The founder and creator of New York City’s famed Gansevoort Market is opening a third multi-concept food destination in Atlanta, this time on the eastside, Urbanize Atlanta has learned. 

Robert Montwaid is partnering with developers of the new Vela Park community near East Lake Golf Club to open Atlanta’s latest ITP food hall. 

Vela Park Food Works is finishing construction now as a centralized retail facet at the nearly 12-acre rental complex that project leaders have said will feature six different, chef-driven concepts, alongside craft cocktails and roomy outdoor dining.

Project reps tell Urbanize Atlanta the food hall is now slated to open in mid-April. 

Tenants have not been divulged yet. But forthcoming food options have been described in marketing materials as “wood-fired Italian classics… bold Latin street food… fresh Mediterranean plates… flavorful Asian favorites, all-American comfort eats, and sweet dessert indulgences.”

Connected to the Vela Park Food Works patio is a 40,000-square-foot greenspace that will be open to the public, according to project officials. 

A main Vela Park entry (closed for construction) and the food hub along 2nd Avenue in unincorporated Decatur. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

How the greenspace-fronting back patio area has come together at Vela Park Food Works. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Elsewhere in Atlanta, Montwaid has developed Chattahoochee Food Works and the forthcoming CTR Food Works, a key component of CNN Center’s ongoing remake downtown. (Five years ago, Montwaid was also brought on to curate and develop a 21-stall, food-and-beverage concept for Underground Atlanta, but those plans didn’t materialize.) 

Vela Park, a project by Atlanta developer Perennial Properties, is entering final phases of construction in unincorporated Decatur, situated about two blocks south of East Lake Golf Club’s Hole 13. 

Situated along 2nd and Alexander avenues, across the street from Donald Trimble Mortuary, the parcels in question were collectively known as the Bag Factory Site prior to development. The land in unincorporated DeKalb County, spanning about 11.7 acres, had been empty for decades, according to developers.

New Vela Park rentals and the large central greenspace, adjacent to the forthcoming food hub. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Vela Park broke ground in early 2024, and the first round of rentals came online last spring. 

Residential plans at the 1845 2nd Ave. site call for 328 units total, with 43 of those being rental townhouses.

According to site plans submitted in 2022, the project will include roughly 5,000 square feet of retail space total. 

Rates start at $1,399 monthly right now for a studio unit with 522 square feet. Up to three months of free rent is being dangled as an incentive. 

Townhomes, meanwhile, come in both two and three-story varieties, both with two-car garages. The only option currently available is a two-story townhome—three bedrooms, two and ½ bathrooms in 1,498 square feet—that’s going for $3,731 monthly. 

Overview of the Vela Park district, spanning nearly 12 acres just south of East Lake. Perennial Properties/Dynamik Design; via Velaparkatl.com

Around the corner on Glenwood Avenue, next to Publix Super Market at East Lake's entrance, Perennial also developed a four-building, mixed-use project called Ella. 

As part of the Vela Park development, Perennial is including an eight-foot-wide walking path on the north side of their property to link 2nd Avenue with Fayetteville Road and the Publix, officials have said. 

Swing up to the gallery for more Vela Park context, renderings, and glimpses at construction progress. 

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