Mitchell Street will host several pop-ups as a kickoff to South Downtown revitalization

March 1,2019

Myrydd Wells and Thomas Wheatley, Atlanta Magazine

In 2016, developer Newport purchased 48 buildings and sites across eight blocks of south downtown Atlanta, an area east of Mercedes-Benz stadium and west of the state capitol, between the Five Points and Garnett MARTA stations. Their vision: turn the area of mostly vacant buildings and parking lots into a walkable space for retail, offices, and apartments, while at the same time preserving the area’s historic buildings.

Starting in April, Newport plans to show part of that vision to the public with Pop Up Row, a group of temporary spaces that will open along Mitchell Street through the end of July. Once home to hotels serving travelers and business people who arrived in Atlanta at the (now demolished) Terminal Station, the street today has retail spaces—think Friedmann’s Shoes, which caters to NBA players and other people with larger-than-average feet—and residences. Eight spaces will be available, ranging from 750 square feet to 1,400 square feet, according to Newport’s president Jake Nawrocki and vice president April Stammel. The hope is to fill them with local businesses, makers, nonprofits, and more before starting on permanent spaces.

“[The retail spaces] are perfect pop-up sizes,” Stammel says. “We just felt like we owed it to the neighborhood to give them a glimpse of what it will be in the future and to give these local businesses a chance to experiment.”

Read the complete article at the link above.