A New Underground Atlanta to become apartments, retail development

By Collin Kelley

The city has sold Underground Atlanta to a developer who plans to transform the Downtown attraction into apartments and retail with a grocery store as an anchor tenant.

Mayor Kasim Reed announced on Dec. 17 that the 12-acre property had been sold for $25.75 million to South Carolina-based real estate investment firm WRS, Inc., whose portfolio is filled with retail center developments.

The purchase ends seven months of search and negotiation with potential buyers after the city bought out the remainder of an 88-year lease with the project’s former operating partner for $8.8 million.

There have been previous proposals to turn Underground into a gambling casino, a museum or an arts district.

The retail and entertainment district, best known for hosting the annual Peach Drop on New Year’s Eve, was created after the Civil War as bridges and viaducts were built over Downtown’s railroad tracks. The five-block section, containing about 12-acres, was eventually covered and forgotten as the street level was raised one-and-a-half stories by the end of the 1920s.

Underground was rediscovered in the 1960s and the original store fronts, brick streets and gas lamps were renovated and turned into a restaurant and nightclub district in 1969, including the original Dante’s Down the Hatch. The heyday was short-lived and Underground became home to vagrants until the late 80s, when it was resurrected again in 1989.

The second heyday didn’t last long either as the upscale retailers and restaurants fled and were replaced by small shops, chain stores and fast-food restaurants.

With the influx of Georgia State University students and residents into lofts and apartments, a grocery store has often topped local polls as the most needed amenity in Downtown.