Future shock

You don’t need to peer into a crystal ball to see what Atlanta will look like in the not-too-distant future. All you really need to do is feast your eyes on what some of the city’s biggest developers have drawn up. Renderings developed by these companies outline plans that — for good or ill — depict a radically different cityscape. How different? Just take a peek at this handful of renderings we’ve collected for some of the most transformative projects in the pipeline, and judge for yourself.

Star Metals - Once a neighborhood of old warehouses and abandoned buildings, Atlanta’s Westside (known by some these days as West Midtown) is quickly becoming a gentrification station. On the site of the former Star Iron and Metal Company building, the Allen Morris Company and Paces Properties are teaming up to bring a new mixed-use development, Star Metals Atlanta, to life.On one side of Howell Mill Road, Star Metals Residences will feature 409 rental units. The building will boast amenities such as a rooftop club room where residents can gather, a theater, a bocce ball court, a yoga studio, a community garden and even a greenhouse. The design comes from Oppenheim Architecture + Design, which hopes to “reflect the historical composition and materials of the old rail yards.”On the other side of the street, the flashier Star Metals Offices will make its debut. With restaurants downstairs and office space upstairs, the eastern side of Star Metals Atlanta will house “lushly landscaped outdoor terraces, a rooftop restaurant/bar and unobstructed panoramic views of Buckhead, Midtown and Downtown.”The two buildings of the property will be located at 1050 Howell Mill Road and 1055 Howell Mill Road, respectively. According to the Atlanta Business Chronicle, the project will cost $210 million and aims to break ground this spring.

Atlanta Dairies - With construction currently underway, the future Atlanta Dairies is close to becoming our present. The site of the old Atlanta Dairies cooperative — complete with milk carton sign and Art Deco façade — is set to be a sprawling, multiuse Atlanta hangout.Paces Properties, the developer of Atlanta Dairies, has great ambitions for the property. Paces is the firm behind Krog Street Market, the Jane at Grant Park and more, so they’re no strangers to refurbishing local properties.Atlanta Dairies will include shopping, dining and entertainment venues along with office space and apartments. According to the Atlanta Business Chronicle, the development will also be home to a department store and a café from THRIVE Farmers. Along with retail space, the development will feature an outdoor common space called “The Yard.”With a price tag of $125 million, Atlanta Dairies (located at 777 Memorial Drive) is slated to open late 2017/early 2018.

Colony Square - One of Atlanta’s original mixed-use developments, Colony Square has grand plans to reinvent itself.Design concepts for the revitalization are “inspired by globally recognized public squares such as the Plaza De Santa Ana in Madrid, Spain.” The new space aims to be a retail center, complete with indoor/outdoor space, terraces, restaurants and more. To bring its vision to life, North American Properties (NAP) enlisted New York City-based Beyer Blinder Belle, the architecture firm behind the Grand Central Station renovations, among other developments around the U.S., to redesign the space.NAP is reportedly in talks with ubiquitous Atlanta restaurateur Ford Fry to head up his first Midtown restaurant. A boutique theater could come to Colony Square, charging you upward of $32 for a ticket. NAP has also mentioned that they’ve been talking to Eataly, the mammoth Italian food marketplace, about space in the development. NAP acquired Colony Square for $170 million in 2015. The first phase of the redevelopment should open in 2018.

Turner Field - Last November, the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia approved Georgia State University’s purchase of Turner Field, which is set to be reborn as new baseball and football facilities for the school.The stadium, however, is only one part of the development. Real estate investment firm Carter, in partnership with Oakwood Development and Healey Weatherholtz Properties, is redeveloping the entire Summerhill area. In what’s slated to be a 68-acre, mixed-use project, the developers plan to build corporate offices, traditional multifamily apartments, specialty and neighborhood retail and private student apartments.The firms envision the streets near Hank Aaron Drive remade into “a vibrant, walkable, commercial corridor. The combination of the new and existing commercial buildings will create an accessible, human-scale place where people want to eat, shop, and hang out with friends or coworkers.” The first piece of new development will be student apartments, set to break ground next year. 

Despite GSU using the stadiums this coming fall, the full development isn’t on tap to be completed until 2031.