The city of Atlanta is intervening in the proposed demolition of the Engineer’s Bookstore building in west Midtown with a proposal to designate the structure and adjacent properties as a Means Street Landmark District.
Means is a short street that runs parallel to Marietta Street across from Georgia Tech. Its commercial and industrial properties, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, include the recently closed bookstore building dating to about 1930 at 748 Marietta St. NW.
Doug Young, executive director of the Atlanta Urban Design Commission, made the landmark district nomination. The commission has set a public hearing on the proposal for 4 p.m., Aug. 24, at City Hall. The plan would next go to the Zoning Review Board and, finally, the City Council.
A developer reportedly wants to replace the bookstore with a gas station and convenience store, but the city recently denied its demolition permit application.
About 2,200 people have signed an online petition opposed to the project.
“This area has seen significant investment, and a landmark designation will allow it to benefit from redevelopment premised on adaptive re-use of former industrial buildings and new structures built on a human scale,” Mayor Kasim Reed said in a prepared statement.
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