As urban real estate studies have shown, few neighborhoods in America have changed so drastically in the past decade as Midtown Atlanta. The change has come so fast, in fact, it’s easy to lose perspective on how empty Midtown used to be, in so many places.
According to Midtown Alliance, more than 65 developments have delivered across one square mile in the past decade alone, oftentimes claiming surface parking lots and underused parcels that felt like forgettable placeholders.
Despite economic headwinds and market turbulence, Midtown’s momentum hasn’t noticeably slowed; Midtown Alliance called six major developments that delivered in 2022 a record amount of activity.
So now it’s time for a quick look back—juxtaposed with photos of where things stand in Midtown today. This isn’t a complete before/after compendium by any means, but 13 perspectives from a couple of key growth corridors, including Spring and West Peachtree streets. It's part one, so to speak.
A graphic compiled by Midtown Alliance in December 2021 showing buildings delivered since roughly 2010 (blue), with others under construction (green) at the time, or in the development review process (orange) in Midtown alone. Midtown Alliance
Projects spotlighted below, in chronological order, include 1382 Peachtree; Midtown Union; AMLI Arts Center; ICON Midtown and Whole Foods; Atlantic House; the three-tower 1105 West Peachtree project; Momentum Midtown, the MAA Midtown apartments, and the Sixty11th building.
If you appreciate ATL perspectives like this, check out our previous before/after photo essays on quickly changing Atlanta places like Old Fourth Ward, Memorial Drive, and the Howell Mill Road corridor.
Without further ado, let’s start the tour where Peachtree Street meets 17th Street, looking southwest a decade ago versus today:
