Should plans come to fruition, a cornerstone building in East Atlanta Village could start springing to life soon in a way that preserves historic character and boosts foot traffic.
Prominent EAV developer and property owner Pellerin Real Estate—creator of the village’s Southern Feed Store food hall and The Beacon retail district, among other projects—has completed demolition work planned for several years at 514 Flat Shoals Ave. The historic corner building was vacated last year by a Truist Bank branch.
According to Jake Strange, a Bull Realty commercial real estate advisor, the building serves as the “literal heart of EAV” and is being divided into multiple retail spaces, in hopes of creating “a vibrant retail hub [and] major development for the neighborhood’s commercial core.” Bull Realty has been hired by Pellerin to lease the space and its other nearby properties.
The Flat Shoals Avenue building, which is keeping its former bank vault intact, is “currently in a cold shell space as we tour and start leasing it up,” Strange wrote to Urbanize Atlanta via email. “I think it’s the single coolest offering in the village at the moment.”
The Marbut and Minor Building at 514 Flat Shoals Ave., as seen several years ago. Pellerin Real Estate
Context of the former bank building at 514 Flat Shoals Ave., at a key village crossroads. Google Maps
Floorplans show the building’s two floors divided into four suites and other spaces, totaling more than 12,000 square feet.
Boasting a brick façade with masonry columns, the former bank was constructed sometime between 1911 and 1916 as the Marbut and Minor Building. It’s considered a crucial structure for the East Atlanta Historic District, which joined the National Register of Historic Places in 2021. Pellerin officials agreed four years ago to a historic easement designed to protect it permanently from demolition and keep architectural character intact.
Current state of gutted interiors at the corner of Flat Shoals and Glenwood avenues in EAV. Courtesy of Bull Realty
Breakdown of retail floorplans for the first level at the 1910s Marbut and Minor Building. Courtesy of Bull Realty; designs, All Architecture
Second-floor plans at the 514 Flat Shoals Ave. renovation project.Courtesy of Bull Realty; designs, All Architecture
From an economic activity standpoint, the former bank’s conversion is one of several positive happenings around the village right now, where multiple new tenants are in the process of filing vacant space, according to Strange.
The recent closure of Just Loaf’n po’ boy shop has “left a void,” but conversations are ongoing with several restaurants to fill that 512 Flat Shoals Ave. space, with two of those in the letter-of-intent stage, a final step before a lease agreement, according to Strange.
The “beloved” East Atlanta Comics bookstore, meanwhile, has expanded into additional space, also at The Marbut building (512 Flat Shoals Ave.), which is “a sign that existing EAV businesses are doubling down on the district,” per Strange.
Alongside a nonprofit partner, the City of Atlanta has set aside more than $1 million toward developing a skatepark in the neighborhood’s main greenspace, Brownwood Park, per Strange.
“EAV has the bones … but a performing arts venue and revitalized retail corner could be the tipping point from ‘cool neighborhood’ to legitimate citywide destination,” Strange said. “Compared to Inman Park or Old Fourth Ward, EAV remains one of Atlanta’s most accessible intown commercial corridors for independent operators, and the current vacancy is shrinking.”
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