Good news is brewing this week for Atlantans who’ve feared the downtown area is slipping into something of a healthcare desert beyond Grady Memorial Hospital, following the closure of Atlanta Medical Center three years ago. 

But exactly what new care options might look like isn’t yet clear. 

Medical insurance and healthcare provider Kaiser Permanente—which bills itself as one of the nation’s largest nonprofit health plans, counting nearly 13 million members—announced Tuesday it has purchased 7 acres of Summerhill just north of resurgent Georgia Avenue, a new Publix-anchored commercial hub, and more than 1,000 new houses and apartments. 

In an announcement, Kaiser Permanente called the $31.5-million purchase (that’s $4.5 million per acre) a “long-term investment in one of Atlanta’s most culturally significant and rapidly evolving neighborhoods.”

At top, approximate scope of 7 acres recently acquired by Kaiser Permanente at 41 Fulton St. and 550 Hank Aaron Drive. Google Maps

A company rep later confirmed to Bisnow Atlanta the land buy is intended to improve access to healthcare in the historic neighborhood south of Interstate 20 in a variety of ways, though no definitive redevelopment plans have been set, pending community feedback and collaboration. 

The acreage in question constitutes 550 Hank Aaron Drive and 41 Fulton St., officials told the website. 

According to Fulton County property records, those addresses are former Atlanta Braves parking lots between the neighborhood’s Publix and Fulton Street. Georgia State University’s new baseball stadium is under construction across the street, to the west. (Summerhill developer Carter had previously envisioned at least part of the acreage coming to life as more new housing.) 

Let’s imagine the community engagement process starts here, and ask: In a perfect world, what would sprout from the latest Summerhill parking lots targeted for redevelopment? 

Approximate overview of Kaiser Permanente's land acquisition in Summerhill, looking north toward downtown from over Georgia Avenue in September 2022.Urbanize Atlanta

It’s a question that could play out elsewhere south of downtown, too. 

Following Atlanta Medical Center’s closure, Kaiser Permanente’s purchase marks the second major healthcare play south of I-20 in recent years. 

Atrium Health, a Charlotte-based hospital system that operates two Georgia hospitals today, reportedly bought 40 acres that includes remade warehouse district MET Atlanta in Adair Park in September 2024. City officials have speculated a new hospital could rise from that site, just east of MARTA’s West End station, but Atrium has been mum for nearly a year and ½. 

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• Flashback: Recalling the 'before' version of Summerhill's vibrant strip (Urbanize Atlanta)