Crane watch: New Georgia Tech tower rising over Midtown Josh Green Mon, 08/12/2024 - 08:05 A year after site work began, the next and final phase of Georgia Tech’s decades-long, mixed-use expansion project into Midtown is beginning to make its presence felt.
Situated at the northwest corner of West Peachtree and 5th streets, vertical construction for the block-sized Technology Square Phase 3 has reached a half-dozen stories, beneath two construction cranes.
The project’s podium is standing, with tower portions having climbed a couple of stories above that. Base levels lend a clear idea how retail space and a long section called The Porch will be positioned along wide sidewalks.
One goal of the third phase, as project heads have said, is to enliven streets with retail and student activity, creating a more cohesive urban district where a parking lot and low-rise offices were before.
5th Street frontage, with The Biltmore House in the background.Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta
Tech Square—an education, retail, and dining district—opened its initial phase in the early 2000s. Considered the last phase, the current 828 W. Peachtree Street expansion project has been in design or undergoing site preparations since 2019.
The block in question is also bounded by Spring and 5th streets, and Biltmore Place. It’s one block north of Tech Square’s Coda, a John Portman and Associates-designed office tower.
Phase 3 will include two buildings totaling 416,500 square feet, mostly filled with educational space across the street from The Biltmore House on West Peachtree Street.
Named for philanthropists Penny and William “Bill” George, the 18-story George Tower will be home to the H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering, in addition to other programs.
The second building, the 14-story Scheller Tower, will house Tech’s graduate and executive education programs in the Ernest Scheller Jr. College of Business, according to Georgia Tech.
Status of construction progress today on Tech Square's third phase, as seen looking northeast at the corner of Spring and 5th streets. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta
Looking west along 5th Street today, toward Georgia Tech. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta
The Porch, meanwhile, has been described as a street-facing hub for socializing and sharing ideas. Its design nods to traditional Southern architecture, with huge kinetic doorways that fully open, blurring the line between indoors and outdoors.
According to architecture firm Eskew Dumez Ripple, the two buildings will be tied together by a central, communal zone and pathway that “continues through the building form, truncating at the podium and [spilling] into a monumental gathering space.”
The lower floors of Phase 3 are scheduled to open for occupancy in January 2026, with upper floors delivering later that year, project officials have said.
Looking northeast at the corner of Spring and 5th streets. Eskew Dumez Ripple; RJTR; Georgia Tech
How Phase 3's The Porch facet is expected to look and function. Eskew Dumez Ripple; RJTR; Georgia Tech
To set the stage for Tech Square growth, two low-rise buildings fronting West Peachtree Street were razed in 2021 for an interim parking lot and events space. A groundbreaking ceremony for Phase 3—attended by Georgia Tech President Ángel Cabrera, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, University System of Georgia Chancellor Sonny Perdue, and other dignitaries—was held back in October 2022. But development didn’t begin in earnest until September last year.
In the gallery above, find a closer look at where Phase 3 stands today—and how it’s expected to look and function in 2026.
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828 West Peachtree Street NW Georgia Tech 5th Street Bike Lanes Road Closures Midtown Development Construction Tech Square Ernest Scheller Jr. College of Business Georgia Tower Biltmore Place CODA John Portman and Associates Ángel Cabrera Andre Dickens Sonny Perdue Scheller College of Business Kimley-Horn & Associates Kimley-Horn Kimley Horn Rule Joy Trammell + Rubio Atlanta Architecture Eskew Dumez Ripple Turner Construction The Biltmore House JLL
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The 828 W. Peachtree Street site in the context of Midtown blocks. Google Maps
Status of construction progress today on Tech Square's third phase, as seen looking northeast at the corner of Spring and 5th streets. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta
Bases of the building will be occupied by retail (at left) and Tech Square Commons along 5th Street. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta
5th Street frontage, with The Biltmore House in the background.Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta
Looking west along 5th Street today, toward Georgia Tech. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta
North view at Tech Square's next phase today, along West Peachtree Street. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta
Looking northeast at the corner of Spring and 5th streets. Eskew Dumez Ripple; RJTR; Georgia Tech
Eskew Dumez Ripple; RJTR; Georgia Tech
Spring Street frontage, with The Biltmore House in the background. Eskew Dumez Ripple; RJTR; Georgia Tech
How Phase 3's The Porch facet is expected to look and function. Eskew Dumez Ripple; RJTR; Georgia Tech
Planned frontage along 5th Street. Eskew Dumez Ripple; RJTR; Georgia Tech
Example of planned interiors off outdoor social spaces. Eskew Dumez Ripple; RJTR; Georgia Tech
Eskew Dumez Ripple; RJTR; Georgia Tech
Eskew Dumez Ripple; RJTR; Georgia Tech
Eskew Dumez Ripple; RJTR; Georgia Tech
The two low-rise West Peachtree Street buildings demolished in 2021 to make way for Tech Square's next phase. Google Maps
The block and bike lanes in question at 5th and Spring Streets, as seen in 2020. Google Maps
Subtitle Tech Square's third phase aims to better active 5th Street, beef up school's Midtown presence
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