Nearly 800 dump-truck loads of dirt and other work have eliminated a gash that’s been festering in the heart of Midtown for years. 

As part of a project update this week, Midtown Alliance officials relay the site where lavish skyscraper No2 Opus Place didn’t happen will instead open next month as an interim public greenspace. 

The 4-acre park, situated across 14th Street from the Four Seasons Hotel Atlanta, will start to host attractions such as outdoor fitness, artisan (and seasonal) markets, food trucks, and other programming and events in coming weeks, lending new gathering space (and fresh perspectives) in one of Atlanta’s densest districts. 

In recent months, crews have filled the former unsightly hole, installed an irrigation system, and put in a mix of Bermuda sod and grass/wildflower mixes that are taking root now at 98 14th St. The result is a multi-use lawn with walking paths around the perimeter. 

Where food truck parking has been installed, along with concrete for supporting “MIDTOWN” letters on the greenspace’s northern section.Courtesy of Midtown Alliance

Once the No. 2 Opus Place sales center, this building on the park’s western side is being remade into a headquarters for Midtown Alliance's supplemental public safety and maintenance teams.Courtesy of Midtown Alliance

Other additions will include a space at the southeast corner of the site for bike and scooter parking along 14th Street, portable restrooms, picnic tables, lawn games, and a large 2-D “MIDTOWN” letters installation. The lone building on site—No. 2 Opus Place’s former flashy sales center with a mock condo inside—is being remade as a mural-bedecked Midtown Alliance facility.

Exactly when public programming will start in September is contingent on the lawn’s grass successfully taking root, per Midtown Alliance. 

All of the improvements are considered temporary, however, as the site is set to be transformed into a more impressive cultural and civic destination called Midtown Green (a working title that could change) in coming years. 

As an “anchor attraction,” Midtown Green calls for an “iconic” pavilion and outdoor performance venue with sweeping arches, bountiful public art, a restaurant and café, numerous flex spaces for gatherings, and a community building with restrooms, among other elements. 

Field Operations for Midtown Alliance

Plans for a Midtown Green entry along 14th Street, with a programable video wall at right for art and announcements. (Artwork: Jasmine Nicole Williams, "On the Strip," Atlanta.) Field Operations for Midtown Alliance

More than 6,000 Atlantans contributed input through community engagement campaigns for Midtown Green plans put together by Field Operations, a global architecture firm with a portfolio of notable projects from Brooklyn to Santa Monica and China.

The Midtown Improvement District announced the park project in March last year and purchased the foreclosed acreage at 98 14th St. for $46 million in May. Field Operations was announced as project designer in November.  

According to Midtown Alliance, a construction timeline and project costs are still being put together. Next steps call for finalizing designs, engineering, and cost outlooks and launching a capital campaign. 

Also in the works on a long-term basis, according to Midtown Alliance, is a protected mid-block crossing on 14th Street that would allow pedestrians near, say, the Four Seasons to more safely access the permanent greenspace. 

Find more context and visuals in the gallery above. 

Field Operations for Midtown Alliance

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