MIDTOWN—The prospects of Portman’s block-size Midtown development becoming a foodie destination continue to look up. 

Portman officials announced this week a high-end, tapas-style Indian restaurant with “a vibrant social vibe” called Pataaka will be joining two other chef-driven concepts at Spring Quarter. 

Pataaka is scheduled to open a 113-seat space later this year at the ground floor of Sora, Spring Quarter’s luxury residential tower component. Expect an outdoor patio and soaring mezzanine space for private dining designed by The Johnson Studio at Cooper Carry, with Atlanta-based Indian chef Anish Nair at the helm. It’ll mark the restaurant’s sixth location and first in Georgia. 

An updated visual for the core of Spring Quarter, with the 1020 Spring building at right. Courtesy of Portman

Rendering depicting the expected look of Pataaka's interiors. Courtesy of Portman

Other confirmed restaurant concepts at Spring Quarter include Louisiana “urban Mexican” concept Habaneros and Sozou, a new Japanese modern concept from celebrated chef Fuyuhiko Ito. Both are now expected to open this fall. The Sozou team also plans to open a concept called Omakase at ISHIN by Ito on the 8th-floor rooftop of Ten Twenty, the project’s office high-rise completed last year.  

Spring Quarter is anchored by the historic H.M. Patterson Home and Gardens, which Portman is converting to “a dynamic retail and entertainment amenity for the community” called The Patterson, officials said this week. 

Steve Palmer, an Atlanta native and founder of The Indigo Road Hospitality Group, was revealed in late 2023 as the restaurateur who will lease and transform all 24,000 square feet of The Patterson into what’s been described as a morning-to-night, food-and-beverage destination with multiple facets. We’ve asked Portman reps this week whether that concept is still moving forward as planned, and we’ll update this story with any additional info that comes. 

Courtesy of Portman

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SOUTHSIDE—Come Sunday, Atlanta’s favorite open-streets festival will be taking its talents to a long route south of downtown again. 

From 2 to 6 p.m., Atlanta Streets Alive will return to its 3.4-mile “historic Southside corridor” for the first time in 2025, opening Ralph David Abernathy Boulevard and Georgia Avenue from West End to Grant Park, with Mechanicsville and Summerhill’s commercial district in between.

Sunday's route was also used for three Atlanta Streets Alive programs in late 2024 between Gordon-White Park (left) and Grant Park. Propel ATL

Event organizers Propel ATL send word this week that cultural sponsor Music in the Park will be curating seven live performance stages along the route Sunday. “From local jazz to R&B, brass bands to soulful singer-songwriters,” notes Propel ATL, “every block [will pulse] with the rhythm of Atlanta’s neighborhoods and the spirit of community.”

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DOWNTOWN—At long last, the $230-million remake of MARTA’s largest and busiest station will officially kick off Saturday, following a contentious, nearly year-long pause. 

During construction, Five Points rail service and transfers will operate as scheduled and won’t be impacted, per MARTA. The same goes for bus routes around Five Points operated by regional transit providers CobbLinc, Ride Gwinnett, and Xpress. 

Expect a number of downtown bus routes to be changed come Saturday, followed by the closure of customer services on June 6 including the RideStore, Lost & Found, and Reduced Fare office. 

MARTA says these amenities will also temporarily close, come June 6: restrooms, the five points Station Soccer field, MARTA Market, community garden, and the tunnel leading to federal offices. 

A refined preview depicting how the opened-up transit hub could look and function. Courtesy of MARTA

MARTA has said 17,000 pedestrians and bus riders rely on Five Points to access the MARTA heavy rail system each day. The $230-million price tag for Five Points’ overhaul is being largely funded by the More MARTA Atlanta half-penny sales tax approved by Atlanta voters in 2016. Other funding sources include $13.8 million from the State of Georgia and a $25-million Federal RAISE Grant. 

MARTA says the broader goal remains to convert Five Points station into “a vibrant city center with improved transit connectivity, increased safety, and enhanced customer amenities.” 

Regarding bus routes, MARTA has outlined the changes scheduled to begin soon as follows:  

BUS SERVICE IMPACTS BEGINNING MAY 17:

The following routes will stop at Five Points on Forsyth Street:

  • 3 – Martin Luther King Jr. Drive/Auburn Avenue
  • 40 – Peachtree Street/Downtown
  • 813 – Atlanta University Center
  • 21 – Memorial Drive
  • 49 – McDonough Boulevard
  • 55 – Jonesboro Road
  • 107 – Glenwood
  • 186 – Rainbow Road Drive/South DeKalb 

Three bus routes will be detoured to maintain service to downtown and no longer stop at Five Points:

  • 26 – Marietta Street/Perry Boulevard
  • 42 – Pryor Road
  • 816 – North Highland Avenue

The following routes will terminate at Georgia State station:

  • 21 – Memorial Drive
  • 42 – Pryor Road
  • 49 – McDonough Boulevard
  • 55 – Jonesboro Road
  • 107 – Glenwood
  • 186 – Rainbow Road Drive/South DeKalb

The following routes will terminate at King Memorial station:

  • 26 – Marietta Street/Perry Boulevard
  • 813 – Atlanta University Center
  • 899 – Old Fourth Ward

The following route will terminate at Civic Center station:

  • 816 – North Highland Avenue

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