Survey results are in for never-occupied city building near Zoo Atlanta

Hundreds of Atlantans have chimed in about what should fill a landmark building near Zoo Atlanta that’s sat perplexingly empty since opening a half-decade ago, much to the chagrin of neighbors and park visitors. 

The suggestions, according to a City of Atlanta official, could help influence what the city picks to finally occupy the award-winning Grant Park Gateway building. And that just might happen, at last, this year. 

The prospectus survey, conducted by the Grant Park Neighborhood Association, recently gathered more than 750 responses in three weeks. 

According to GPNA leadership, the vast majority of respondents visit Grant Park’s namesake greenspace daily or weekly and live within two miles. Almost nine out of 10 of them—88 percent—get to the park by foot or bike. 

The top requested concepts for the 7,000-square-foot blank space, according to write-in ballots, were: “All-Day Café,” “Family Bistro” with direct lawn access, and “Micro Food Hall” with shared seating. 

Patron preferences lean toward casual, grab-and-go concepts much more (nearly 3.5 to one) than a full-service restaurant, and most respondents favor a concept that would seamlessly tie into the park, per GPNA’s recap. 

The top write-in request, however, was clean restrooms. A high demand for programmatic uses (think: events and wellness gatherings) was also apparent.

“Grant Park has the greenspace, the zoo, and the foot traffic. It is only missing a casual ‘third space,’” reads a GPNA summary. “The right concept will serve as the daily gathering point for four adjacent neighborhoods… A business built to serve the immediate walking neighborhood will thrive on day one.”

Atlanta City Council member Jason Winston, whose District 1 covers Grant Park, attended GPNA’s monthly meeting Tuesday in which the survey results were presented. 

According to Winston, the city’s departments of Public Works and Procurement will include the survey findings in an exhibit for prospective Gateway tenants. The city’s goal is to issue another Request for Proposals soon, spend the typical 90 to 100 days vetting responses, and then select a Gateway occupant by sometime this fall, Winston told meeting attendees. 

“We had a pre-advertisement meeting a couple of weeks ago where some folks got to come out who were interested in the space,” Winston said. “They had an open house a week ago, so it’s generating a lot of support… They’re moving actually pretty quickly to get that space activated.” 

The Gateway saga has stretched for several years at this point. Quick recap: 

The distinctive building—finished in 2020 but officially opened in January 2021—overlooks a 2.5-acre park atop a parking garage, crowning a space that city leaders have described as “iconic.” Controversial from the outset, the $48-million Gateway project replaced a parking lot (and mature trees). A year after opening, it earned the Atlanta Urban Design Commission’s Award of Excellence for sustainable design. 

City officials took ownership of the Gateway space from the Atlanta and Fulton County Recreation Authority two years after it opened, which project leaders called a key first step in getting it occupied. The city’s first RFP issued in February 2023, however, didn’t attract a single bid from prospective tenants; inflation was blamed. The second stab at an RFP, originally issued in February 2024, was a more detailed pitch to businesses that could fill such a large space.

But the city’s original pick to fill the Gateway’s retail portion—Savi Provisions, a regional gourmet market chain—officially backed away in May, following about a year with no construction progress. 

After that, the city’s Community Development/Human Resources Committee voted to endorse an alternate Gateway plan put together by Terminus Commercial Real Estate Partners that had initially lost out to Savi. Terminus’ plan called for a micro food hall and public programming idea, “Gateway Park and Market,” with three fresh food vendors, plus a grab-and-go market, coffee and tea options, a full-service bar, and a deli counter, among other facets. 

But that team’s bid was eventually cancelled by the city last year, according to its spearheads, who called the process perplexing and frustrating. City officials declined to comment at the time. 

A GPNA task force was formed in response to the second axed Gateway concept of 2025. And the recent survey sprang from that. 

Not among the most popular answers, for better or worse: “mattress store,” “brewery,” “Waffle House,” or “shooting range.” 

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