Lady Celeste

The infill construction in Midtown Atlanta is in full swing.... Photo courtesy of Ant131531 From left to right: Yellow crane: the 32-story Atlantic House 407 units 11,500 sq ft retail Blue cranes: the 6-story 1010 West Peachtree 328 units 13,000 sq ft retail Black crane: the 23-story Post Millennium Midtown 327 units Red crane: the 20-story 60 11th Street 319 units 14,000 sq ft retail

Sunset from above Buckhead.... This photo is courtesy of Jason Durden, pilot of the WSB TV Channel 2 Action News helicopter. It was taken this evening as the new helicopter flies over Buckhead.

The changing skyline of Midtown.... Soon to join this view is the new NCR HQ building, Atlantic House, Modera Midtown and Post Millenium. This vantage point is looking east from the campus of Georgia Institute of Technology.

$140 million spec tower set to rise in Perimeter Center A $140 million spec tower is set to rise in the Perimeter Center along I-285. The building is being built by Atlanta developers Seven Oaks Company LLC. Groundbreaking for the building, to be known as 4004 Summit, is scheduled to occur on January 19th. While it is just a 15 story glass box, it is part of the increase in development in the large employment center known as Perimeter Center. For those who are trying to mentally place the site, it will be on the southside of I-285 just west of the Hewlett Packard building on Lake Hearn Drive.

Ambitious development proposed for the Perimeter Center (Sandy Springs). Developers are proposing an impressive, albeit ambitious, mixed-use project that could include up to five office and residential towers around the Sandy Springs MARTA station.The project at 1117 Perimeter Center West would rise amid existing office buildings and shopping centers clustered just east of Ga. 400 in Sandy Springs.The developers of 1117 Perimeter Center West are led by principal In Shik Hong, Databank said. The Korean investor and developer is known for dense mixed-use projects and towers in Australia and New Zealand. Source: http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/real_talk/2016/01/ambitious-five-tower-project-planned-for-sandy.html

Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport reaches a milestone! The magical number was achieved today at Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport. The airport welcomed its 100,000,000th passenger today. The lucky passenger's name is Larry and he arrived on a flight from Gulfport, MS around 8:30 this morning. HJATL is the first airport in history to reach such a milestone. What an amazing feat! Congrats to all who work hard to make the airport a success. I would be remiss to not mention the dedication shown to the airport by Atlanta's own Delta Airlines.

That's a nice volume of development for the Buckhead Village. I think the scale and heights are so fitting for the area. I last shopped at Buckhead Atlanta back in August. It's very walkable. It was actually more enjoyable than I was imagining it to be. All of the proposals will only add positively to the urban fabric in the area.

Thanks for the updates Martinman. One doesn't really appreciate the volume of construction going on in Midtown until you have been away for many months and then return. I was last in Atlanta for Thanksgiving. I was really impressed by how much the Midtown skyline has changed in just a few months. While most of the new construction is "short" in comparison to the highrise explosion of the late 80s/ early 90s, I am pleased to see the level of residential construction going on. I'll be back in Atlanta during the New Year's weekend. Hopefully the weather will be agreeable so I can take some time to explore the fast growing Midtown neighborhood. I look forward to following the rise of the NCR HQ, Amli Arts Center and 22 14th Street.

A panoramic view looking west from just above the Old Fourth Ward... A colourful Old Fourth Ward by Richard Cawood, on Flickr

