Midtown towers land financing, declared officially under construction

Developers: North and South tower designed to ‘sit prominently on the iconic Midtown skyline’

A closely watched two-tower Juniper Street project has landed requisite financing and is officially a go—albeit in a slightly shorter version than previously expected, at least in terms of floor counts.

Charleston-based developer Middle Street Partners, alongside joint venture partner AECOM-Canyon Partners, has secured $245 million in construction financing to build a full-block, mixed-use project that officials say will reshape the northeastern portion of Midtown’s skyline.

Demolition and infrastructure work at the Juniper Street site between 11th and 12th streets—about a block from Piedmont Park—has been ongoing for several months. But with financing in hand, the development team declared the towers officially underway today.

“We believe this block of Midtown is the preeminent residential address in all of Atlanta—and by extension one of the best in the Southeast,” Middle Street Partners’ director of development, Ed Alexander, said in an announcement.

Recent site work at Middle Street Partners’ planned dual-tower project in the 1000 block of Juniper Street, where Einstein’s and Joe’s on Juniper formerly stood.

Plans call for a total of 487 units in the two buildings, a North and South tower, that will “sit prominently on the iconic Midtown skyline west of the park,” with “stunning views, exceptional amenities, and high-end finishes,” as officials put it. Ground-floor retail space will span Juniper Street for a block.

The larger North tower will climb to 400 feet, offering 320 units across 36 stories; the South tower will top out at 380 feet, with 33 stories, larger floorplans, and what’s designed to feel like a more boutique offering of only 167 units.

Previous plans had called for buildings standing 38 and 34 stories, respectively.

How the two-tower project would look from Piedmont Park.Middle Street Partners; designs, Brock Hudgins Architects

Two Midtown drinking and dining staples—casual Southern restaurant Einstein’s and lively bar Joe’s on Juniper—have been razed at the site, along with neighboring bungalows-turned-businesses. The Metrotainment Cafes concepts, both hubs for Atlanta’s LGBTQ community, had operated on the block since the 1990s.

Middle Street Partners, which has offices in Atlanta, is also building a 323-unit apartment project on the BeltLine’s Southside Trail in Grant Park.

Along with financing news, development officials provided this revised project rendering today, which shows the Juniper Street towers in crisper detail than other images to date:

Courtesy of Middle Street Partners

 

DECEMBER 19, 2022, 5:40PM

By JOSH GREEN

Urbanize Atlanta

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