Developer on Atlanta buying spree plans big revamp of intown retail center
A face-lift is planned for a shopping and dining hub that’s served an intown Atlanta neighborhood for decades.
Morningside Village, a roughly 50,000-square-foot collection of buildings that straddles North Highland Avenue, will receive new lighting, landscaping, paint, awnings and artist murals, according to property owner 26th Street Partners.
The project will also improve wayfinding and create “distinct crosswalks to clearly define the village as a cohesive district,” the Atlanta real estate investment firm told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Located in the Morningside-Lenox Park neighborhood, the property includes restaurants such as Whiskey Bird, the Family Dog and Doc Chey’s Noodle House, as well other tenants including Highland Fine Wine, Highland Runners and Intown Animal Hospital.
“Morningside Village has an amazing collection of small and locally owned businesses,” said Anthony Vipond, founder of Whiskey Bird, a tenant for nine years. “These improvements will help make the village more identifiable and give it a stronger sense of place.”
The project began Monday and is expected to wrap up in the fall.
26th Street Partners declined to say how much it plans to invest in the upgrades, and the company didn’t answer questions about its broader strategy in the Atlanta market.
The project comes as the firm has been on a buying spree but has shared little publicly about the vision for its growing portfolio.
In late 2024, 26th Street Partners acquired Morningside Village for almost $31.4 million and earlier this year expanded its holdings in the neighborhood, paying nearly $4.4 million for the property that includes Savi Provisions, according to property records. The firm does not own the building with Alon’s Bakery & Market.
26th Street Partners also spent $210 million to buy Krog Street Market food hall and other properties along the Atlanta Beltline’s Eastside Trail. The company owns Plaza on Ponce, home of the Plaza Theatre and Majestic Diner, and recently scooped up key retail segments in Virginia-Highland.
Morningside Village today is 100% occupied with the recent announcement of a new restaurant called Alere from the team behind the the Chastain restaurant in Buckhead. Alere is set to open in 2027, taking the space formerly occupied by Nowak’s Cantina.
Two current tenants said they were looking forward to the planned improvements.
Doc Chey’s, which opened at Morningside Village in 1997, will get a new color scheme, new awning and sign and planters to “green up our space a little bit,” owner Rich Chey told the AJC in an email.
Chey said he views the upgrades as necessary to “create an authentic environment that guests want to visit” and to keep pace with other retail centers in Midtown, Inman Park and along the Beltline.
At Whiskey Bird, upgrades include refreshing the front and back patios, Vipond said.
“For Whiskey Bird, activating our patios and refreshing our space will help us create a better experience for our guests and give people more reasons to visit throughout the day and evening,” he said. “More broadly, we believe the improvements will benefit the entire business district by increasing visibility, energy and foot traffic.”
The project team includes Atlanta architecture firm Gentle Works, which is leading the design. Quenton Colby Studio is completing the murals, and Bridger Properties is the property manager.