Georgia Tech Mixed-Use Development Brings Creative Spark

A bold plan is coming to another of Atlanta’s old sites.

Georgia Tech is connecting the western edges of its campus with a vision for “Creative Quarter,” a 7.3-acre redevelopment at 665 Marietta Street, designed to blend arts, academics and innovation, Urbanize Atlanta reported.

The district, which would occupy the former Randall Brothers building complex, is being pitched as an “arts-and-entertainment” counterpart to Georgia Tech’s Tech Square and Science Square initiatives.

Renderings by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill show a mix of high-rise residential, a hotel, academic and studio facilities, green space and a food hall crafted from an existing century-old brick structure on the site.

No construction timeline has been announced but the university confirmed the project would rely on public-private partnerships and long-term phasing. Plans also call for the Westside Community Connector Bridge, a student-designed pedestrian link that would span active rail lines to connect the district with Science Square and the broader Westside.

The creative quarter would feature “modern and collaborative” facilities to support recording, performance, virtual reality, artificial intelligence, gaming and other creative tech applications. The aim is to boost the region’s status as a global hub for film, television, music and interactive media.

The site has seen significant change already. In 2023, eight buildings spanning 101,000 square feet were razed, leaving behind a concrete expanse and one preserved brick building for adaptive reuse. The Georgia Tech Foundation purchased the property for $36 million in 2018, citing its resemblance to the bones of successful reuse projects like Ponce City Market and Krog Street Market.

Randall Brothers, a family-owned building materials supplier, had owned the land for over a century before relocating in response to surging property values in the wake of Atlanta’s post-Olympic development wave.

— Judah Duke