An employee of NCR, who goes by the name of GeorgiaPeanuts on another forum, posted some more pictures of the proposed NCR HQ building in Midtown. Although I wish the building was taller, these pictures go a long way in warming me up to this proposal. Look at the street presence from Spring Street at 8th Street: The Spring Street Building's glass is designed to be transparent on every floor so people passing by can see the activity inside — and want to be part of it. "It will be like an urban living room, where the company plans to invite everyone in Tech Square to come and be part of what it is doing," McColl said. “NCR wants to take the intellectual capacity of Tech Square, and of Georgia Tech students and professors, and create an active, collaborative environment,” said John McColl, an executive vice president with Cousins Properties Inc. As viewed from the Downtown Connector: Other views: Just FYI: The grassy portion of the lot will be Phase II of the NCR corporate campus. Someone who attended the DRC meeting said the architects stated that the building would have the height presence equivalent to a 28 story building. That puts us in the 400' range. Atlanta's top 10 tallest buildings are all above 650' so this will not be iconic. To be iconic in Atlanta, you would need a really impressive design, an impressive crown or be above at least 700'. I don't even know why Cousins would make such an initial proclamation. However, if it does rise to 400', it will appear sizable located right along the Downtown Connector. Again, I am not floored by the design. I am happy that it will at least start construction in December of this year. Throw in the proposed 750,000 sq ft, mixed-use High Performance Computing Center at Tech Square a few blocks south on Spring Street and there will be a nice concentration of technology and innovation. It could be worse. We could still have a parking lot. Instead we will have a F500 technology company that is bullish on encouraging more tech companies to set up shop right in the heart of Midtown. Now GA Tech grads can stay in the city and invent new technologies to employ even more people. Clearly we are in a different development stage this development cycle. This cycle is more about infill and street presence...and that's a good thing.

Re: The NCR HQ Proposal I am going to try to remain positive in regards to this proposal. Quite frankly I think the design is not awe inspiring. It's definitely not iconic. It's a s if Duda Paine took a left over building from Cousins' Terminus complex in Buckhead and plopped it down in Midtown. I don't mind the height as much as the design. Why not just add something unique to the top? Even if it was a 30 foot high clear block of glass to mimic a melting ice cube that glows at night. BUT.... When viewed in the positive: It is a F500 company locating its HQ right in the heart of the city. It is also bringing up to 4,000 jobs with it. This will mean more people to fill the plethora of 20-40 story apartment towers going up in the vicinity.This proposal has a scheduled ground breaking for December. I loathe those proposals that only break ground after been first present two years prior. It will also take away a vacant lot. Plus this is only phase one.This new building will be across 8th Street from the recently completed 19-story University House and the 29-story Modera Midtown apartment tower which is currently under construction. It is also in the same block as the recently completed 24-story Tech Square tower. This area will be transformed within a matter of 1.5 years as opposed to five years. That's pretty amazing.With this 27-story office tower being positioned right next to the Downtown Connector, as plain as it may be, it will make an impact. It definitely won't be skyline changing. Perhaps when viewed in the context of the actual skyline, it might actually be really neat. Right now....not so much.

So we now have pictures of Related Group's new apartment tower. It has gone through the permitting process and is only waiting for site development and county waste approval. Hopefully this one can start right away. It is located across the street from Novare's 32-story Atlantic House that is currently under construction. I can watch its construction using the Atlantic House webcam. I'm not blown away by the architecture but I am thrilled by the height AND the added density it will bring. There will be 390 upscale units. This will be replete with a 70,000 sq ft flagship Whole Foods. This will definitely be a boost to the central Midtown area. Read more here: Yikes...that picture is humongous. My apologies.

Construction within one square mile of Midtown I wanted to put into perspective the volume of construction going on in just a small area. I'm not adding proposals. I chose a > square mile area bound by 14th Street to the north and 4th St to the south and Williams Street to the west and Piedmont Avenue to the east. Yoo on the Park 782 Peachtree 1010 West Peachtree 60 11th Street Atlantic House Azure on the Park University House Seventh Modera Square on Fifth 33 Peachtree Place

I anxiously await the announcement. There is just so much going on within the city limits of Atlanta from economic announcements to development/construction that it can become a full time job just keeping up with it all.

Related Group of Miami presented their plans for a new Buckhead residential tower to be located at 3372 Peachtree Road in Buckhead. The proposal was presented before the Development Review Committee in late May. Phase 1 will consist of 386 residential units, 2 story retail fronting Peachtree and wrapping around to Stratford Road frontage. The proposed height of the building will be 419' feet. Phase 2 of the project was not discussed. Further down Peachtree Road, at 2520 Peachtree, Atlanta developer JPX Works has filed plans to demolish a low rise condominium building and replace it with a 22 story condo building. More details forthcoming.

