Design firm sues former West End mall developer

A planning firm alleges a partnership founded by Atlanta Beltline visionary Ryan Gravel and music artist manager and investor Donray Von failed to pay its bill for designs it drafted for a proposed redevelopment of the Mall West End.

Kimley-horn & Associates, a construction project planning and design firm based in Raleigh, N.C., filed a lawsuit in Fulton County State Court last month against developer Elevator City Partners and its co-founders. The lawsuit, first reported by real estate publication Bisnow, claims the developer failed to pay $26,213 for a utility and schematic study conducted as part of a lofty vision to revitalize the mall.

Elevator City’s plans fell through, and another developer has since pitched the site for a mixed-use project. In a brief email, Gravel chalked up the matter to a communication error.

“Elevator City Partners regrets missing a communication regarding this payment and has already begun the process of correcting the mistake,” he told The Atlanta Journal-constitution.

Gravel is known as the visionary behind the Atlanta Beltline. His master’s thesis at Georgia Tech served as the inspiration and blueprint behind the transformational project. Von is also a tech investor and serial entrepreneur.

Elevator City hired Kimley-horn in October 2020 to produce preliminary plans for the aging Mall West End, located at 850 Oak Street.

The ambitious $300 million-plus plan was to transform the 12-acre property into 1.3 million square feet of shops, offices, apartments and a hotel, but the plan fell apart by the end of 2020.

A payment plan was established last September, and Elevator City paid $10,000 but it failed to send the rest, according to the lawsuit. Kimley-horn’s attorney, C. Adam Carvin of the Cobb Law Group, is asking for the missing payment in addition to 18% interest and attorney’s fees.

New York developer Tishman Speyer tried to finish the project on its own, but that never got off the ground.