Miami-based residential developer the Related Group plans a new high-rise apartment tower in Midtown Atlanta that will bring with it the ultimate emblem of yuppie status — a Whole Foods grocery store.
Related Group officials said Tuesday the 38-story tower will have 390 luxury apartments and a “flagship” 70,000-square-foot Whole Foods store. The project is planned for the intersection of 14th and West Peachtree streets, a short walk southwest of the Woodruff Arts Center.
Ed Allen, Related Group vice president of development, in a news release cited Midtown’s walkability, “thriving business district” and Fortune 100 companies among the reasons for selecting the site. A spokeswoman said ground-breaking for the tower is tentatively scheduled for October, with start of construction planned for second quarter of 2016 for the market. No details were immediately available about financing of the project.
Midtown has seen an influx in new high-rise apartments and corporate relocations. Major companies including NCR, Worldpay US and Kaiser Permanente have announced expansions in the area.
Related is one of Miami’s most prolific condo developers, but the company had a rough go of its last attempt at development in Atlanta. The company’s CityPlace development along East Paces Ferry Road in Buckhead never got off the ground before the financial crisis, and the land was taken back by the lender. Construction on a new mixed-use development by AMLI Residential recently started on the former CityPlace land.
Speculation has abounded about new grocery-anchored development in-town with the influx of new apartments and student housing. Over the past decade, Publix has ventured into the market with locations including Atlantic Station, along Spring Street and on Piedmont Avenue. Whole Foods opened a market a few years ago on Ponce de Leon Avenue in the Old Fourth Ward.
A grocery store is also a key piece in the planned redevelopment of Underground Atlanta.
