Like most major cities, Atlanta is full of places where big ideas hatched but didn’t materialize. At least not yet.
Recent studies have shown the City of Atlanta to be something of an anomaly, in that growth is continuing at record rates despite broader slowdowns and housing pinches. Which got us thinking about a number of significant development proposals across the city that could help accommodate a population influx in various ways.
Below is a rundown of seemingly dormant projects that were unveiled in the past few years but haven’t broken ground—or been formally cancelled. Behind-the-scenes preparations and deal-making could still be ongoing for each one … some more likely than others.
But which does Atlanta need most?
Please take a second to log a vote below. But first, presented in no particular order, here are the contenders:
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Midtown Exchange
Plans for 13th Street facades. Selig; designs, RJTR
Where: 70 12th St.
What: Selig Development’s 37-story residential and 26-story office proposal between 12th and 13th streets and Peachtree Walk, with 24,500 square feet of retail, at last check.
Why: Could fill a significant void in Midtown’s urban fabric where a cluster of buildings was wiped away several years ago.
Years inactive: Three
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Parking-free Decatur Hotel
Detailed look at the building's eastern face over Ponce de Leon Place. Vision Hospitality Group; designs, BCA Studios architecture
Where: 213 Swanton Way
What: An innovative proposal that calls for a 241-room, dual-branded Hilton hotel that would source all of its parking needs from an existing, underused parking deck.
Why: Could (further) establish a beneficial precedent for all of ITP Atlanta.
Years inactive: Roughly two; recent inquiries for status update ignored
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Bankhead Housing Tower
The eastern facade of the proposed apartment building, with the Westside BeltLine Connector trail depicted near its base. Flippo Civil Design/Grind Capital Group; via BeltLine DRC
Where: 1060 Jefferson St.
What: A 20-story, mixed-use building that would take shape on the northern fringes of Bankhead, replacing parking lots and low-rise industrial buildings alongside the Westside Beltline Connector trail.
Why: 310 apartments (20 percent capped at affordable rates) above more than 7,500 square feet of retail sounds like a recipe for vibrancy this Beltline-connected area needs.
Years inactive: Four
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Stratus Midtown
How the 30-story project would alter 10th Street airspace with "three sweeping sail-like crescents," shown here facing the Connector. Courtesy of Duda|Paine Architects
Where: 80 Peachtree Place
What: Trammell Crow’s mixed-use, mostly office venture standing 30 stories and calling for 464,000 square feet of offices and 9,000 square feet of retail over a parking podium.
Why: Could help continue Midtown’s revival of top-flight offices, while the fin-like western façade adds visual intrigue to the skyline.
Years inactive: Three and ½
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Downtown Housing (Forsyth Street)
Prior to construction, the Forsyth Street property in question is shown at right, with downtown's main business district ahead. Google Maps
Where: 184 Forsyth St.
What: TBD. Invest Atlanta sought developers to reimagine this 1-acre parking lot in South Downtown with at least 200 new residences several years ago—but they found no takers.
Why: The site is serving a noble purpose as supportive-housing project The Melody now, but the hundreds of permanent housing options proposed are what the area lacks. Plus, MARTA next door.
Years inactive: Three
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The Sawtell
Illustration of the 40-acre site when it was marketed for sale in 2019. LoopNet
Where: 500 Sawtell Ave. SE
What: Veteran Atlanta-based developer Kaplan Residential partnered with private real estate fund manager Origin Investments to buy this 40-acre parcel for $31.5 million in early 2022, forecasting a master-planned “village” would take shape across multiple phases.
Why: At last check, plans called for eventually building more than 2,000 multifamily residences, up to 150,000 square feet of commercial space, and a range of greenspaces—all in an area of Atlanta that’s decidedly not full.
Years inactive: Roughly two
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715 Ponce
Plans for the Ponce de Leon Avenue facade, with landmarks Green's Beverages and Ford Factory Lofts on either side of new construction. New City Properties, via BeltLine DRC; design architects, S9 Architecture; submitted
Where: 715 Ponce de Leon Ave. NE
What: Billed as the sister project to New City Properties’ Kroger-anchored 725 Ponce development, this calls for a 250,000-square-foot office tower rising from a sprawling parking lot just east of the Beltline and Ponce City Market.
Why: “Sprawling parking lot” and this area in particular should be oil and water. Plus, Green’s would remain standing.
Years inactive: Roughly three
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Microsoft Campus (Of Any Sort)
This early rendering for the Quarry Yards concept—a precursor to Microsoft's planned campus—lends an idea of the property's scale and proximity to Westside Park (formerly Bellwood Quarry) next door. Urban Creek Partners/Quarry Yards
Where: Vacant acreage just west of MARTA’s Bankhead station
What: Microsoft infamously slammed the brakes on its planned 90-acre Westside tech campus and jobs hub in early 2023—but in November announced it was gifting 22 and ½ of those acres to the city.
Why: Exhibit A for why Atlanta’s not remotely full. No specific plans for redevelopment have been outlined, but Mayor Andre Dickens’ office says the initiative will align with his goal to preserve or build 20,000 affordable housing units across the city by 2029.
Years inactive: Nearly four (since campus cancellation)
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Underground Atlanta Tower
Invest Atlanta
Where: 76 Wall St.
What: The most prominent new development proposal near Underground is a 30-story, $160-million apartment project that came to light in the third quarter of 2024, with no public movement since.
Why: It calls for 405 units. That’d be a lot of potential Underground customers—and a surefire boon to downtown street life in general.
Years inactive: Less than one
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Buckhead Village Vacancy
The latest perspective on the proposal's Pharr Road frontage. Tidal Real Estate Partners; designs, Earl Swensson Associates; Long Engineering
Where: 321 Pharr Road NE
What: New York-based developer Tidal Real Estate Partners first brought plans before Buckhead development officials in early 2023 for a posh new apartment tower studded with public art, with an impressive motor lobby and small village of retail at the base.
