A key step in what’s been called Atlantic Station’s next chapter has arrived. 

Nordstrom Rack, an off-price version of the Seattle-based luxury retailer, has opened a 28,000-square-foot store in the anchor space occupied by DSW shoes for more than two decades. 

Nordstrom Rack has scheduled a grand opening, starting at 8 a.m. Thursday. It marks the second of two national department store retailers at Atlantic Station, joining the Dillard’s on the opposite, eastern side of the infill megaproject that's claimed a former steel mill site. 

DSW had operated in the same space along Atlantic Drive since 2005 as an original Atlantic Station tenant until its lease expired in January. It’s next door to the district’s shuttered Publix grocery. 

Nordstrom Rack's facade on Atlantic Drive this week. Urbanize Atlanta

Inside Atlantic Station's new 28,000-square-foot anchor retail space. Urbanize Atlanta

The Atlantic Station location marks the eighth in Georgia for Nordstrom Rack, in addition to two Nordstrom stores, that employ more than 700 people, per the company. The appeal is deals up to 70 percent off many of Nordstrom’s popular brands of shoes, apparel, beauty products, home décor, and accessories.

Fresh off its 20th birthday last year, 138-acre Atlantic Station has hired experienced new management—Fort Worth, Texas-based Trademark Property Company—to handle all retail management, leasing, and general operations, with a goal of shaping Atlantic Station’s “next chapter,” per district owner Hines.  

Atlantic Station has seen several high-profile business closures over the past year, including Banana Republic, DSW, and Publix, the property’s lone grocery store. 

No replacement for Publix has been announced, but an online petition with more than 2,200 signatures is lobbying for a Trader Joe’s to fill the vacant space. That effort was organized by “the shoppers, residents, workers, students, and supporters of Atlantic Station,” per the Change.org petition. 

A DJ spins at a Nordstrom Rack sneak preview event Tuesday. Urbanize Atlanta

The escalator entry to Nordstrom Rack could look familiar to former patrons of DSW shoe store at Atlantic Station. Urbanize Atlanta

Hines officials announced in February a slate of new retail concepts including MINISO, a Japanese-inspired Chinese company, and three restaurants: Gocha’s All Day, Playa Bowls, Busy Bee Café. 

Another win came in March, when popular rankings website Niche crowned Atlantic Station the No. 1 place to live among 18,000 “best” neighborhoods across the U.S. 

Next door, Midtown claimed the No. 6 spot on the Niche list. 

Today, Atlantic Station counts almost 8 million square feet of mixed-use development—the equivalent of more than six Bank of America Plaza towers—with plenty of onsite real estate left to build up. 

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• Reader poll: Atlantic Station is about to turn 20. How's it doing? (Urbanize Atlanta)