The Gulch’s transformation from a soulless urban void into a magnet for investment is becoming more and more obvious as Atlanta’s dog days of summer drag on.

As throngs of cowboy hat-wearing concert-goers at Mercedes-Benz Stadium may have noticed this past weekend, a section of the first ground-up new tower at Centennial Yards appears to have reached its maximum height, according to project renderings.

The building in question is an 18-story, glass-clad apartment tower that now overlooks The Benz from directly across the street, following a quick ascension throughout the spring and summer months.

Centennial Yards reps tell Urbanize Atlanta the project is very close to reaching its max height, “but technically the topping out is not completed.” Updates regarding naming and other details are expected to be revealed next week.

Centennial Yards' first ground-up apartment building's north and western facades today. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

The 304-unit apartment building stands where Centennial Olympic Park Drive meets Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive. Vertical construction is also continuing on its sibling project, the 292-key Anthem hotel, with its curving base levels having rounded into shape across the street.

Both new buildings will stand 18 stories between The Benz and active railroad tracks below, marking the most tangible evidence to date the Centennial Yards megaproject is starting to become real. A joint groundbreaking was held for the projects in late 2022. [UPDATE: 6:29 p.m., Aug. 22: Officials with TVS architects send word their firm is the design architect and architect of record for both new buildings.]

Centennial Yards Company leadership has said both buildings are scheduled to deliver sometime in 2025. An update on opening timelines wasn’t available today.

View of the Centennial Yards tower projects in August from the east, across the Gulch. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Planned look of the Anthem hotel (left) and apartment building at Centennial Yards, as seen from Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Courtesy of Centennial Yards Company; designs, TVS

Just east of the towers, Centennial Yards has also broken ground on an 8-acre, mixed-use entertainment hub anchored by a Cosm entertainment dome with a fan plaza at the center.

Those buildings are scheduled to be finished in time for eight 2026 FIFA World Cup matches set to be played in Atlanta, beginning in June that year.

The Gensler-designed project would also include another Centennial Yards hotel (14 stories) on a new platform wedged between Centennial Olympic Park Drive and MLK Jr. Drive, adjacent to both State Farm Arena and Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Collectively, phase two is being referred to as the project’s Entertainment District.

Developers with Centennial Yards Company, a division of Los Angeles-based CIM Group, hope to not only complete the Entertainment District in time for the World Cup—but to have two-thirds of the 50-acre, $5-billion project either complete or under construction by then.

How the next Centennial Yards phase is expected to meet Martin Luther King Jr. Drive (left), with active rail lines separating it from the Anthem hotel tower (back left) and The Benz. Courtesy of Centennial Yards; images by Apex Visualization

Eventually, Centennial Yards is expected to create a dozen city blocks, with about 750,000 square feet of retail in the mix, all backed by a nearly $2-billion tax-incentive package, a record for Atlanta. 

In the gallery above, see where Centennial Yards’ construct progress stands today, versus its pre-World Cup future, should plans come to fruition.

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