Why: 21 stories with more than 400 rentals and 18,540 square feet of planned retail could add oomph to the Buckhead Village skyline and vibrancy to its streets.
Years inactive: Three (excluding demolition)
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Fifty (Downtown)
The tower's stance, as seen from the north.
Where: 50 Allen Plaza
What: At 45 stories and 800,000 total square feet, this artful shard called “Fifty” sprouted from the ashes of an equally ambitious office proposal that was nixed by the Great Recession. About 20,000 square feet of retail and amenities galore were also in the mix, as of 2021.
Why: Downtown needs a more consistent stream of people—especially in blocks like this that can seem barren. Plus, statement architecture.
Years inactive: More than five
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Beltline Westside Trail Mega Site
Full scope of Allen Morris' previous plans for the 15.5-acre parcel at 1060 Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway. Royal Byckovas; courtesy of The Allen Morris Company
Where: 1060 Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway
What: Atlanta Mission has dropped plans for a 900-bed shelter and other housing on these 15.5 acres abutting the Beltline, which puts the ball squarely back in property owner Allen Morris Company’s court.
Why: The Florida-based developer envisioned the property becoming a game-changing mix of new housing and remade warehouses on an immense scale, eventually. The scope called for 1,600 residential units and 700,000 square feet of commercial space.
Years inactive: Two since full project unveiling
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3321 Lenox Road
Proposals for the Lenox Road facade (left) and the one facing East Paces Ferry Road (right). Cooper Carry
Where: See above
What: Texas-based developer High Street Residential is/was planning to build a stack of 395 apartments where Lenox Road meets East Paces Ferry Road, a corner property where Houston’s restaurant operated for decades before closing in 2018.
Why: The 30-story project could be a win for transit-conscious residents, with MARTA across the street.
Years inactive: Roughly four
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Cousins Office Tower
The altered 887 West Peachtree proposal.Cousins Properties, via Midtown Alliance; designs HKS, Pickard Chilton
Where: 887 West Peachtree St.
What: Offices totaling 408,000 square feet, plus 14,000 square feet of sidewalk retail at the northwest and southwest corners of the site, with a lobby in between, at last check.
Why: In one of Midtown’s most vibrant sections, this 26-story, modified tower could fill a hole most recently occupied by The Daiquiri Factory, a cleaners, and Sonic Mobile offices.
Years inactive: Nearly five
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Buckhead’s HUB404
A depiction of how HUB404 could be placed over Ga. Highway 400 with connections to Lenox Road. HUB404
Where: Over Ga. Highway 400, just north of Peachtree Road
What: Since the idea was first proposed nearly a decade ago, project backers have called HUB404 the country’s first transit-oriented park, an “agent of social change,” and an amenity that would afford Buckhead its own version of Dallas’ celebrated, highway-topping Klyde Warren Park—but at almost twice the size.
Why: Nine acres of fresh park space with MARTA connectivity amid so many wide streets and glassy towers. Enough said.
Years inactive: Unclear, but no recent significant signs of progress
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Historic English Avenue School
A rendering depicting the school revitalized as a community center, with an assembly space and "elevator penthouse" on the roof. Courtesy of Westside Development Partners
Where: 627 English Ave.
What: One of Atlanta’s oldest standing school buildings—where legendary singer Gladys Knight, the “Empress of Soul,” and other notables attended class—has been envisioned as a hub of workforce training, offices, and spaces for assembling in hopes of connecting underserved communities around English Avenue with job opportunities.
Why: The revival of a richly historic, circa 1910 structure—with a noble purpose. Plans also call for hosting art shows, weddings, and other events.
Years inactive: Five
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Church Parking Lot Revival (Downtown)
Moody Nolan Atlanta; courtesy of Atlanta First United Methodist Church
Where: 360 Peachtree St.
What: Phase one of this project led by Atlanta First United Methodist Church entered permitting in early 2024 and sounded like a sure bet. The most prominent facet of phase one would be a 20-story building with 170 units of housing, designed with a curving façade that follows a bend of Ivan Allen Jr. Boulevard, just south of the downtown Connector.
Why: The “God-sized vision” called for 85 percent of apartments qualifying as affordable housing, renting between 30, 60, and 80 percent of the Area Median Income.
Years inactive: Two and 1/2
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Teachers Village
Totality of Teachers Village's Walton Street facade, according to the most recent renderings. S9 Architecture
Where: 98 Cone St.
What: Planned to rise more than 30 stories near Centennial Olympic Park, it calls for a unique mix of workforce housing and retail amidst some of downtown’s most vibrant blocks. Initial designs for the project emerged in early 2021.
Why: Developers have said the project would see 424 apartments total—a significant housing influx for the area—with none of them rented at market rate. All apartments would be marketed to teachers, other school employees, and seniors in Atlanta.
Years inactive: Arguably not, but repeatedly delayed
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Dewberry’s Campanile/Midtowne
Status of the 21-story tower's deconstruction and its crane in late 2022. Urbanize Atlanta
Where: 1155 Peachtree St. NE
What: Dewberry Capital’s Campanile/Midtowne project, a stripped-bare skyrise site that city inspectors declared “abandoned” and “dangerous and unsafe” this year, prompting some city councilmembers to demand action, possibly by way of Atlanta’s blight tax. A 21-story skeleton for years.
Why: Dewberry stopped construction on another high-rise in Charlottesville, Va. nearly a decade ago—and this has all the makings of a similar M.O., as observers have noted.
Years inactive: Debatable, but it’s devolved into a tarpit of empty promises and dead timelines
Now, please vote!
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