Novare Group “Adding to Critical Mass” to Bring Peachtree Retail Vision to Life

Novare Group, one of the most active high-rise residential real estate development firms in the Southeast, has announced plans for a tri-tower project, featuring a two-story retail component on Peachtree Street. As co-creators with Wood Partners of Midtown icons Spire, Metropolis and the new TWELVE Atlantic Station, Novare is bringing a major new kind of project to the Midtown market.

Project developer Conor McNally said the yet unnamed development will encompass the entire city block bordered by Peachtree, 7th, Juniper and 6th Streets and will feature three residential towers, offering approximately 1,100 total living units. Ground-breaking for the first tower, to be centered on Peachtree between 6th and 7th Streets, is expected in May. Plans also call for leaving a historically significant apartment building by architect Neel Reid not only intact but also renovated and available as a residential option.

While the residential element is riveting in and of itself, the retail component promises to jumpstart the vision, outlined in Blueprint Midtown and restated at the Midtown Alliance Annual Meeting, for upscale shopping on Peachtree from North Avenue to 14th Street. “We have worked very closely with city planners and Midtown Alliance to make this concept a reality,” McNally said. “We hope to take retail to the next level on Peachtree.”

The first tower will stand 36 stories and include 380 residential units, about half of them two-bedroom homes. Distinguishing the project will be what McNally calls “spectacular retail,” encompassing approximately 30,000 square feet on the first two stories and rising 40 feet in height. While Spire and Metropolis both feature street-level retail, this project calls for “retail on a bigger scale than what we have done before in Midtown,” McNally noted.

Although it is too early to predict what retailers will comprise the mix, McNally said the offerings “will be adding to the critical mass of retail on Peachtree and complement the shops and services at Spire which are performing very well.”

The second and third residential towers will have a Juniper Street orientation, one at 6th Street and one at 7th Street, enhancing the residential character of other developments, including the Dakota and 905 Juniper, along the Juniper Street corridor. While plans for towers two and three continue to evolve, both are scheduled to rise 33 stories, feature approximately 350-360 living units and include additional retail space. One unique feature of the project will be a large, open-air, shared-amenities space, fully one-and-a-half acres, located atop the parking structure. Novare expects to start construction on towers two and three in 2007.

McNally cited “a good working relationship with Midtown Alliance” and respect for the Development Review Committee process in bringing this project to life. “We are bullish on the Midtown market,” he said. “First and foremost, Midtown as an area in which to live is coming into its own. It continues to become more and more vibrant. As more people live in Midtown, the environment just keeps getting better for retail. It’s an exciting time.”

• Address: 855 Peachtree Street
• Contractor: R.J. Griffin & Company
• Architect: The Preston Partnership