Coming on the heels of the recently announced new destination of Doha via Qatar Airlines, Hartsfield-Jackson has landed yet ANOTHER direct destination. Turkish Airlines has announced that it will expand to Hartsfield-Jackson by launching flights to the historic Turkish city of Istanbul. This is welcomed news as it affords even more direct connections from Atlanta to many parts of the world. As international trade becomes even more connected, this gives an edge in the recruitment of international business to the region. It should also be of note that not only is this is a new direct destination but also a new airline to Hartsfield-Jackson as well. Read the announcement here: http://www.globalatlanta.com/article/27662/turkish-airlines-confirms-new-flights-to-atlanta/

NCR's move to Midtown defined... The $260 million headquarters for NCR, the software company that is moving from Duluth to the Georgia Tech area, is the first step in a grander plan to create a “Silicon Valley of the East,” CEO Bill Nuti said Monday. In an exclusive interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Nuti said creating a hub for about 4,000 technology workers in Atlanta is a “bold, ambitious” move, but that he is committed to ways to help keep more graduates — and their high-paying jobs — local. Nuti said about half of Georgia Tech’s engineering graduates leave the state for jobs in northern California, Boston, Austin, Seattle and elsewhere. Within five years, he expects another major tech company to put its headquarters in Midtown. Nuti also said he is “actively advocating” with other CEOs for the establishment of nearby innovation labs. “We think we can convince other companies in technology to join us,” he said. NCR’s own offices will have the high-tech feel of headquarters like Google, Nuti said. He said the company wants to build its new campus with a storefront setting with glass walls where Tech students passing by can see engineers at work. “We want students to say, ‘I want to work there,’” Nuti said. “Our campus will be a recruitment engine.” While I think calling the area "Silicon Valley of the East" is a bit contrite, I think it is wonderful to see a corporate citizen like NCR bullish on making Midtown influential in the tech industry. This is great news. Story behind the paywall: http://www.myajc.com/news/business/n...ast-nex/nmYYR/

Thank you Martinman and Kh9142 for keeping up with ALL that is going on. I was reading another site and I came across this interesting bit of information from a contributor on that forum regarding the Midtown District. Here are the development stats for Midtown: Under Construction (including projects doing site prep) 7 Towers 3,098 Residential Units 101,000 SF retail Proposed 20 Towers 5,331 Residential Units 231,000 SF retail 1.5 million SF office space 762 Hotel rooms That's just for the Midtown District alone. This doesn't include Buckhead, Downtown or the Perimeter Center. Based on the absorption rate of the recently completed projects, even the numbers of units above may not be enough for this fast growing district. Not only is it picking up in residential but it also appears that office is gaining steam as well. Also, it looks like the new Whole Foods on 14th Street will be quite large at 72,000 sq ft. The proposal will be discussed at the upcoming Midtown's Development Review Committee on Tuesday, June, 09th. With so many residential units coming to fruition, this will be quite the necessity for this area. Location of the proposed Whole Foods AND twin residential towers by Related Group. Read more here: http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/blog/peachtree-plate/2015/06/midtown-closer-to-landing-organic-grocery-store.html

Great picture Martinman. It puts all of the development south of 10th Street and north of 4th Street into perspective. I love watching these projects go from proposal to actual construction. In other development news.... Leventhal's 25-story apartment tower breaks ground. Officially called Yoo on the Park, developers officially broke ground on the newest addition to Midtown Atlanta's burgeoning skyline. Located at 207 13th Street, the 245 unit Yoo on the Park will be steps from Piedmont Park and only a couple of blocks from the growing Midtown Mile retail corridor. A ceremonial ground breaking will take place on February 18th at 11am. . With the start of this project, there could be three residential buildings under construction at the same time along Piedmont Park's western border between 11th and 13th Streets. For reference purposes, the three towers would be the 22-story Alta on the Park (220 units), 24-story Azure on the Park (327 units) and Yoo on the Park. There are so many towers under construction in Midtown that I have lost count Read more here: http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/real_talk/2015/02/developer-scott-leventhals-25-story-midtown-tower.html

