Largely complete by 1972, Colony Square offered an unconventional vision for
co-located residential, commercial, and recreational activity that struggled to compete with the suburbs. As Atlanta evolved–socially, politically, economically–
the previously avant-garde site became overdue for an update.
Welcome to Colony Square, reimagined.
Colony Square’s reimagination focused on 360,000 square feet of the dynamic six-acre site. Explore the project’s individual programmatic priorities by using the buttons below. These buildings and zones are also discussed as part of broader thematic expressions, as highlighted in the menu above.
The Story of Colony Square
In the 1930s, construction began on 30 Rockefeller Plaza and Radio City Music Hall, centerpieces of New York City’s Rockefeller Center. In the 1950s, Philadelphia’s central commercial district became newly anchored by Penn Center, a mixed-use development comprising multiple office towers, underground retail, and a pedestrian mall. In the 1960s, Jim Cushman had a vision for a mixed-use “micropolis” in Midtown Atlanta, the first development of its kind in the Southeast. Cushman engaged architect Henri Jova—who ultimately joined forces with John Busby and Stanley Daniels for the commission—along with landscape architect Paul Friedberg to help him design the pioneering development.
The philanthropists, city planners, real estate developers, and design minds behind these visionary projects had a range of aspirations, and the projects’ outcomes were equally varied. At Colony Square, the original results were architecturally and culturally transformative, but immediate commercial success eluded the team.
Over time, and due to a variety of interrelated evolutions in today’s cities, mixed-use sites have become increasingly prevalent in urban districts. Despite initial market skepticism of mixed-use development, the benefits of comingled uses and user groups are celebrated today.
By the 1980s, the commercial and cultural environment of Midtown Atlanta had started to tangibly shift. Public policies, including a new zoning ordinance around Midtown’s MARTA Stations that encouraged dense mixed-used development, manifested several exciting development projects. In preparation for the 1996 Olympics, Atlanta experienced heightened capital investment. This momentum continued beyond the Olympic Games, resulting in several high-profile projects. Among them was the precedent-setting redevelopment of a 138-acre foundry site, known today as Atlantic Station.
North American Properties (NAP), who led the turnaround of Atlantic Station, acquired Colony Square in 2015. Shortly thereafter, their design team—Beyer Blinder Belle in collaboration with Lord Aeck Sargent—got to work.
