New business planned for Varsity Jr. property.
The vacant Varsity Jr. on Lindbergh Drive which closed in 2010 will soon be demolished. The proposed replacement? A 100,000 square foot, mixed use self-storage facility and retail complex. 90,000 square feet of the complex would be dedicated to climate-controlled storage units with the remaining 10,000 designated for "retail." The "retail" portion would reportedly not be a restaurant as the proposed parking could not accommodate it. If approved, the proposed four-story complex would have 750 storage units and about 40 parking spaces on 1.4 acres.
The vacant Varsity Jr. on Lindbergh Drive which closed in 2010 will soon be demolished. The proposed replacement? A 100,000 square foot, mixed use self-storage facility and retail complex. 90,000 square feet of the complex would be dedicated to climate-controlled storage units with the remaining 10,000 designated for "retail." The "retail" portion would reportedly not be a restaurant as the proposed parking could not accommodate it. If approved, the proposed four-story complex would have 750 storage units and about 40 parking spaces on 1.4 acres.
Evelyn & Frank Gordy Family LP is listed as the owner of the property at 1085 Lindbergh Drive. (The late Frank Gordy opened in the first Varsity restaurant on North Avenue near Georgia Tech in 1928.)
According to a permit filed with the city of Atlanta, a "Commercial Quality Control Review" permit was filed with the city of Atlanta on October 6th to demolish the former restaurant.
The proposal goes before the Board of Zoning Adjustment (BZA) November 6th at noon. Given the size of the facility, the parking requirement is 167 spaces. The developer is seeking to reduce the required parking to just 37 spaces, given the bulk of the project is a self storage facility that should have limited parking needs.
There is, of course, already a storage facility nearby, a Public Storage, on Briarcliff Road near Whole Foods Market.
A few years back I got wind of a larger development planned for not only the Varsity property but a number of adjacent parcels behind and beside it. That proposal would have reportedly included a Walgreens Pharmacy, Starbucks Coffee and Trader Joe's.
Trader Joe's, Walgreens and Starbucks were being proposed at the intersection of Lindergh Drive and Cheshire Bridge Road. This land assemblage would have included the shuttered Varsity Jr. space along with the current BP gas station, Fresh 2 Def, Title Max, Precision Tune Auto Care, Sunny's Cleaners, and the former Bliss, a male strip club.
The redevelopment of the other parcels is reportedly on hold indefinitely.
What are your thoughts on the former Varsity Jr. being replaced by a storage facility? If not a storage facility, what would you like to see open there? If the project does move forward, what would you like to see open in the 10,000 square foot retail portion?
Please share your thoughts below.