After eight months of construction, the South Downtown location of startup incubator Atlanta Tech Village has opened, marking the next chapter in the transformation of 10 blocks in Atlanta’s historic commercial core.
The 115-year-old Sylvan Hotel at 235 Mitchell St. has been rechristened as ATV Sylvan, with much of the building’s original charm remaining — a blue-and-gold tile mosaic on the floor of the community space, exposed brick in the hallways and meeting rooms. It’s a nod to the past as the building moves into the future.
At a ribbon-cutting Wednesday to celebrate ATV Sylvan’s opening, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said the next generation of Atlanta success stories will be written in downtown’s historic buildings, blocks away from where Alonzo Herndon started the Atlanta Life Insurance Company and John Pemberton sold the first Coca-Cola.
“This is how you start a year,” Dickens said.
ATV Sylvan includes 30,000 square feet of office space, rentable on a month-to-month basis by startups and individual entrepreneurs. The space hasn’t officially opened because South Downtown developer Atlanta Ventures has yet to receive a certificate of occupancy from the city. They were supposed to receive it Wednesday, said ATV’s Managing Director Aly Merritt.
Atlanta Ventures has sold about 40% of the memberships the space can support, Merritt said. The names of companies already are written across a few of the spaces, such as artificial intelligence writing assistant software company SparkyAI!, with their own small ribbons to cut.
Credit: Savannah Sicurella
Credit: Savannah Sicurella
ATV Sylvan is the latest project to open in Atlanta Ventures’ South Downtown portfolio. Led by serial entrepreneurs David Cummings and Jon Birdsong, Atlanta Ventures plan to turn more than 50 mostly vacant properties into a hub for startups and entrepreneurs with offices, housing, restaurants and retail.
The duo set forth its vision in late 2023 after acquiring the portfolio from Newport RE, which was on the verge of losing the properties to foreclosure. Newport, which invested more than $155 million into the project before exiting, had ambitious plans to restore the century-old buildings to their former glory and build new structures on empty lots. But rising interest rates and a pullback from commercial lenders got in the way.
ATV Sylvan’s Mitchell Street location is in the middle of Hotel Row and a core part of the expansive portfolio. Two other businesses have opened along Hotel Row, which were leases signed before Cummings and Birdsong took over: Tyde Tate Kitchen, a Thai restaurant, and Spiller Park Coffee.
Credit: Savannah Sicurella
Credit: Savannah Sicurella
Atlanta Ventures opened its first coworking space in South Downtown last year at 170 Mitchell St., which used to house Newport’s offices. That location, known as Atlanta Tech Village Mason’s, has space for 50 entrepreneurs.
Cummings’ and Birdsong’s venture is one part of the mosaic of redevelopment efforts underway to transform downtown into a lively, 24-hour district, one that has become more prescient as Atlanta prepares to host multiple matches in the 2026 World Cup. Though plenty of residents and office tenants call downtown home, activity on the streets tends to disappear after the 9-5 workday or when large sporting or concert events end.
The biggest downtown project is Centennial Yards, the $5 billion redevelopment of the Gulch into a sports and entertainment district. There’s also the city-backed conversion of the 40-plus-story Two Peachtree Street office building into residences and Lalani Ventures’ reactivation of Atlanta Underground. The area’s MARTA stations also are slated for renovations.
What’s next for South Downtown? Apartments. Construction has started on 40 units at 142 Mitchell St., which once housed a Bass Furniture store. These apartments won’t have designated parking spots, challenging Atlanta’s dependency on cars, Birdsong told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Credit: Tom Coffin
Credit: Tom Coffin
Atlanta Ventures also is in the process of finding restaurants to fill Hotel Row’s storefronts, Birdsong said. They want a pizzeria and taco shop, among others.
During his remarks at the ribbon-cutting, Cummings pointed out that the location is in the neighborhood where Atlanta started — where three railways converged.
“Only 100 yards from here, millions of people would get off at the terminal station in search of a better life,” Cummings said. “They came to Atlanta to create their career, to build a family, to build a future.
“Today, it’s Atlanta’s founding neighborhood for founders.”
Memberships start at $300 per month, the ATV website shows. Private office space is available at $630 per month for a fully furnished, single-person office to about $5,000 for a 12-plus-person office. The prices are in line with ATV’s Buckhead location. Members at the Buckhead location also have access to the Sylvan.
About the Author