One construction crane comes down (Skyhouse Buckhead) and one construction crane goes up (Three Alliance Center). Finally the crane is going up for Three Alliance Center (see rendering above). Unfortunately there is no dedicated webcam for the project so we are forced to get only a glimpse of the site via the Skyhouse Buckhead construction cam. In case you are interested, the site is to the immediate left of the Paramount condo tower on the webcam. It is going up at the edge of the construction site next to Lenox Road. Webcam here: http://oxblue.com/open/SkyHouseApartments

Atlantic House...or Skyhouse 4...is set to break ground Jan. 30th. Novare Group has scheduled a ground breaking ceremony for January 30th at 1163 W. Peachtree in Midtown. This will be the site of the fourth apartment tower of the Skyhouse brand in the Atlanta market. Rising 32 stories, the building will have design features reminiscent of One Atlantic Center directly across 14th Street. The building will be called Atlantic House and will feature 400 apartments and 11,500 square feet of retail space on the ground floor. The naming of this building is a slight departure from the standard Skyhouse [insert name] format of other projects. I'm assuming that the naming of this project is a play off the names of the buildings on the northeast and northwest corners of the intersection of 14th Street. It's good to see this development move forward. With 5000+ jobs being relocated to the Midtown district from the suburbs (NCR and WorldPay), these new units will be greatly needed.

They are going to fit that hotel on this small lot.... This proposal is catty-corner from the proposed Amli Arts Center apartment tower and across 15th Street from the Arts Center MARTA station. While the integrated parking deck needs a little more work, I think it is a decent proposal. The more density, the better.

This is wonderful news. NCR will build their urban campus on an existing parking lot at Tech Square. From a density standpoint, you can't be more thrilled with them for choosing to locate in Tech Square. The photo below shows the 4 acre site in between University House and the Tech Square tower. Photo courtesy of Shivtim on Skyscraperpage.com I agree with Krazeeboi. I am glad that NCR is proposing to build a series of 8-10 story buildings to cover the entire 4 acre site rather than one tall building. No more anti-urban parking lot. This will go a long way in improving the urban feel of this particular area. With this many jobs being located in the city, this should also jump start many of the proposed residential towers in the area. While I'm in Midtown.... 782 Peachtree Street is in full swing as tower cranes help in the construction. AND 33 Peachtree Place.....

Apparently WorldPay has zeroed in on Atlantic Station. No new construction as originally reported but it will become the anchor tenant for the 201 17th Street building. Article here: http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/real_talk/2014/11/worldpay-zeroes-in-on-atlantic-station-tower.html

Sandy Springs based World Pay could move its HQ to Midtown, bring with it 1,266 jobs. World Pay, a Sandy Springs-based financial technology company is looking to move its HQ to Midtown. The company will meet with Invest Atlanta on Thursday. Generally when companies shuffle around the metro area, I don't make a big to-do about it. This move, however, shows how the Midtown brand as the metro area's technology center is solidifying. NCR, another technology company, has been said to also be considering a move to Midtown. This would bring an additional 1000+ workers to the city center. Both companies are said to be seeking possible new construction. The company had also considered a move to locations in other states. World Pay is seeking a possible $1.5 million incentive from Invest Atlanta. No, that is not a typo. This is a very small amount considering that the 1,266 jobs have an average salary of $73,317. This possible move also feeds into the narrative that Atlanta is growing inward. It appears that many companies are moving to where the public transportation is already available. Public transportation is high on the list of amenities that companies in the tech field crave. I'm sure it's a tool for recruitment of the millennium crowd. If just one percent of the metro area moved inside the city limits, that would be a gain of 60,000 people. Of course that may be wishful thinking but if the branding continues to improve then it's not that far-fetched. This bodes well for all of the many highrise apartment buildings that are currently rising or proposed. Now we may have many more people working intown who actually LIVE intown too. Read more here: http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/blog/atlantech/2014/11/sandy-springs-based-worldpay-could-relocate-hq-to.html