What was once Atlanta’s DuPre Excelsior Mill and beloved Masquerade music venue is now the city’s latest adaptive-reuse, creative offices hoping to capitalize on the BeltLine’s allure.

The Old Fourth Ward complex, originally built in the 1890s to manufacture excelsior packing materials, endured three decades as the iconic, gritty, multi-room music park, where the old floors were known to tremble during rowdy shows.

Before closing in 2016 and moving downtown, the Masquerade hosted scores of future music-industry legends. Nirvana, OutKast, Radiohead, Rage Against the Machine, Green Day, Bjork, Foo Fighters, Dave Matthews Band, Ice Cube, Nick Cave, Nine Inch Nails, Jane’s Addiction—they all graced Masquerade stages.  

Now called The Mill, a partnership between Coro Realty and Southeastern Capital Companies, the project has created about 30,000 square feet of office space, spread across two levels in two buildings, plus a lobby.

Next door, the North & Line apartment building’s deck will provide 108 spaces for office workers—when working from offices en masse resumes.

The mill once used materials transported by railroad to the site on what's now the Atlanta BeltLine. Photography by Dorian Shy, Framework Photographic; courtesy of Smith Dalia Architects

Designed by Smith Dalia Architects, The Mill’s office core and shell aimed to marry new constructing with rustic stone walls and no shortage of industrial relics. The scale, neighboring the apartments’ retail spaces and Ponce City Market across the street, is designed to feel like a village.  

Following a partial building collapse during construction in December 2019, a century-old wall was pieced back together in a way project reps say is historically fitting.

The formerly collapsed wall, as seen today, was rebuilt in a historically accurate way, per Smith Dalia Architects. A seam designates where the repaired section meets the original stone facade. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Earlier this summer, Coro Realty bought another recognizable property near the BeltLine’s Eastside Trail—the CVS at Midtown Place Shopping Center, across the street from Ponce City Market—for $13.5 million. As the Atlanta Business Chronicle reported, the purchase means Coro Realty owns that entire shopping center, with the exception of Home Depot.

We’ve checked with development reps for updates on The Mill’s leasing, and we’ll post any additional information that comes. UPDATE: A Colliers International representative says The Mill is fully leased; we're working to identify the future tenant.

For now, head to the gallery for a look at how this Atlanta landmark’s latest conversion turned out.

• Recent Old Fourth Ward news, discussion (Urbanize Atlanta)