The scope of redevelopment plans for “one of the last major undeveloped parcels in Midtown” is getting more ambitious, according to a newly formed development team.

Initial plans for student housing venture Hub Cypress came to light in spring 2024, calling for a single tower at 7th and Cypress streets to take shape next to a protected Midtown landmark, the Historic Academy of Medicine, which faces West Peachtree Street and is used by Georgia Tech as event space.

Chicago-based developer Core Spaces submitted specific plans to Midtown Development Review Committee in September, calling for 292 units (1,199 student beds) in a 22-story tower, with about 2,000 square feet of retail. 

Plans have swelled since then, according to a Core Spaces announcement this week. 

The development firm, now in partnership with Birmingham-based Capstone Communities, plans to make Hub Cypress a multi-phase project. Both companies have experience developing student housing near Georgia Tech in recent years. 

According to 2024 designs, the proposed west facade for Hub Cypress, facing West Peachtree Street and the downtown Connector. Dwell Design Studio; Core Spaces

Looking north across the parking lot and surrounding blocks in Midtown today, with Cypress Street shown to the immediate right. Google Maps

The first phase for Hub Cypress will see hundreds of additional beds (roughly 1,600) and more than double the amount of ground-floor retail space initially planned (5,000 square feet now) that will “activate the surrounding streetscape,” according to Core Spaces’ announcement. 

Atlanta’s Dwell Design Studio has been picked as architect for the initial phase. No groundbreaking date was specified (city permitting records show no activity this year), but the first phase is scheduled to deliver in 2029, per the project update. 

Capstone Communities will lead development of phase two. No details for its scope were specified this week. 

Currently a surface parking lot, the .8-acre parcel is bounded by 7th Street to the north, Cypress Street to the east, and the Academy of Medicine to the west. It’s located just behind the Spire Midtown condo tower, south of Ecco Midtown restaurant, and immediately north of The Biltmore at Midtown apartments. 

Developers have noted that a MARTA tunnel directly beneath the property will prohibit below-grade development.

Various aspects of Hub Cypress, according to 2024 designs. Dwell Design Studio; Core Spaces

The site's frontage along Cypress Street today, with the Academy of Medicine building shown on the opposite side of the lot. Google Maps

Revised designs last summer called for phase one to bank on the areas’ walkability and transit access. Just 161 parking spaces were planned in three levels, and roughly 75 of those spaces will be reserved for Georgia Tech events at the Academy of Medicine next door, per filings.

The Hub Cypress site is roughly two blocks from Core Spaces' first student-housing project in town, Hub Atlanta, which opened for Georgia Tech’s 2023 fall semester. The development team has described that 292-unit building—a glass and panel-clad structure with a four-story parking garage almost fully concealed—as “stunning.”

Capstone Communities’ previous work in Atlanta includes the two-building Inspire Atlanta project, which opened just south of Georgia Tech’s campus (with views for miles) in 2021.  

In the gallery above, find more context and imagery for Hub Cypress, according to 2024 plans. 

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