Newport RE’s blueprint for transforming a substantial portion of South Downtown is expanding again.
Newport, the American arm of a Germany-based development firm, announced five more property purchases today in blocks south of Five Points and Underground Atlanta.
Those additions bring Newport’s holdings in the area to more than 50 buildings and a developable sea of surface parking lots. Each of the recently acquired properties is steps from both residential towers Newport is planning to build and the company’s current Mitchell Street offices.
The four buildings and surface lot along Mitchell Street (bottom left) and Broad Street in Newport's latest round of purchases. (UPDATE: Development officials inform us incorrect information was supplied this week, and the building at left above was not included in recent purchases, but the smaller structure immediately to the right of it was.)Google Maps
The developer aims to eventually transforming 10 blocks of the richly historical district into a buzzy hub of retail, restaurant, office, hotel, and residential uses—while leaving the area’s inimitable architectural bones intact.
One highlight of Newport’s recent purchases is 185 Mitchell Street, a three-story early 1900s structure at the corner of Mitchell and Broad streets with intricate brickwork and a vintage fire escape.
The other four properties are neighboring buildings 111 and 115 Broad Street, a pint-sized parking lot at 187 Mitchell Street, and a long, underused two-story structure at 199 Mitchell Street with bars on its lower windows. (UPDATE: 3:18 p.m., January 12: Development officials inform us incorrect information was supplied this week, and the 199 Mitchell building was not included in recent purchases, but this smaller structure immediately to the right of it was.)
“These historic buildings will undoubtedly add to the vibrancy of the area,” Kevin Murphy, Newport’s executive vice president, said in a prepared statement. “We’re happy whenever we can work creatively with longtime building owners to unlock value for themselves and their families.”
The three-story 185 Mitchell Street building, at left, and two others immediately behind it are included in Newport's latest South Downtown deal. Google Maps
All properties in question are located just south of where Newport plans to start constructing a 21-story residential building in the first quarter of this year—with another 18-story building in the works across Broad Street.
Newport’s goal is to deliver those South Downtown residential buildings—the area's first development of that type in decades—with more than 650 units in 2025.
Newport's latest purchases in relation to the company's residential tower proposals. Courtesy of Newport RE; designs, Studios
Two ongoing Newport adaptive-reuse projects, Hotel Row and 222 Mitchell, are located less than a block away to the west, in the direction of Centennial Yards and Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Both of those ventures are expected to open this year.
Just down the street, Newport announced in September it had purchased the historic 175 Trinity Avenue building and parking lots totaling 1 acre from the Georgia Municipal Association, adding to the developer’s substantial portfolio.
...
Follow us on social media:
• Downtown news, discussion (Urbanize Atlanta)
