As Portman Holdings’ grand remake of several Ponce de Leon Avenue blocks transitions from the public commentary to rezoning phase, refined plans have come to light showing how the project would render this section of Ponce unrecognizable, for better or worse.

Detailed renderings recently presented during meetings with the Virginia-Highland Civic Association and other neighbors vividly show what Portman officials have in mind for the Ponce & Ponce venture, in terms of project scale, streetscapes, BeltLine connectivity, and exterior finishes.

Portman hosted a series of public meetings for input last year, but according to timelines, the project is now transitioning into a zoning phase. It would replace low-rise buildings and parking lots that comprise one of Atlanta’s more cherished nightlife strips, where businesses MJQ Concourse, Friends on Ponce, The Local, and Bookhouse Pub, among others, have long operated.

Portman has titled the project Ponce & Ponce as a nod to the famously gritty avenue and intersecting street Ponce de Leon Place. 

Overview of the Ponce project's proposed massing, as laid out by Portman Holdings in early 2023. Portman Holdings; designs, ASD/SKY, master and retail architect; Pickard Chilton, office design architect; dwg., landscape architects; Hord Coplan Macht, residential designers.

Businesses that choose to stay open in the impacted blocks will be able to continue operating for at least two years, Portman officials have previously said.

A tentative 2023 timeline for the project calls for it coming before city zoning boards in March and being up for an Atlanta City Council vote the following month.

Portman officials expect the Ponce & Ponce rezoning phase to conclude in June, followed by a year of architectural refinement. According to early timelines, construction could begin in June 2024 and finish by the end of 2026.

See the latest Ponce & Ponce plans in the gallery above.

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