Atlantic Station

:"This article describes a recently developed mixed-use neighborhood in Atlanta, Georgia. For the Atlantic Avenue subway stations in New York City, see the list of New York City Subway stations. For the light-rail station in Newark, New Jersey, see Atlantic Street (NLR station)."Atlantic Station is a large transit-oriented development project at the northwestern edge of Midtown Atlanta, Georgia. Atlantic Station is being master developed by AIG Global Real Estate and local development partner Jacoby Development, Inc. First planned in the mid-1990s and officially opened in 2005, its 138 acres (558,000 m²) of mixed-use land development is on the former brownfield site of the Atlantic Steel Mill, which after years of industrial use and contamination was remediated by its two developers along with AIG Environmental, Inc. At completion, the redevelopment is ultimately projected to include convert|12000000|sqft|m2 of retail, office, residential and hotel space as well as 11 acres of public parks. Its size encouraged the Postal Service to award the neighborhood its own ZIP code: 30363. [cite news|url=http://www.ajc.com/living/content/living/stories/2008/04/25/zipcodes_0427.html|title=Cracking the zip code of Atlanta cool|work=Atlanta Journal Constitution|date=2008-04-25|accessdate=2008-09-25]

Atlantic Station received the EPA's 2004 Phoenix Award as the Best National Brownfield Redevelopment, as well as, the Sierra Club's 2005 America's Best New Development Projects listing. [http://www.cooperativeconservationamerica.org/viewproject.asp?pid=498]

Layout

Atlantic Station comprises three distinct areas that are lined along 17th Street between the Downtown Connector and Northside Drive. They are known (from east to west) as The District, The Commons, and The Village.

The District

Retail & Residential

The District is where most of Atlantic Station's retail and office space is located. Opened on October 21, 2005, it is set up in the style of an outdoor mall, with many choices of shopping, dining, and a 16-screen Regal movie theater. Above the retail levels is an additional two to three stories of condominiums known as ATLofts. The District is actually above two stories of one of the country's largest parking decks. With the 7,300 space parking garage underneath, the shopping area is pedestrian friendly and many of the surface level streets are often closed off for special events. The southwest corner of The District is home to the 26-story, convert|336|ft|m|sing=on TWELVE Hotel and Residences Atlantic Station, which was completed in December, 2005. In addition, townhomes constructed by Beazer Homes in 2004 line 16th Street one block south of The District.

Office

The District's office space is located along the six-lane 17th Street Corridor and is currently home to two office buildings: the 22-story 171 17th Street (known as the Wachovia Building and formerly SouthTrust), which was completed in 2004, and the 17-story 201 17th Street, which was completed in July, 2007. Developed by AIG Global Real Estate, 171 17th Street was awarded the silver certificate in the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Core and Shell Development program. 171 17th Street became the first-ever LEED Silver-Core and Shell certified high-rise office building, and the first high-rise office building in Georgia to receive any LEED certification.

Additionally, the 25-story BB&T Tower at 271 17th Street is currently under construction and is scheduled for completion in 2009.

The Commons

The Commons is home to many low-rise condominiums, apartments, townhomes, and a large man-made stormwater retention pond that is located within the median of 17th Street.

Residences

*Icon - Apartments
*Art Foundry - Condos
*Element - Condos
*TWELVE Hotel and Residences - Condos
*Park District - Apartments

Millennium Gate

Adjacent to the Commons pond is the Millennium Gate, an $18 million arch intended to celebrate peaceful accomplishment, with special attention paid to Georgia's rich history and people. As of 2008, it is the largest classical monument to have been dedicated since completion of the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C..

It houses convert|12000|sqft|m2|abbr=on of gallery space, featuring traditional and modern exhibits. Collections of artifacts and family histories contribute to exhibits showcasing the pioneering and philanthropic spirit behind the development of Atlanta. Other exhibits include a recreation of the 1928 [http://www.realtor.com/search/listingdetail.aspx?ctid=1412&mnp=55&typ=7&sid=1531fd2d78394d359b5b037b5a574d2d&pg=2&lid=1091925554&lsn=11&srcnt=11#Detail Rhodes-Robinson House] foyer located on West Paces Ferry Road and a recreation of Thomas K. Glenn's office. Mr. Glenn, the late chairman of Trust Company bank, in the 1930s ran Atlantic Steel, previous owner of the land that is now Atlantic Station. Glenn's family is among the project's supporters.

The Gate's exhibits will be open to the public. The rooftop penthouse, Foyer gallery, and Oval Lawn are available for weddings, conferences, and other events.

The Millennium Gate opened July 4th, 2008. [cite news|url=http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/atlanta/stories/2008/06/14/millennium_gate.html|title=Man helps create giant arch monument for Atlantic Station|work=Atlanta Journal Constitution|date=2008-06-15|accessdate=2008-09-25]

The Village

The Village is located on the westernmost portion of Atlantic Station running along 16th Street, and is comprised of an IKEA store that opened on June 29, 2005 [cite news|url=http://atlanta.bizjournals.com/atlanta/stories/2005/05/09/focus8.html|title=IKEA faces logistics of high-density shopping|work=Atlanta Business Chronicle|date=2005-05-06|accessdate=2008-09-25] and two apartment complexes: The Flats and Metro.

