Atlanta’s 11 Biggest Renovations in Recent Memory

Over the last few years, projects have transformed dated and dilapidated buildings across the city — for a change

BY MICHAEL KAHN MAY 3, 2016, 10:33A

Ponce City Market is one of several blockbuster renovations in Atlanta’s recent past.Curbed Atlanta

Renovations come in all shapes and sizes. And with Atlanta experiencing a development boom, a slew of projects is reinventing buildings and sites across the city, taking old spaces and breathing new life into forgotten or outdated places — instead of simply dispatching the wrecking balls of Atlanta’s inglorious past.

Some are finished, some are in progress, and some have yet to start. But they all are pretty spectacular:

Ponce City Market: Completed

By now, no description is needed for what’s arguably Atlanta’s biggest and best renovation of all time. Over the past few years, JamestownProperties has transformed the former Sears & Roebuck facility in Old Fourth Ward into a mixed-use showstopper. With offices, residences, shops, restaurants, and a rooftop amusement park, this reimagined relic is pretty fantastic.

Ponce City Market.Curbed

FlatironCity: Completed

The Flatiron Building just north of Five Points has been around for a long, long time. And now, Atlanta’s oldest surviving skyscraper has a new lease on life, with collaborative workspaces to support innovation and tech startups. Ground-floor restaurant spaces intend to activate the street and provide a spiffed-up Peachtree Street across from Woodruff Park.

Krog Street Market: Completed

In late 2014, Atlanta got its first heaping helping of ex-industrial space transformed into a food-hall haven. Krog Street Market, with a range of restaurants and a touch of retail space, repurposed the 1899 former factory. A year and 1/2 after opening, and with more competition on the scene, the place remains as crowded as ever, highlighting the appeal of such transformations.

Phipps Plaza: Completed

The upscale Buckhead mall was looking pretty tired after more than 20 years. Owner Simon Properties spruced up the place both inside and out, ending the reign of 90s blah for good.

The new, futuristic entry to Phipps.Michael Kahn, Curbed

Atlanta History Center: Underway

The Atlanta History Center in Buckhead has long been a resource for those doing research, film crews, and folks who love to learn. The facility is in the midst of a major overhaul that started back in 2014. One phase is wrapping up, while the construction of the building to house the relocated Cyclorama picks up steam.

Cyclorama: Underway

While the Cyclorama painting is moving to the Atlanta History Center in Buckhead, its century-old purpose-built former home in Grant Park is being converted into an events space. With views of the Atlanta Zoo’s savanna enclosure, the space should be a killer spot to host parties, fusing the classical architecture with some new style.

The Beltline: Underway

While some may argue the Beltline isn’t a “renovation,” per se, the project that’s transforming more than 20 miles of unused rail corridor into one of the nation’s most recognizable urban trails is worth recognizing. An overwhelming task and logistical nightmare, the project could take decades to fully come to fruition at its current rate of development.

Construction continues along the Beltline’s Westside Trail near Gordon White Park in the West End.Curbed

Candler Building: Planned

One of Atlanta’s earliest skyscrapers, the Candler Building has long stood tall on Peachtree Street. It’s been an office building for its first 110 years of existence, and work should soon commence to transform the building into a boutique hotel.

Airport: Planned

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport was built to serve a purely utilitarian need. But as the most-traveled airport in the world for almost two decades — and the welcoming mat to Atlanta for thousands every day — it’s well past time for a makeover. Plans are in the works to bring almost $6 billion worth of renovations to the building in the coming years.

Turner Field: Planned

The Braves are well into their worst final season ever in their home of two decades. With work wrapping up on SunTrust Park, plans have begun to circulate that hint at what Georgia State University and developer Carter have in store for the former stadium grounds. Whatever comes promises to be a game-changer.

One of the three proposals being floated for Turner Field.Perkins+Will

Atlanta Dairies: Planned

Memorial Drive has experienced an extreme uptick in developer interest of late. The extra attention has brought Paces Properties, the developers of Krog Street Market, into the fold with a proposal to reinvent a former dairy into something along the lines of their earlier project in Inman Park — only with more uses, including a music venue. At last check, the project was still navigating Atlanta’s permitting gauntlet.

HONORABLE MENTION:

Westside Provisions District: Ongoing

The Office Apartments: Completed

The Goat Farm: Completed

Colony Square’s Overhaul: Proposed

The Stacks Lofts in Cabbagetown: Completed

Pullman Yard Redo: Maybe One Day