As passersby may have noticed, West End’s sprawling, BeltLine-adjacent warehouse redevelopment is experiencing a growth spurt in multiple places.
That includes adaptive-reuse offices, a long-promised food hall, and a new public greenspace where vertical construction of outdoor components has begun.
For patrons of the BeltLine’s Westside Trail, or anyone traveling on Lee Street, the most noticeable recent changes involve work on a new Lee + White office section called Building 929. It’s a large brick structure at the district’s southern end, closest to the MARTA line.
Where office expansion efforts have created new windows along Lee Street. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta
Steve Webb, a spokesperson for Lee + White developer and owner Ackerman & Co., says the refurbished warehouse is expected to deliver more than 100,000 square feet of creative offices in May. (We’ve asked how much space has been leased and will post any additional info that comes; officials have previously said the offices will largely be built on spec, or without signed tenants in place.) [UPDATE: 12:32 a.m., February 28: Webb sends the addition info on leased space: "In the 929 Building, Honeysuckle Gelato occupies production space (6,060 square feet)—they will also have a stall in the food hall—and Westside Dental has leased a suite (2,360 square feet)."]
Plans call for removing a section of the roof to open up the interior, bringing parking within the building, but keeping all exterior walls standing, developers have previously told Urbanize Atlanta.
Overview of the Lee + White property's 929 Building, from above the nearby MARTA line and Lee Street. Courtesy of Ackerman & Co./MDH Partners; designs, Smith Dalia Architects
Elsewhere, Webb said the district’s food hall and Great Lawn—a lighted public greenspace between main buildings—are now on pace to open in May as well.
That phase was initially expected to open in spring 2022, replacing what had been envisioned as a standalone food hall.
Ackerman & Co. and MDH Partners, developers behind the 11-building project, have said the food hall component will include 19 vendors, a central bar, and no shortage of Westside Trail frontage. The foodie emporium will link to the new greenspace, beside the district’s parking lots.
Lee + White officials announced four new concepts in October for the food hall portion, which is expected to diversify offerings at the Southwest Atlanta district more known for its brewery options today.
Those include Costa Coffee, a concept based in the U.K., plus Mexican eateries Cielito Lindo taqueria and Crème de la Crepe, and California-based Sweet Red Peach bakery.
Previously signed food hall tenants include Gekko Hibachi & Sushi, Honeysuckle Gelato, Lake & Oak BBQ, Mochinut, The Original Hot Dog Factory, and Pastaholics.
Last year, Lee + White installed brightly painted shipping containers in the main parking lot in an effort to provide more affordable spaces for startups and small businesses seeking physical places to sell their wares.
The Building 929 office expansion as seen from over the Westside Trail in February 2023. Monday Night Garage brewery is pictured at left. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta
How the 929 Building's opened-up interior is expected to look when finished. Courtesy of MDH Partners, Ackerman & Co.; designs, Smith Dalia Architects
Ackerman teamed with MDH Partners in 2019 to buy Lee + White for $40.3 million. The roster across the existing 426,000 square feet of spaces includes three breweries (the recently expanded Monday Night Garage, Best End, and Wild Heaven), a distillery (ASW), plus Boxcar restaurant, Hop City beer store, Honeysuckle Gelato, Doux South Pickles, and the Westside’s first rock-climbing gym, The Overlook.
In the gallery above, have a closer look at recent changes and expansion plans.
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