Transportation

The primary roadway access to and through Atlantic Station is an extension of 17th Street constructed by the developers. As part of the project, the Georgia Department of Transportation erected the yellow 17th Street bridge over the I-75/85 Downtown Connector expressway that separated Atlantic Station and the Home Park residential neighborhood from the rest of Midtown.

Atlantic Station does not allow motorcycles.

Controversy developed at the time of construction not only because of the bridge's unusual yellow color, but also for GDOT's insistence that the bridge and street meet suburban highway standards. Indeed, the bridge is eight lanes wide, and the enormous right-of-way afforded to 17th Street east of the bridge lacks street parking and utilizes an unusual arrangement of placing street trees and lamps at the edge of the adjacent buildings' property lines instead of against the street. Motorcycles are not allowed. The section of the Street west of the bridge consists of four through-lanes of traffic, in addition to a bus lane, bike lane, and turning lanes in each direction, also lacking street parking.

Access to public transportation is provided via a free shuttle that runs every 5 - 15 minutes to the Arts Center MARTA rail station and a recently extended MARTA bus route (Peachtree #23) which also serves the Arts Center Station. A railroad line runs along the northern border, but twice-daily passenger service is available only at the Brookwood Amtrak station, a significant walking distance away. Shuttle service is also provided by Lanier Parking Solutions, for Georgia Tech students in the student apartments, The Flats.

Despite the pedestrian-friendly arrangement of much of the eastern section of the project, parking is inexpensive and easily available in underground parking decks; indeed most visitors arrive by car.

Tenants

In the Village

IKEA's store is one of the largest in North America at 366,000 square feet (34,000m²), with its second-largest restaurant, and the only one to serve grits. A two-level underground parking garage is beneath the store.

IKEA is now building a facility at the Port of Savannah, in part to support the new store.

In the District [http://www.atlanticstation.com/AS_MAP.pdf Atlantic Station Map]

*19th Street Dental
*Allstate Insurance
*American Eagle Outfitters
*Ann Taylor
*Ann Taylor Loft
*Atlantic Grill
*Au Bon Pain
*Banana Republic
*Boneheads
*California Pizza Kitchen
*City Sports
*Cold Stone Creamery
*Dillard's (220,000 sq ft.)
*Doc Green's
*Dolce
*Express Fashion
*Eye Gallery
*Fio360
*Fox Sports Grill
*Gap
*Geisha House
*Guess?
*H&M
*Journeys
*Kay Jewelers
*K-La
*Knitch
*LA Fitness (46,837 sq ft.)
*Lobby at TWELVE
*Luckie Food Lounge
*Old Navy (16,880 sq ft.)
*Pier One Imports (11,993 sq ft.)
*PJ's Coffee of New Orleans
*Publix (30,312 sq ft.)
*Regal Cinemas (86989 sq ft., 16 screens)
*Strip
*Target
*Taste Clothing Boutique
*The Grape
* [http://www.twelvehotels.com/AtlanticStation/HotelHome.do TWELVE Hotels and Residences]
*Victoria's Secret
*Wachovia
*Washington Mutual
*West Elm (15,172 sq ft.)
*White House / Black Market
*Wolf Camera
*Z Gallerie (10,100 sq ft.)

History

First opened in 1901, the steel mill had been nearly closed in the mid-1970s, remaining nominally operational primarily to avoid the huge costs it would have been assessed to remediate the soil contamination present after years of operation. It was purchased in the 1990s by developer Jim Jacoby, who also redeveloped Florida's Marineland.

The redevelopment was financed largely by private investment, but was heavily supplemented by a special tax district to pay for city tax bonds for public utilities (streets, sidewalks, and sewers).

The developer hopes Atlantic Station will be known for its energy efficiency and use of renewable energy, and wants much of it to be LEED-certified. It is also expected to somewhat mitigate urban sprawl and reduce air pollution by allowing many more people to live and work within walking distance of most everyday things they need. It also is relatively close to a MARTA subway station (to which it is connected by a shuttle bus), and the planned Belt Line transit/greenway project (which is expected to pass within a few miles or kilometers of the development).

Fire

In July 2005, a pre-dawn fire on July 24 completely destroyed a large wood-frame residential building under construction. [cite news|url=http://www.globest.com/news/333_333/atlanta/136567-1.html|title=Atlantic Station Fire Guts Lane’s $55M Element Condos|publisher=Globe St|date=2005-07-25|accessdate=2007-03-29] cite news|url=http://www.wsbtv.com/news/4772189/detail.html|title=Atlantic Station Blaze Deliberately Set|publisher=WSB-TV|date=2005-07-27|accessdate=2007-03-29] Two days later, it was ruled arson after a major investigation.cite news|url=http://www.11alive.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=66771|title=Midtown Fire Ruled an Arson|publisher=WXIA-TV|date=2005-07-27|accessdate=2007-03-29] In addition to the destruction of the 65-unit Element building, which was only framed-in at the time, another 80 inhabited units at the Art Foundry across Mecaslin Street had damage to the façade, including scorching, broken windows, and melted miniblinds. At least five million dollars of damage was done to the buildings, 18 cars parked on the street were destroyed and another 7 were seriously damaged from the intense heat. A reward of 10,000 dollars is being offered by the state, plus another 50,000 from the Lane Company, which was constructing the building. Insurance by Lloyd's of London and Chubb Group will cover the company's damages.

References

External links

* [http://www.atlanticstation.com Official website]
* [http://www.atlanticstationapartments.com Atlantic Station Apartments website]