The Beltline’s Eastside trail is quickly developing its own skyline, and few buildings in the area make a larger impression than the massive Fourth Ward district.
The 12-acre project includes an imposing set of glassy office towers, a boutique hotel with a diamond-patterned facade and an apartment building boasting a stair-step design that stretches toward the clouds. Each building type had a different architect to ensure a bouquet of design concepts.
But it’s the small details — from unique door trims to geometrically varied courtyards — that the project’s developer hopes to spark inspiration across Atlanta.
“My hope is that other developers and architects will come and get ideas from the project and start to adopt these things throughout the city,” said Jim Irwin, president of New City Properties.
Fourth Ward’s first phase is nearly complete, with the hotel poised to open in the spring and a third office tower designed and ready to begin construction once the first two finish leasing.
Email marketing organization Mailchimp is the first tower’s primary tenant, leasing about 335,000 square feet for the company’s new headquarters. Mailchimp is currently building out its space and expects to occupy its new offices by the end of the year. About 75,000 square feet of office space remain available for lease.
New City paid $34 million six years ago to buy the land from the Georgia Power Company. The developer, which redeveloped the Beltline’s Kroger into 725 Ponce, aspired to play a pivotal role in transforming the area into a modern walkable destination for residents, tourists and office workers.
“The beauty of working with the Beltline is that as we connect and create eddies in that current, it’s a really interesting way to make people-focused spaces,” Irwin said.
About four months ago, New City finished the 18-story Overline Residences apartment tower. It features 359 apartments, ranking from studios to three-story “maisonette” flats with private entrances. Irwin said more than half of the units are filled, and he expects leasing to stabilize by next summer.
New apartment projects near the Beltline must reserve a tenth of their units for residents making 60% or less of the area median income — $42,900 for an individual or $61,260 for a family of four. The affordable units are required to be indistinguishable from their market-rate counterparts.
The Overline, a boutique hotel and social club, is finishing construction and will include 75 rooms and two ground-floor restaurants. The building also includes an event ballroom that can hold a few hundred guests.
Irwin said the space is designed to give off a country club atmosphere with its design, including several wood-burning fireplaces. All it’s missing is a golf course — although there is a golf simulator in the apartment building if someone needs to hit the links.
The four buildings share an underground parking deck that features nearly 2,000 spaces.
New City is already laying the groundwork to expand the Fourth Ward district with a second development phase, featuring about 400 more residential units. They’re slated to occupy about 2 acres that used to house Venkman’s restaurant and a live music venue. The additions are in early design stages, Irwin said.
“When it makes sense to start, we’ll be in a position to get going,” he said.
About the Author
