A prominent site in Midtown, where a historic funeral home once operated, may eventually be the setting for a three-tower complex of apartments, offices and a hotel.
The project devised by Portman Holdings would combine the 1928 landmark H.M. Patterson & Son's Spring Hill Chapel with a 36-story tower and two slightly smaller towers. Portman hasn't disclosed an estimated dollar value, but the development wouldn't be completed sooner than 2025.
Sitting at an elevation of 981 feet along the Downtown Connector, with virtually no tall buildings near it, the buildings would be some of the most visible in the city.
“That’s one of the reasons we were very attracted to the site,” said Harvey Wadsworth, managing director for Portman Residential.
Portman bought the four-acre property on Spring Street last year for about $40 million and still needs building permits and financing. It will present its design plan Tuesday night to the Midtown Alliance’s development review committee, which must approve it.
Portman and its construction and engineering partners have worked on the design phase remotely, due to the coronavirus, but otherwise the COVID-19 economic shutdown shouldn’t impact the project, Wadsworth said. Construction will start in the first half of 2021, according to plans.
Portman is negotiating with potential tenants for the 700,000 square feet of office space and with hospitality brands to manage the 325-room hotel. The project also includes 350 apartments.
The site is four blocks north of Georgia Tech's Technology Square and is near new buildings occupied or planned by NCR, Google and others. Midtown is also the likely home for a planned healthcare innovation district involving the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and private companies.
The H.M. Patterson & Son Spring Hill chapel held funeral services for numerous famous Atlantans, including Margaret Mitchell, and mayors Ivan Allen and William Hartsfield.
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