmentally progressive mini city.
Drive into Midtown Atlanta from Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport and you can’t miss the sunshine-yellow 17th Street Bridge spanning the city’s Downtown Connector.
The Connector is the serpentine 21-lane artery that combines I-85 and I-75 through the heart of the city. Navigating from the lanes on one side to the correct exit-or avoiding others trying to do so-is a daredevil act many Atlanta residents perform daily; crossing it on foot would be suicide or a miracle.
So, when the developers of Atlanta’s hottest new address suggested a way for pedestrians to be able to cross the Connector, the response was somewhat incredulous. Many said building a bridge across the thoroughfare would be too dangerous, too inconvenient, too expensive and too, well, foolish.
Future residents of Atlantic Station, it was suggested, would have to weigh the benefits of a Midtown location against the pitfalls of getting around town. Fitting then, that 17th Street Bridge’s opening ceremony was held on April Fool’s Day, 2004, considering that many people saw this as the proverbial "bridge too far”. Besides providing a safe crossing for pedestrians, the 17th Street Bridge loosens traffic jams at rush hour and, best of all, reconnects residents of East and West Midtown. And it’s that kind of stubborn innovation that has transformed a piece of Atlanta’s industrial wasteland into Atlantic Station, a 138-acre mini city that’s becoming one of the most sought-after bits of real estate in the area.
Urban Redemption
Atlantic Station is built on a former brown-field site, the abandoned location of the 100-year-old Atlantic Steel Mill. The project, which began in 1997, was the largest urban redevelopment plan in the US. When it is completed in 2006, the live-work-play community will include 12 million feet of residential, office, retail and entertainment space and 11 acres of public parks. It will provide as many as 5,000 residences and six million square feet of workspace.
Atlantic Station provides enough amenities for residents to live, work and be entertained without ever getting in a car.
Getting to this point hasn’t been easy for Atlantic Station developers, Jacoby Development, and their partners. And the challenges didn’t end with having to figure out how to get the 17th Street Bridge built (pre-build it in Florida, break it into huge chunks, reassemble it on-site during off-hours). For starters, the soil had been contaminated by years of industrial waste; some 12,000 truckloads of dirt and other materials were hauled away or cleaned at a cost of $10 million. Developers also spent $25 million on a state-of-the-art sewer system to handle the water needs and turned a storm drain into a small park with a water feature and footbridge.
Jacoby Development also went to great lengths to create an environmentally responsible neighborhood with 150,000 cubic yards of materials being recycled during the building process. Indeed, Atlantic Station has its own central cooling plant that will save millions of dollars and operate up to 25% more efficiently than typical HVAC systems.
The community also has its own shuttle system; clean-fueled, rubber-tired buses ferry residents around Midtown on the same schedule as MARTA (the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority), the city’s main transportation system. An Atlantic Station office building was the first such high-rise in the Southeast to be certified by the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) system designed by the US Green Building Council. The developers plan to build all commercial buildings in the community to the same standard.
Live, Work, Play
Atlantic Station provides enough amenities for residents to live, work and be entertained without ever getting in a car. Businesses in the community range from IKEA to the Improv Comedy Club to Dillards and the DSW shoe store. There’s also a large Publix grocery store and a 25,000-square-foot entertainment and dining complex. Atlanta’s largest law firm and one of the city’s largest real estate agencies have offices in Atlantic Station, as does SouthTrust Bank.
Several areas of Atlantic Station are already open and occupied. Homes range from apartments starting at just $700 a month to single-family homes with prices around $600,000. The first phase of condominiums sold out in record time, but 322 more will open for residency in summer 2005. Also, a hotel/condo building is set to open in the Fall, and another set of apartments should be complete in early 2006. A new set of duplex town homes is also in the work, and is scheduled to open in the Spring.
The new developments in Atlanta, as well as being the most environmentally sound and the most significant, are literally changing the face of the city. The community had already created a landmark of sorts by building the 17th Street Bridge, but a recently announced project will add an even more impressive structure to the city’s Midtown. The National Monument Foundation will fund construction of a 75-foot triumphal arch at the community’s center. The Millennium Gate will be the second-largest work of public art in the area (the mammoth carving of Confederate soldiers on the side of Stone Mountain is the largest). The arch will house historical displays and an art gallery and will be open to the public. The rooftop will also be available for private events, such as weddings. The Millennium Gate will be visible from I-85, I-75 and, of course, the Downtown Connector. Drive into Atlanta from the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, and like the bridge, you won’t be able to miss it either.