The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Plan would transform warehouses
Developer wants to turn northwest Atlanta buildings into mix of offices, apartments, retail.
A major Atlanta developer wants to turn more than three dozen buildings in northwest Atlanta, including a number of aging brick warehouses, into a mix of offices, apartments and boutique retail.
Selig Development said Friday it plans to develop an 80-acre tract near the Bellwood Quarry, west of I-75, into the Works at Chattahoochee. Selig said the 10-year development plan could one day include 500 residences, 600,000 square feet of office space, retail, restaurants and a hotel.
The company, part of Selig Enterprises, joins a wave of developers pitching plans to overhaul warehouses near Atlanta’s central business district. The Jamestown project Ponce City Market — the reinvention of a former hulking Sears warehouse and City Hall East — is the best known, but other examples include Third & Urban’s Armour Yards and Stream Realty’s Lee + White project on the new Westside Beltline trail.
The Selig project is just north of the Top Golf complex along Chattahoochee Avenue and Ellsworth Industrial Boulevard.
That section of northwest Atlanta — not quite Midtown and southwest of Buckhead — has seen a rush of new development. The city is also creating Westside Reservoir Park, which will become the city’s largest park around the Bellwood Quarry.
Selig Development President Scott Selig said the firm owns the property free of debt while it also generates rent from existing tenants, so it can redevelop the area gradually.
Selig, one of Atlanta’s oldest real estate companies, has controlled the property for more than
a half century. Most of the complex is leased to textile, furniture, apparel and other light manufacturers, including many that the developers hope will remain and expand their retail spaces.
The project will launch with the conversion of a 1950s-era warehouse into a 70,000-square-foot retail space. Later phases involving residences and the hotel will consist of new construction.
Selig plans to open about 100,000 square feet of retail space in the spring.
Selig is also one of the Atlanta area’s largest landlords. In December, the firm announced plans for a three-tower project in Midtown with a 32-story office tower, residences and a luxury hotel.
Steve Baile, Selig’s chief development officer, said the firm is in negotiations with “a couple” of tenants for the office tower, and expects to announce financing and details about the hotel and residences in the coming weeks.