For big empty Grant Park building, it's back to square one—once again

Despite years of idleness and expressed interest from proven entrepreneurs, one of the most curiously empty, never-occupied buildings in Atlanta is going to stay that way for the foreseeable future, according to neighborhood leaders and hopeful businesspeople frustrated with a lack of progress.  

For the second time this year, a potential deal to fill the award-winning Grant Park Gateway’s visually striking retail component has sputtered, leaving more questions than answers in the middle of one of Atlanta’s most cherished parks, next door to the marquee tourist attraction that is Zoo Atlanta. 

The modern-style, 7,000-square-foot building with a massive patio and downtown skyline views has sat finished but empty for five years—to the chagrin of many neighbors and Grant Park leadership. In response, the Grant Park Neighborhood Association is forming a special task force to help ensure, they hope, a fair and quick process for finally activating the building, as officials told Urbanize Atlanta this week. 

After nearly a year without construction progress, the city’s original pick to fill the Gateway’s retail portion—Savi Provisions, a regional gourmet market chain—officially backed away in May. 

As a Plan B, the city’s Community Development/Human Resources Committee voted in May to endorse an alternate Gateway plan put together by Terminus Commercial Real Estate Partners that had initially lost out to Savi. Terminus’ submitted plan for the Gateway space was a micro food hall and public programming idea called “Gateway Park and Market.” Department of Parks and Recreation officials previously said the concept called for three fresh food vendors for the voluminous space, plus a grab-and-go market, coffee and tea options, a full-service bar, and a deli counter, among other facets. 

The team included Terminus, an Atlanta-based commercial real estate firm, alongside Kraig Torres, owner of alcohol purveyor Hopcity, and Mike Walbert, a longtime Atlanta event curator and Grant Park resident. 

Walbert tells Urbanize his team was awarded the Gateway bid in June and provided a lease agreement for review. But his requests to meet with the city’s Department of Procurement and parks officials to share updates and design refinements were denied a half-dozen times, leading Walbert and company to suspect the project would eventually be rebid without them. Terminus opted not to pursue legal recourse and recently backed out, Walbert says. His team throughout the process, per city protocol, was allowed to communicate only with a city procurement official. [CORRECTION: 2:13 p.m., Friday, Oct. 24: Walbert responds, following publication of this story: "We didn’t back out. Our bid was cancelled."]  

“What actually happened is still up for debate and speculation,” Walbert wrote via email. “I’ve gained some insight over the past few months, but no clear explanation, and [I’ll] likely never really know.

“Shortly after entering into a negotiation, we realized the city had no intention of negotiating a lease and no interest in reaching a mutual agreement,” he continued. “Their responses were not based in reality, and their legal reasoning was inaccurate. Ultimately… it was clear this was a waste of time, energy, and money.” 

We’ve reached out this week to City of Atlanta spokespeople and the office of city councilmember Jason Winston, whose District 1 covers Grant Park, seeking comment and more information. No responses came before press time. 

In response to the second axed Gateway concept this year, Robert Selby, Grant Park Neighborhood Association president, said the community this week unanimously voted in favor of forming the Gateway Action Task Force, guided by five demands. Walbert has been installed as a co-leader of the task force but has no desire now to be involved in the Gateway project as a tenant. 

“The problem has never been the Gateway building itself—it’s a premier location with incredible potential,” Selby, the GPNA president, wrote in a separate email to Urbanize. “The essential problem has been a flawed and bureaucratic city process that lacks transparency, community input, and the flexibility needed to attract and secure a high-quality private partner. It’s a process that seems designed more to avoid internal risk than to create a vibrant public amenity.”

After five years of waiting, Selby said Grant Park neighbors are fed up and no longer willing to be passive observers. “The problem today is the same,” said Selby, “but now there's an organized, community-driven solution on the table.”

The distinctive building, officially opened in January 2021, overlooks a 2.5-acre park atop a parking garage, crowning a space that city leaders have described as “iconic.” 

The third finalist in the Gateway bidding sweepstakes was Rease Group Holdings Inc., an Atlanta-based company led by CEO Andy Rease and founded in 2010. Few details about that group’s idea have been publicly divulged.

Winston previously told Urbanize Atlanta no public funds or other incentives were used to entice Savi or its competitors to lease the Gateway space. Savi’s buildout of the Gateway was expected to have taken about six months, but it never started.  

Controversial from the outset, the $48-million Gateway project replaced a parking lot (and mature trees) with the park-topped garage, finishing construction in 2020. The following year, it earned the Atlanta Urban Design Commission’s Award of Excellence for sustainable design. 

City officials took ownership of the Gateway space from the Atlanta and Fulton County Recreation Authority two years after it’d opened, which project leaders called a key first step in getting it leased and occupied. 

The city’s first Request for Proposals issued in February 2023, however, didn’t attract a single bid from prospective tenants. Department of Procurement officials blamed that on rising construction costs spurred by inflation and increased interest rates.

The second stab at an RFP, issued in February last year, was a more detailed pitch to businesses that could fill such a large space. It called for a single enterprise to create a Gateway concept that would “increase the property value of the neighborhood [and] improve the area’s livability.”

Walbert said his goal in helping lead the new community task force is to ensure the next Gateway RFP is clearer, more competitive, and ultimately more successful. His team, he said, will not be throwing its hat in the ring next time. 

“I care deeply about this project. I live in this community and have many neighbors whose lives could be improved by the development of a wonderful space,” said Walbert. “I also committed a significant amount of time and energy to this project, and even though it won't be me, or our team, I do hope that this space is properly activated for the community, and city, and I feel obligated not to turn my back on it.”

Find more context and visuals for the Grant Park Gateway—and Walbert’s now-cancelled market concept—in the gallery above. 

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• Grant Park news, discussion (Urbanize Atlanta)