Sultry visuals preview Midtown tower set to open next year

Now here’s an antidote for the chilly doldrums of winter.

Renderings have recently come to our attention that depict another student-housing tower in Midtown as a collegiate Shangri-La, with rooftop pool parties, yoga classes, bustling social zones—and not a study group in sight.

The visuals by Atlanta-based Niles Bolton Associates architects aren’t exactly new, but they show in the greatest detail to date what’s in store for Rambler Atlanta, one of a half-dozen Midtown high-rises to top out in 2024 and a reflection of the subdistrict’s surging off-campus population.

According to Midtown Alliance’s recent tabulations, some 8,500 of Midtown’s current 28,000 residents are college students attending Georgia Tech, SCAD Atlanta, Emory University, Georgia State University, and other area schools.

Rambler Atlanta, the second local project by Texas developer LV Collective, rose quickly this year from a Peachtree Street corner two blocks north of the landmark Fox Theatre

Today, the 736 Peachtree St. development, which modified its height twice before breaking ground, stands 19 stories on a former parking lot. Rambler Atlanta will count 214 apartments and 2,977 square feet of retail space, according to building permit records.

The name echoes another LV Collective project, Rambler ATX, in the developer’s home city of Austin.

Rambler's 1-acre property had long been used as surface parking bounded by Peachtree Street, 4th Street, and to the west, Cypress Street. Under construction now are student apartments offering 798 bedrooms total, with most amenities positioned on the top floor. 

The location, as developers have noted, is less than a quarter-mile from Georgia Tech buildings at Tech Square.

Renderings indicate a café with outdoor dining will be recessed into the building, facing Peachtree Street, with exposed pillars and garden-like components, as opposed to glass storefronts. The building’s resident lobby and leasing office will also be placed near Peachtree, at the corner of 4th Street, according to site plans.

Building amenities will include coworking spaces and bike lockers on lower levels, with the pool deck, fitness center, and an outdoor terrace positioned on or near the roof, according to architects. 

Meanwhile, the western face along Cypress Street will see no active uses—apart from a resident entrance that will put student renters closer to Tech and shuttle routes. The rest of that façade will be used for loading and service areas, essentially forming the tower’s backside.

Elsewhere, plans call for screening a 134-space, three-level parking garage with a perforated masonry wall, a means to help hide the deck.

The Rambler building is expected to deliver in time for the fall semester in August, according to project leaders. Michael Hsu Architecture and Archie Bolden are also listed as partners.

The project will join three other student towers that delivered in Midtown in 2023 alone, with much more in the pipeline. Deliveries last year included another LV Collective venture, Whistler, the final building in SCAD Atlanta’s recent growth spurt, and Hub Atlanta.

When initially presented to the Midtown Development Review Committee in 2022, LV Collective’s plans for the Peachtree site called for a building standing much taller: 37 stories with 480 apartments. That was later reduced to 29 stories and 374 units. Then in summer 2023, the height and unit count were scaled back again to the current size, though development officials haven’t provided answers as to why.

Swing up to the gallery for more Rambler Atlanta images and context—no student ID required.

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