494-Unit Mixed-Use Proposed for 10th Street Hole in Midtown

The long-standing giant hole on 10th Street near Piedmont Avenue finally looks as if it will be filled.

On Tuesday night, representatives from Atlantic Realty Partners, Inc., gave members of NPU-E a glimpse of its proposed mixed-use project that would contain 494 residential units in three separate buildings. The yet-to-be-named project would stretch along portions of Piedmont, as well as 10th and 11th streets.

The property at 182 10th St. would consist of a 16-story building facing 10th, a 5-story brick structure that would wrap around Piedmont and 11th St., and a 24-story high-rise on 11th St.

The building facing 10th St., where the hole has been since construction was halted on a previous mixed-use project seven years ago, would feature 164 condominiums. The other two buildings would feature high-end rental units (46 in the 5-story structure, 284 in the high-rise tower) according to Ben Curran, the director of development at Buckhead-based Atlantic Realty Partners.

“One of the buildings was started seven or eight years ago but was stopped because of the recession, Curran told Patch. “We’re excited about the opportunity.”

About 3,500 square feet of retail space is planned near the corner of Piedmont and 11th and Curran said the 10th St. building could feature additional ground-level retail space, too.

The current proposal would contain two residential towers atop parking podiums. The structures along 11th St. would be lined with residential properties with direct sidewalk access at the ground-level access. Likewise, a parking structure on the east side of 11th St. would be wrapped in residential units with either residential units accessed directly from the street or retail units along Piedmont.

All loading would be in a central court and not visible from any of the street frontage. Access to the parking decks would be via 10th St. alongside the BLUE MedSpa, through a bridged opening between the east and west sections along 11th St., and via the existing alley off of 11th St. adjacent to the rear of Fire Station No. 15.

The developers are currently in the process of attempting to rezone the approximate 2.6-acre property that is at the confluence of four subareas of the SPI-16 & 17 zoning. A public hearing on the rezoning is scheduled for March 13.

The rezoning proposal would increase the current density on the combined lots. If approved, 11th St. would be widened and street parking spaces would be added. The project would not affect the businesses at the corner of 10th St. and Piedmont including the Caribou Coffee.

The Midtown Neighbors’ Association Land Use Committee voted recently not to oppose the rezoning application with the following conditions:

• That 20 percent of the density increase on the site be designated affordable housing.
• The applicant provide a traffic study specifically to address the impact of the development on the 11th St. access. The applicant has already produced the traffic study and the conclusion was that development would have no impact on traffic.
• That the 10th St. tower not exceed 250 feet.
• That the southeastern façade of the parking deck, which would be visible from the public right of way, be skinned consistent with the facades of the residential components on the Piedmont and 11th St. sides.

The property along 10th St. was at one time designed to be home to a 16-story mixed-used building with 160 condos. Intended to be Midtown Onyx, it was to have a distinctive exterior façade of glass and concrete, and feature a host of modern amenities, including a mezzanine with a pool and pool deck.

But early in the development phase there were legal issues between the developer and BLUE MedSpa concerning its construction and encroachment on the spa property. That was followed by the economic recession, so it was halted and now all that is left is a large hole with a host of safety and environmental issues.

But that looks to be changing now. A groundbreaking could take place later this year with construction wrapping up in late 2016.