Atlanta’s story is one of rebirth, seizing opportunity from ashes and rubble.
After the Civil War reduced the city to cinders, it was reborn as the Capital of the South. Atlanta’s rise out of Reconstruction is reflected in the phoenix adorning its city seal, and it’s an influence for the megaproject aiming to revitalize downtown yet again.
The developer of Centennial Yards, the $5 billion redevelopment of downtown’s 50-acre tangle of rail lines and parking lots known as the Gulch, topped out construction Wednesday on a 19-story hotel, which it will call Hotel Phoenix. The building is the second new tower to rise from the Gulch’s depths, part of a wider promise to rejuvenate the city center.
“This kind of represents a second economic rising in the Gulch,” said Brian McGowan, Centennial Yards CEO. “This building really symbolizes that rising from the ashes.”
Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez
Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez
Located between Mercedes-Benz Stadium and MARTA’s Five Points station, the Gulch’s time as Atlanta’s economic engine has faded. It lies 40 feet below the surrounding viaducts, acting as a hole in the heart of the city.
The Phoenix Hotel and its neighboring apartment tower, called the Mitchell, are expected to open next year, becoming the first new buildings finished as part of the sweeping Centennial Yards master plan. Los Angeles-based development giant CIM Group, the parent company of Centennial Yards, proposed the district-sized project in 2018, and it’s taking form.
The entire project’s scope encompasses 6 million to 7 million square feet of new construction, including thousands of apartments, several more hotels and an 8-acre core entertainment district.
Credit: Courtesy rendering
Credit: Courtesy rendering
Downtown, home to sports venues, hotels and other attractions, is the city’s calling card, said Katie Kirkpatrick, president and CEO of the Metro Atlanta Chamber.
“Downtown is the front door to our region,” she said during a Tuesday editorial board meeting with The Atlanta Journal Constitution. “Close to 50 million people pass through downtown, and so their first impression to the region is largely driven by downtown.”
Hotel Phoenix, a boutique hotel to be operated by CIM Group, is expected to draw thousands of travelers looking for high-end accommodations. The Mitchell will provide swanky apartments for hundreds of residents looking to see downtown’s transformation from their bedroom windows.
“Downtown Atlanta doesn’t present itself very well right now,” McGowan said. “So all of this activity is literally going to change people’s global perception of Atlanta.”
‘Coolest, sexiest’
Credit: Courtesy Gensler / Centennial Yards
Credit: Courtesy Gensler / Centennial Yards
Hotel Phoenix will feature 292 guest rooms, including 15 suites and penthouses. It will feature restaurants, including a rooftop eatery, a lobby coffee shop and bar. It also will have 15,000 square feet of event space, including an 8,000-square-foot ballroom.
The building’s architecture will highlight polished metals, reclaimed wood and stone finishes to pay homage to the city’s industrial heritage.
“It’ll be the coolest, sexiest hotel in Atlanta when it opens,” McGowan said.
Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez
Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez
Both Hotel Phoenix and the Mitchell broke ground in 2022, representing the first new construction in the Gulch since CIM Group unveiled its lofty district proposal. Atlanta leaders in 2018 approved an incentive package of up to $1.9 billion — the largest in city history — to support the project.
The Mitchell’s 304 apartments will all be offered at market rate. Centennial Yards opted to pay a nearly $8.5 million fee to the city instead of reserving 20% of the apartments at subsidized rents. As part of its incentive package, CIM separately provided $28 million to the city’s affordable housing trust fund.
The developer in a statement said it’s “dedicated to fulfilling our commitment to provide affordable housing units and aspire to exceed the expectations set forth in our agreement with the city.”
McGowan said the entire Centennial Yards district could one day include up to 3,000 apartments in addition to several more hotels. In October, permits were filed to pursue a 127-room hotel at 88 Elliott St., and another hotel is included within the entertainment district.
“We’re very optimistic about the hospitality portion of Centennial Yards,” McGowan said. “We envision at least 1,500 rooms ... so we have a few more hotels to go.”
Creating a catalyst
Centennial Yards may be Atlanta’s largest development, but several other projects are aiming to remake the fabric of downtown.
The 10-block South Downtown development has relaunched with new business incubators and entrepreneurship spaces. The Georgia World Congress Center has tapped partners to redevelop the former Georgia Dome site. And the former government office tower at 2 Peachtree St. is poised to undergo conversion into apartments with a focus on affordable housing.
Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez
Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez
Ryan Marshall, CEO of Atlanta-based home builder PulteGroup and the upcoming 2025 board chair for the Metro Atlanta Chamber, said urban revitalization takes a series of large projects to move the needle.
“It’ll help be a catalyst to create momentum,” Marshall told the AJC editorial board. “... There’s plenty of examples and models of cities that have gone through a revitalization and have (turned) something that wasn’t necessarily attractive into something that is.”
The Mitchell recently signed its first restaurant lease with Khao Thai Eatery, a new concept by the owners of 26 Thai Kitchen and Bar. The entertainment district, which broke ground earlier this year, will also boast its own fleet of restaurants. McGowan said there is leasing interest already for more than 3 million square feet across Centennial Yards’ buildings that are under construction.
“We could have all this leased up right now if we wanted to, but we want to make sure it’s the right mix,” he said.
Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez
Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez
Terrence Wilson, CIM Group’s superintendent of concrete structure management, is an Atlanta native who remembers the Gulch as an ever-present hole in the city.
He said building within the Gulch has been a logistical challenge, having to work in a confined space below the surrounding viaducts. But he said it will have a transformational effect on his city.
“I look forward to coming down here, pointing at these buildings and the things we build in the future and saying that I had a part in that,” Wilson said.
Future of Downtown
This story is part of an occasional series by the AJC to look at the future of Atlanta’s downtown. Several high-profile developments are poised to bring billions of dollars into the city’s core while it continues to grapple with the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic and a challenging real estate financing market. Downtown will also soon garner international attention when the World Cup comes to Atlanta in 2026, providing a deadline for the city and downtown stakeholders to make promised improvements.
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