Real Estate PASSION PROJECT

John Wieland envisions One Museum Place as Intown’s own Dakota

By Collin Kelley INtown Editor

One Museum Place has been a passion project for John Wieland for nearly a decade, surviving the economic recession to be reborn as what the developer hopes will be Atlanta’s answer to the famed Dakota building in Manhattan.

The address for OMP is certainly prestigious: it sits across the street from the Woodruff Arts Center complex on Peachtree Street in Midtown and many of the units will have dramatic views of the High Museum’s iconic façade and the city’s skyline and green canopy of Ansley Park.

The property will feature three five-story buildings consisting of 45 units priced from $900,000 to $3 million. At press time, eight of the units have already been reserved and construction has yet to begin.

But the modern brick and wood façade, which will have ivy growing up the walls, is not what Wieland had originally envisioned for the prime piece of real estate. Before the recession, Wieland had hired noted UK architect Sir David Chippenfield to design two glass towers – one 16 stories, the other 20 – with nearly 100 units.

“It was a gorgeous design, but I’m very glad we didn’t build it,” Wieland said. “The new design is more respectable to this very special block in Midtown. lt makes One Museum Place iconic – people will wish that they lived there. It’s the Dakota for Atlanta.”

The Dakota is one of New York City’s most exclusive addresses on the Upper West Side at Central Park, with a roster of artistic residents including Lauren Bacall, Lillian Gish, Leonard Bernstein, William Inge and John Lennon.

Wieland clearly sees OMP as a destination for art lovers, which includes himself. He’s already planning to move into a fifth floor unit with a view of the High, which has a wing bearing his name.

“We went back to the fundamentals with One Museum Place,” he said. “The recession brought a bit of sobriety to the real estate market and it gave us an opportunity to look at why other projects in the city didn’t do well.”

Wieland said the recalibration of the market has seen homebuyers looking to live in a condo or loft-style building, but with a “front yard experience.” There will be plenty of that at OMP with a central courtyard, dog park and communal areas with seating and fireplaces.

There will also be some hightech amenities, including a clicker for each resident that open private garage doors and call the private elevator that will whisk you to your floor. There will also be a lounge area for owners, a catering kitchen, a flexible commons area that can be reserved for parties, outdoor terraces, fitness center and a guest apartment that owners can reserve for visitors.

OMP Principal Randy Shields said the project is set to break ground in early 2015 and be completed in 2016.

And while OMP is getting under way, Wieland has also had his eye on the Atlanta BeltLine. He’s already built the luxury Highland Park townhomes along the Eastside Trail on the border of Old Fourth Ward and Inman Park and he’s got his eyes set on Reynoldstown.

He just purchased 1.3 acres on Memorial Drive between the BeltLine trail and the new home of WonderRoot in the old Tech High School building. The 28 townhomes will begin at $400,000. For more about One Museum Place, visit ompatlanta.com.