A huge development thought dead in Downtown Atlanta has been resuscitated, but in a much different form than originally proposed. First announced in 2011 as "Times Square South" and later renamed "285 Marietta," the latest iteration of the project retains the most recent name - 285 Marietta [Street] - but replaces the previously announced office and retail with apartments, a hotel and restaurant/retail space. Significant exterior ad space seems to have also been carried over in the new plan. Renderings indicate that architecture firm Cooper Carry designed the project.
Property records indicate that the roughly one acre parcel [presently a surface level parking lot] is owned by Legacy Ventures, creators of the "Luckie Marietta District," and current owners of several restaurants and hotels along Marietta Street.
The site is surrounded by several existing hotels including the Embassy Suites and Hilton Garden Inn as well as attractions such as the Georgia Aquarium and the Chick-fil-A College Football Hall of Fame, among others.
Newly released marketing materials from The Shopping Center Group, the firm tasked with leasing the project's nearly 30,000 square feet of retail space, sheds light on the new plans:
"Modera Centennial Park is an impressive modern mixed-use project in the heart of the downtown tourism district. 330 residential units and a 190 room hotel are planned to anchor approximately 20,000 sf of ground floor and 2nd level retail."
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| The project as first proposed as "Times Square South" in 2011 |
"This development offers a unique opportunity for restaurant/retailers to get a presence at one of the busiest tourism corners in the SE. Every year more than 15 million people travel downtown to enjoy all this city has to offer, most within a short walking distance of Modera Centennial Park."
Modera, the brand name used by multifamily developer Mill Creek Residential, has been popping up across metro Atlanta. The firm currently has projects open in Buckhead, Vinings, Midtown, and Sandy Springs, with others under construction on Memorial Drive in Reynoldstown and Modera Prominence, at the corner of Piedmont and Peachtree Roads in Buckhead.
In addition to the Modera branded apartment complex, the marketing materials and supplementary renderings show a trendy-looking hotel called "Stay" that resembles Marriott's "Moxy" brand. There is no indication that the developers have secured a hotel flag for the site, but a Moxy would make sense. There is currently one Moxy property in Atlanta, a dual-branded hotel with an AC by Marriott in Midtown.
According to Marriott:
Moxy is a fun, playful and stylish hotel designed to give guests everything they want and nothing they don’t
Moxy boldly breaks the rules of a conventional hotel stay – starting with Check In at the Bar
Moxy is for the young and the young at heart – the brand is inclusive, approachable and lives in the public space
Moxy guests save on space and splurge on experience
Whichever hotel ends up being part of the project, it would join a growing pipeline of other brands in the area including Margaritaville Hotel, Resort & Restaurant, Reverb by Hard Rock and Signia Hilton, a new brand from Hilton Hotels. Also nearby but closer to Georgia State, The Candler Hotel Atlanta, a member of the Curio Collection by Hilton, opened this past fall in the historic Candler Building at 127 Peachtree Street.
Are you pleased to see this long-stalled project move closer to reality? Have you ever stayed at a Moxy hotel? What restaurant or retailer would you like to see open as part of the 285 Marietta development?
Please share your thoughts below.