After its development slate was wiped almost fully clean last year (to the chagrin of Atlanta armchair preservationists), a mixed-use project that would continue Georgia Tech’s westward expansion is showing signs of life.
Plans were recently filed with the Atlanta City Council Zoning Committee for the redevelopment of the former Randall Brothers Construction Materials headquarters, a century-old complex located near the western fringes of campus between 665 and 693 Marietta Street.
According to city filings, Georgia Tech is seeking a Special Use Permit to build a hotel and dormitory on the 7.3-acre site, which also counts 294 feet of frontage on North Avenue near Coca-Cola’s headquarters. But first the property needs to be rezoned from a classification for light industrial uses to mixed-use residential and commercial.
Exactly what the site’s redevelopment could look like isn’t yet clear. A Georgia Tech representative wrote via email, “There’s really nothing new on this yet,” when asked for specifics.
How the 7-acre property long owned by Randall Brothers Construction Materials related to Marietta Street, Coca-Cola's complex, and campus.Google Maps
Eastward views from the site to Midtown. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta
The property is located where North Avenue meets Marietta Street, a few steps north of downtown and directly west of Bobby Dodd Stadium. Georgia Tech officials previously said an arts-focused redevelopment will replace the longstanding building supply company, and earlier filings described those plans generally as “multifamily, dormitory, hotel, office, and commercial uses.”
For now, the site is idle and vacant, apart from large concrete slabs and one old brick structure that was mothballed, as project leaders put it in demolition permit paperwork, for future adaptive-reuse purposes. Eight commercial buildings totaling 101,000 square feet were razed last year.
The redevelopment would continue Georgia Tech’s growth spurt on the western rim of campus and beyond, where the university’s first new student housing since 2005 is planned and the Science Square project debuted earlier this year.
Brickwork on a main warehouse structure along Marietta Street that was demolished last year. Google Maps
Looking north, the lone century-old structure that remains standing at the former Randall Brothers Construction Materials headquarters. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta
Randall Brothers initially put the Marietta Street property up for sale in early 2018, citing the area’s post-Olympics boom and rise in property value during the current long development cycle. In November that year, Georgia Tech Foundation paid $36 million for the property, noting that its bones and adaptive-reuse potential echoed two success stories on the flipside of downtown: Ponce City Market and Krog Street Market.
After selling the Marietta Street property, Randall Brothers relocated its Atlanta facility to an overhauled headquarters building overlooking Atlanta Road near Interstate 285.
Find more context and current site photos in the gallery above.
General overview of how ongoing redevelopment projects in the area west of Georgia Tech's main campus could come together over the next few years. Georgia Tech
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