For Uptown Atlanta, the 47-acre, transit-connected district formerly known as Lindbergh, efforts to establish a new identity are taking a step forward this summer, with more changes in the pipeline.

Uptown owners and redevelopers Rubenstein Partners have announced grand openings for three new retail concepts—taqueria El Gordo, Roundhouse Kickboxing, and Bene Korean—at the mixed-use hub considered one of Atlanta’s original and largest transit-oriented developments.

The Philadelphia-based real estate firm began renovating Uptown and refreshing its tenant lineup more than three years ago.

The new retail arrivals at Uptown will join 26 Thai Kitchen and Bar and Chow À La Carte at Uptown Test Kitchen, the latter described as a “novel culinary experience designed to bring the community and local chefs from around the world together.” Mahesh Mani, Rubenstein’s senior vice president of asset management, said the Atlanta-born tenants are helping create a unique retail experience and global dining district at MARTA-anchored Uptown, which counts 1 million square feet of offices, communal gathering spaces, and about 120,000 square feet of retail overall.

The district plans to open three more signed tenants—retro barber shop The Commodore, Korean bakery White Windmill, and Latin coastal concept Madre Selva—before the end of 2024.

“With these openings,” Mani said in an announcement, “our vision to create a new center of gravity connecting Buckhead and Midtown at Uptown is beginning to take shape.”

The revised look of Uptown's Main Street. Contributed

El Gordo plans to host a grand opening Saturday. It’s a fresh concept from the owners of Marietta’s Birria El Gordo, with a menu featuring the owners’ Guadalajara-based family’s signature recipe for birria, plus street tacos, tostadas, specialty tacos, and other dishes. Expect live mariachi bands and DJs on El Gordo’s patio space fronting Uptown’s Main Street.

Bene Korean is described as an upscale Korean barbecue experience, led by local chef Vincent Jung, featuring traditional recipes and a protein-packed menu with Wagyu, filet mignon, New York strip, spicy prawns, and scallops. It’s open now, with a grand opening planned later this month.

Meanwhile, classes have begun at Roundhouse Kickboxing, a fitness studio, with an official opening set for Aug. 17.

Passageway to the atrium of Uptown's office towers off Main Street.Contributed

Rubenstein bought the massive property for $187 million in 2019. The $70-million conversion from Lindbergh to Uptown started in earnest when AT&T, the original anchor tenant and the property’s heartbeat for two decades, vacated two office towers in January 2021.  

As another tenant win, Rubenstein announced last year it had signed a 130,000-square-foot lease with MARTA to take a significant bite out of Uptown’s available office space, with up to 540 relocated employees occupying four full floors of the district’s East Tower.

Uptown selling points, according to Rubenstein officials, include connectivity to PATH400, the South Fork Trail, and the BeltLine corridor. Previous work at the district renovated early-aughts facades, made Main Street more pedestrian-friendly, and modernized the property’s nucleus, a 35,000-square-foot office atrium.

Views from the top floor of new Uptown offices to Midtown and downtown. The property's greenspace can be seen, while under renovation in 2022, near the MARTA tracks the district was built upon.Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

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