STATESIDE | ATLANTA
On the Rise Atlanta bustles with vibrant new development. BY JAN SCHRODER
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Reinvention: Atlanta cityscape PHOTO: © SEAN PAVONE | DREAMSTIME.COM
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aybe it’s because 40 percent of Atlanta was destroyed during the Civil War in 1864 and was forced to rebuild from its ashes. Or maybe it’s due to later generations of visionaries who developed a racetrack into the world’s busiest airport, a soft drink into the world’s most recognized brand and a hot Southern city into host of the Centennial Summer Olympics. Whatever the reason, this capital of Georgia is perpetually growing and reinventing itself. In 2017 two major sports stadiums opened: Mercedes-Benz Stadium, home of the Atlanta Falcons, Atlanta United and the 2019 Super Bowl; and SunTrust Park, home of the Atlanta
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Braves. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport ushered in a $6 billion, 20-year renovation project. The airport also announced plans for the addition of an InterContinental hotel on its campus. Engineering a $55 million renovation, the Georgia World Congress Center increased its convention space to 1.5 million square feet with the completion of its 100,000-square-foot Exhibit Hall BC project and will break ground on a high-rise, 4-star Signia by Hilton this spring. While many residential areas in the city maintain their charm with elegant homes, treelined streets and sidewalks, Atlanta’s commercial corridors remain in a constant state of change. Former industrial areas and warehouses now host
apartments, condos, restaurants and retail. This includes the Westside Provisions District, which helped launch the industrial adaptive re-use trend in 2008. Nearby lie Star Metals, a $330 million development that features state-of-the-art luxury residences, and the Goat Farm Arts Center. This abandoned textile mill where kids used to visit roaming goats later morphed into a ramshackle arts compound with rentable studio and event space. (The goats eventually were evicted due to rowdy behavior.) The site plans to transform into a live-work community with an arts-based hotel, restaurants, commercial building and new home for The Museum of Contemporary Art Georgia.
