New community rises on old brownfield site

Gordon Wright, Executive Editor

A 138-acre contaminated steel mill site in Atlanta's Midtown area has been converted into a new retail/residential/office community in one of the largest urban brownfield redevelopments in the U.S.

Tenants began moving into Atlantic Station's first office tower, a 21-story building designed by Smallwood, Reynolds, Stewart, Stewart & Associates, last April. The developer is a joint venture of Jacoby Development Inc. and AIG Global Real Estate Investment Corp. Hardin Construction Co. is the contractor.

The EPA designated Atlantic Station a national "smart growth" model in 1999 and granted an exemption for the development even though the Atlanta area was out of compliance with Federal transportation conformity requirements. As a result, the city could not use Federal funds for highway construction, or for transportation projects that require Federal approval.

Greenlighting Atlantic Station made it possible to construct a $76 million bridge across Interstate 75/85. The four-lane span, which incorporates a bike lane and a 52-foot-wide sidewalk, was engineered to allow a future extension of Atlanta's light rail system to Atlantic Station.

The development now includes 100 townhouses and single-family homes, as well as 650 apartments. Currently under construction are 811,000 sf of retail space on top of a 7,000-vehicle, below-grade parking structure. A 366,000-sf IKEA store is scheduled to open next summer.

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