Show vs. Tell Volume 1, Month 6

Six months in and we’ve learned a great amount around architecture, adaptive-reuse, building codes, permit processes, and development models. All of these are relatively new frameworks and mental models for some traditional software entrepreneurs. Regardless of the layout or square footage for our planned apartments or the renovations of our soon to be retail spaces, what has captivated us most about the last six months are the people of Atlanta: past and present. The common bond every Atlantan has when they experience South Downtown for the first time or the five thousandth time is the desire to see this abandoned corner of our once liveliest part of our city come back to life. 

“Atlanta Influences Everything” goes the saying. Imagine how much more we, our city, could do if we weren't a city of separate silos? Atlanta neighborhoods have their charm and unique personalities, but our nucleus isn't it full potential. The good news is there are many neighbors, businesses, and stakeholders working to solve this (our progress so far is shared in the Development section below).

As always, we start with Safety and Security. 

Significant update on the Safety and Security front! Major Singh has taken the leadership of our 24/7 neighborhood patrol. 

Major Singh is currently leading the safety and security of Atlanta’s Parks and Recreation. Prior, he led the Community Oriented Policing Section (COPS). His legacy of police work continues with his daughter joining the APD which 11 Alive covers here. Major Singh has been on the force for over 30 years. Read more about his work and accolades with Midtown Blue here. Earning Major Singh’s time, effort, and attention to lead the South Downtown neighborhood patrol is exhilarating for our team! 

Flock Safety cameras are up, active, and alive. These past two weeks have been onboarding and training. We still have several more cameras to put up however, we are learning the software and best practices with a few cameras before rolling out to dozens more. As a reminder, Flock Safety is a local startup that has grown to become the premier and most advanced license plate reader company to prevent, stop, and solve crime.     

Community Engagement, Marketing, and Leasing

This past month we’ve been sharing our team’s work and momentum to anyone and everyone who will listen including: the Georgia World Congress Center team, The Metro Atlanta Chamber, The Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau, The Georgia Municipal Association, Atlanta Tech Week, RenderATL, The Kiwanis Club, and several more groups. If you have a group interested in touring or having our team share our work, please reach out to [email protected].

We also held a Lot Party before last week’s COPA USA game at the Benz. Photos here. 

We had drinks and walked through art galleries, music venues, cat-oriented cocktail bars and selfie museums in Underground Atlanta with the Lalani Ventures team.

The Rolling Stones played at The Benz, not far from Hotel Scoville, where they recorded the music video for “Rain Fall Down”  on Historic Hotel Row.  

A new lease has been signed, but our philosophy is to let the tenant tell us when and how they want  to share with the community. Our number one goal is to set every new retail or restaurant partner up for success, and we can’t wait to share with you. 

The sidewalks are getting cleaned thanks to ADID and the relentless work they are doing across all of downtown. It makes a huge difference for those frequenting South Downtown or visiting for the first time. 

Architecture and Development:

How can we ensure our downtown neighborhood is brought to life by Atlantans from every corner of our city? We start small and gain incremental wins. Our initial plan, “Project Elle,” which consists of 25+ building renovations starting in the next six months, plans to invite over 100 new neighbors to live in unique, historic apartments, will introduce 150k sf of retail and restaurant space and will showcase a new tech-focused co-working space called Atlanta Tech Village - Sylvan (named after the original Sylvan Hotel).

Project Elle starts at Ted Turner and Mitchell, the block also known as Historic Hotel Row. In the buildings we own, there are 10 “snackable” storefronts, two already leased and open: Tyde Tate Kitchen and Spiller Park Coffee (both open 7 days a week!). We will soon have our own record store, Crates, open, which is Daryl Harris’ second record store and will focus on a versatile used record collection. Darryl’s original store, Moods Music in Little Five Points, will remain a staple of that neighborhood. One storefront space will serve as the lobby for the upcoming Atlanta Tech Village - Sylvan, which is 31k sf in the National Historic Registered Sylvan Hotel.

We are actively talking with potential partners for the remaining six spaces, ranging from soul food, cuban sandwiches, pizza, and more. 

Across the street from Hotel Row is a four-pieced-over-70-years behemoth of a building at 222 Mitchell. In the last six months, three different architects have analyzed and studied ways to make it work. Previously, it was under construction to become an office space, but we intend to make it a sought-after place for Atlantans to call home. Our nascent plans for what 222 Mitchell could be now needs sharper pencils throughout July to analyze several models and see what ideas are truly feasible.

Moving east on Mitchell towards Broad Street (and City Hall / State Capitol) is where we pass a parking lot where there will be a BRT stop next to Cat Eye Creative. Across the street, a collection of four buildings will be among the first to be revitalized, delivering local food establishments, a couple apartments and creative office on the upper floors. The permits for those buildings have already been submitted.

We are now at the intersection of Mitchell and Broad, arguably the center of South Downtown’s future. This is where the bend on the “L” begins, hence the name “Project Elle.” 

From Mitchell to MLK Dr., Broad Street has the potential to be the most charming and unique block in all of Atlanta. The human-scale historic brick buildings carry generations of stories including some rock n’ roll history (April shared this month) and will be renovated into retail shops, bars, rooftop patios and apartments. The surface parking lot in the middle of this block that goes all the way through to Peachtree Street will be transformed into a flexible, inviting town square (aiming for this to be completed by World Cup!).  

How are we going to manage all the construction starting this month? Two new project managers start in the next seven days! 

The first order of operations: ATV-Sylvan, building out the rest of Hotel Row’s storefronts with amazing tenants, and starting our progress down Mitchell towards the bend in the “L.”

Lastly, we acquired two new buildings on Peachtree Street between Alabama and MLK. Dr. These are important additions for when our focus moves to Peachtree Street, and will give us better ability to deliver a neighborhood wide experience! 

New Team Member Announcement!

Brianna Jackson joined the team to work with entrepreneurs and add more fuel to our leasing efforts. Brianna worked with Atlanta Ventures for 10 years in human resources, seeing first hand the ups and downs of each company started or invested out of Atlanta Ventures since 2012. For the past two and half years, she used her talents at Calendly (an Atlanta Ventures portfolio company). When she saw the announcement of what was being transformed in South Downtown, she said to us: “she had to be part of it.” Here is her LinkedIn update announcing the big news!

There are 23 months until the World Cup, where approximately 3.5M visitors will be coming to our city! There are no dog days of summer in South Downtown!

Lastly, thank you for the 25k+ followers on Instagram and the 2500+ followers on LinkedIn. 

Until next month! 

Jon Birdsong

CEO, SoDo Atlanta, LLC