Crane watch: ATL's tallest building in 3 decades making skyline mark

The tallest skyscraper built in Atlanta since before Bill Clinton was president is starting to become visible from points all across town. 

When we last checked in on 1072 West Peachtree’s construction progress with a drone before Thanksgiving, the tower’s wider base was on the verge of topping out. That portion will include more than 20 stories of Class A offices, parking, retail, and amenities. 

Since then, vertical progress on the 60-story development has steadily ticked up.  

As of Saturday, construction on the roughly 730-foot-tall structure had reached six stories above the base level. That means three dozen more floors of the slender, taller section of the building are left to go. 

We set out recently at street level to show the project’s context in the Midtown skyline of today—and to give a rough approximation of its stance in the near future. 

For context, Rockefeller Group’s plans call for 1072 West Peachtree to stand just 90 feet shorter than One Atlantic Center—Atlanta’s third tallest building, an iconic structure topped with a golden spire designed by Johnson/Burgee Architects. The two buildings will stand about two blocks apart, both on West Peachtree Street. 

But the Rockefeller project is situated uphill from its taller counterpart. That could give the impression from afar—and we can only guess here—that the sky-rises are of nearly equal height. Which is fun to think about. 

The New York City-based developer has described 1072 West Peachtree as Atlanta’s tallest residential building and tallest mixed-use tower. 

The tower will climb more than 730 feet, making it Atlanta’s fifth tallest high-rise and supplanting Westin Peachtree Plaza Hotel for the No. 5 spot, Rockefeller officials have said. 

No taller skyrise has been built in Atlanta since 1992. 

Rockefeller bought the former 1.14-acre U.S. Postal Service facility site—situated at the southwest corner of West Peachtree and 12th streets—for $25 million in 2020. 

Designs by Atlanta-based TVS call for 6,300 square feet of retail at the street and 224,000 square feet of Class A office space above that. Topping the building will be more than 350 apartments alongside amenities described as world-class. 

Other components will include Midtown’s largest outdoor amenity deck—aka, the “Sky Garden”—designed for expansive views of the city, per Rockefeller. Inside, plans call for a two-story space where cyclists can lock away bikes and take a shower, in addition to a fitness center described by developers as the best around.  

Rockefeller was attracted to the site for its connection to Midtown’s existing street grid and proximity to two MARTA stations, the Southeast’s biggest concentration of cultural and art attractions, and the largest Whole Foods on the East Coast. The company is familiar with the area, having partnered with Selig Development on the 40 West 12th condos a block from the former post office.

No timeline for 1072 West Peachtree’s completion has been specified, but work has now been underway at the site for two years.  

Even for Midtown, which has been transformed by high-rise investment over the past decade, the Rockefeller project promises to stand out—as we’re starting to see now. Find a closer look in the gallery above. 

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