An Old Fourth Ward mixed-use project will officially top out this week that’s designed to capitalize on 300 linear feet of what’s been called Atlanta’s beachfront—i.e., the BeltLine’s Eastside Trail.

Portman Holdings is scheduled to celebrate the topping out Thursday of Junction Krog District, a modern-style, 130,000-square-foot hub of offices and retail where the BeltLine meets Irwin Street.

The six-story, $85-million project—a joint venture between developer Portman and investment management group PCCP—broke ground in March. It joins Asana Partners’ growing Krog District as major investments changing the aesthetics and functionality of the BeltLine corridor where O4W meets Inman Park.

Along with three stories of Class A offices, the Junction Krog District building will include 7,000 square feet of ground-floor retail in a “public porch” setting, dotted with murals and sculptures. Three chef-driven restaurants are planned for those spaces, per developers.  

The design, as compiled by Portman Architects, aims to lure the BeltLine-going public toward retail and a kiosk space, plus bike and scooter storage and terraced seating areas. The intent is to make the public facet feel like a massive porch, or outdoor living room, raised a few feet from the Eastside Trail, Portman officials have said.  

Junction Krog District is on schedule to open in July, officials said this week.

How Junction Krog District's "porch" section will function where the BeltLine meets Irwin Street. Courtesy of Portman Holdings/Portman Architects

Another development team had tried to put plans in motion for a hotel on the 1.3-acre site at the southwest corner of the BeltLine and Irwin Street six years ago, but that never took off. Portman bought the property for $5.5 million in 2018 and had also initially envisioned building a boutique lodge—until the COVID-19 pandemic scuttled those plans.

Finalized designs call for 206 parking spaces, or about 1.5 spaces per 1,000 square feet, Portman officials have said. One hundred bike parking spaces with valet service—along with showers for bike commuters who’ll work in the offices—are also in the mix.

Find a closer look at the project, including fresh images supplied this week, in the above gallery.

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