Heavy on the scent of natural wood, Ponce City Market’s latest building officially debuted Thursday, marking the state’s first Georgia-grown, mass-timber building to use a regional supply chain and the next phase of the Old Fourth Ward campus’ phase-two growth spurt.

Counting a fresh Pottery Barn at ground level and blooming flowers on the roof, Jamestown’s four-story mass timber project 619 Ponce celebrated a ribbon-cutting to showcase its biophilic designs. That includes natural wood columns and ceilings, large windows with operable panels, and unique air filtration.  

Situated at the corner of Ponce de Leon Avenue and Glen Iris Drive, the 115,000-square-foot structure joins two 21-story residential towers that have sprouted around Ponce City Market’s landmark main building. Beyond Pottery Barn, global payroll, HR, and financial company Sage has signed on to lease 57,000 square feet of the building’s upper floors for its North American headquarters.

The second floor, where Thursday’s festivities were held with live music and bubbly, remains unleased.

Interiors smell like an active wood shop—but in an appealing, uniquely earthy way. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Jamestown is piloting a “micro climate” fresh-air intake in the unfinished area at right, which preconditions air through an intensive green space with a goal of cleaning interior air and reducing filtering costs. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Fun fact: It takes just 16 minutes to grow the amount of Georgia timber needed to build 619 Ponce, with such a vast swath of 22 million acres of commercially available pine forests in the state. What’s also unique about Georgia is the trees’ relatively quick life-cycle of 25 years from seedling to maturity, versus 80 years in other cases, officials tell Urbanize Atlanta.

The location and sustainability come at a cost. Office rents are roughly $50 per square foot in the building, a relatively high price that reps say is worth it for access to a BeltLine-connected campus brimming with shopping and dining options. Onsite amenities will include daycare and medical facilities.

Now, come along for a 619 Ponce tour in the gallery above. Timber!

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