Imminent Domains

1. Built in 1947, the Atlanta Constitution Building was the newspaper’s home for only a few years. After the Atlanta Journal bought the Constitution, Georgia Power took it over, but it’s been vacant since 1972. The City of Atlanta is now working with GDOT on plans to demolish it and build a multimodal passenger terminal. It’s one of the city’s last art moderne creations, though; petitions to save it are plentiful.		2. Though Palms Hotel owner Legacy Property Group is still in the idea phase, CAP envisions the developers—who oversaw the transformation of the Glenn Hotel—turning this midcentury former Ramada, with its sawtooth roof and courtyard pool, into the likes of a swinging hotel. It has “great bones,” says Legacy president David Marvin. Plans have stalled, though, due to the economy.
3. The sixties-era United Methodist Center housed offices of the denomination’s leaders, such as the state bishop, as well as the historic stained glass windows from the 1902-founded Wesley Memorial Methodist Church. Now, CAP sees its octagonal chapel as a restaurant and its adjoining tower as offices or a boutique hotel, should anyone pony up Inman Park Properties’ $2.9 million asking price.		4. The Medical Arts Building, a 1927 former beaux arts beauty built by local architect Geoffrey Lloyd Preacher (who also designed City Hall), has decayed into an eyesore since its mid-nineties abandonment. Latest owners—developer Anosh Ishak, attorney Ephraim Spielman, and art publishers Daniel and Kamy Deljou—got it for $5.25 million. Economy-pending visions include a medical office or hotel.
5. This seashell-pale monolith stretching along Spring Street looks modern despite its 1912 born-on date. It served as part of Norfolk Southern’s headquarters until a move to Midtown in 2004. Norfolk doesn’t necessarily need to rush a sale—it’s owned the land so long a mortgage is a nonissue—though the company is open to development options. CAP wishes the spot would be converted into residences.		6. The Rufus M. Rose House, built by a liquor purveyor in 1901 for $9,000, is now one of Peachtree Street’s last remaining private homes. Over the years, it’s sheltered the Atlanta Preservation Center and the Atlanta Museum. The current owner’s restoration plans fell through; it’s now on the market for $1.15 million. Another half million would whip it into shape, perhaps as an office or restaurant.
7. A hundred or so years ago, the Gulch was formed when viaducts were built to aid traffic flow over the rail lines. It’s now a fifteen-acre asphalt El Dorado of prime real estate, and owner Norfolk Southern is open to sale or development options. CAP would like to see the Gulch capped with greenspace and a continued street grid. Parking (it’s a favorite spot for Falcons fans) would be preserved underground.		8. CAP wants to replace the disco-era Five Points MARTA Station’s concrete lid with a glass-enclosed set of stairs to the platforms and an inviting “people space,” which would further its Green Line plan to “stitch together” Downtown. But MARTA assistant general manager of planning Cheryl King says it won’t happen soon: “The vision is good. But we just don’t have the resources to do that right now.”
9. After developer Emory Morsberger lost 222 Mitchell Street—a former bank built in phases from 1929 to 1970—to foreclosure last year, Orinda Corporation and Octagon Capital Partners bought the property with cash. The group’s planned $35 million renovation would turn the structure into lofts, offices, retailers, and (feeding off nearby Castleberry Hill) art galleries by 2011.	K	10. In 1964, Wheat Street Baptist Church got a federal loan to establish the Wheat Street Gardens, the country’s first apartment complex founded by a black church. The Wheat Street Charitable Foundation now plans a $100 million redevelopment of the eleven acres that will pay tribute to its original “live, work, play” mission, says president Rhonda Brown, including affordable apartments and retailers.