On downtown Athens’ northern fringes, a unique mix of student housing, historic preservation, and new commercial space is officially moving forward. 

Chicago-based developer Core Spaces announced this week it has broken ground on mixed-use Hub Athens Dougherty about four blocks from University of Georgia’s main campus. 

The sizable 295 E. Dougherty St. project will included 536 new student housing units, for a total 1,656 beds, as initially proposed in 2023. 

Plans call for removing the former Hotel Abacus (previously the retro-style Graduate Athens) on the property but preserving and revitalizing the site’s historic Foundry building, while meeting demand for more student housing in what Core Spaces officials call a growing market. 

Other aspects of the project call for relocating and reconstructing the site’s historic, circa-1829 Hoyt House—one of the region’s oldest buildings, now deconstructed—and building a roughly 400-space public parking deck. 

Plans also call for about 16,000 square feet of retail, a new public plaza, and more than 47,000 square feet of amenities for tenants, including a rooftop “resort-style” pool and group study rooms. Apartments will range from studio to five-bedroom units.

The Core Spaces development site in question, with UGA's campus shown at bottom Google Maps

Plans for a new public greenspace and retail storefronts along East Dougherty Street. Courtesy of Core Spaces

Hub Athens Dougherty is considered a public-private partnership with Athens-Clarke County (a land swap and developer contributions for affordable housing elsewhere were involved) that aims to preserve history while boosting downtown connectivity and streetscapes, according to Core Spaces. 

In Atlanta, Core Spaces delivered the 800-bed Hub Atlanta student housing project on Spring Street in 2023. 

Elsewhere in Midtown, the company is also putting together plans for a 27-story student housing tower that would replace longstanding strip club The Cheetah, with a goal of opening its initial phase in 2029.

As seen in early 2025, the historic Athens Foundry building (at right) and the former Hotel Abacus (previously The Graduate hotel). Google Maps

According to Core Spaces, the development team in Athens also includes Northworks Architects, Studio BNA, Juneau Construction Co., Harken Interiors, and Mallory & Evans consultants. 

TSB Capital Partners has arranged construction financing for the developer with Affinius Capital, though the amount wasn’t disclosed. 

According to Core Spaces, the Athens project is scheduled to fully deliver in summer 2028.

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