The building that houses the Atlanta Eagle bar, and another Midtown landmark known as the “Kodak Building”, both on Ponce De Leon Avenue, have been sold to a private investor, according to the previous owner’s representative in the transaction.
The buildings, at 300 and 306 Ponce De Leon, were sold for an undisclosed amount by 300 Ponce De Leon LLC, according to Larry Culbertson of the C Group. The buyer was not identified.
Culbertson told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution the buyer plans to hold on to the property for future development, though details were not provided. The purchaser also has renewed a lease with the Eagle, a popular gay bar that has occupied the location since 1985.
The three-story Kodak Building, at 300 Ponce De Leon, was built in 1950 and is about 8,542 square feet. The building originally housed Star Photo camera shop and later Goody’s Kodak. The building, which has been vacant for years, also was once the site of the campaign headquarters for former Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin.
Culbertson said there had been several contracts on the Kodak Building over the years but none was finalized due either to financial difficulties or difficulty in finding the right tenants.
The Kodak Building has been in disrepair since plans for a pizza parlor fell through. The rear is covered by a tarp. More engineering studies are planned to determine whether the building can be salvaged.
The area has been rezoned as part of an effort to make the area more pedestrian friendly, with more residences and mixed-use projects, such as the Ponce City Market at the site of the former City Hall East.
Culbertson said a condition of the sale was that the old Kodak sign, which has been there since the building went up, would remain.
The 7,969-square-foot building housing the Eagle bar also was built on three floors in 1950. It is in much better shape, with a store front façade and large deck in the rear.
The popular gay bar was at the center of controversy in 2009 during an Atlanta police raid based on reports that men were engaging in sex while others watched. About two dozen officers swarmed the bar, shouting obscenities and anti-gay slurs and ordering patrons to lie face-down on the floor.
Eight people were arrested on charges of violating city licensing ordinances, but the charges were later dismissed or dropped. The city agreed to a $1 million settlement.
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