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Community | 17
FEBRUARY 2020 ■ www.ReporterNewspapers.net
Buckhead Plaza’s namesake open space, streetfronts to get makeover
SPECIAL
Above, An overview of the Buckhead Plaza makeover plan.
Right top, an illustration showing improved stairs and signage along West Paces Ferry Road.
Right bottom, An illustration of what the Buckhead Plaza space
might look like after renovation, including new sculptures.
BY JOHN RUCH
Johnruch@reporternewspapers.net
The Buckhead Plaza office and commercial complex needs a better namesake, ac
cording to co-owner Cousins Properties, which plans to remake the central plaza and
exterior streetscape with public art, a bicycle commuting facility and more.
Cousins’ plan for the prime property in the heart Buckhead at West Paces Ferry and
Peachtree roads got a positive response on Jan. 8 from the Development Review Com
mittee of Special Public Interest District 9, a local zoning district. Cousins believes it
needs no zoning variances and is aiming to start construction in March and April on
the 12- to 14-month makeover.
Charles Zakem, the project’s engineer, said that “we intend to remove, improve and
replace” virtually all of the hardscape in and around the complex, which currently con
sists mostly of pavers, some interior trees and an unused miniature amphitheater. The
overall amount of greenspace will be similar, he said, but one goal is to provide better
signage and a more appealing atmosphere along with some programmed events to at
tract patrons.
The complex is anchored by the One Buckhead Plaza office tower on West Paces Fer
ry and the Two Buckhead Plaza office building on Peachtree. It also includes standalone
buildings for the restaurants Chops Lobster Bar and King + Duke, and a parking deck
accessed from Buckhead Avenue. The plaza, which includes open space and storefronts,
runs behind One Buckhead Plaza and the restaurants.
Modular pavers will be replaced with “decorative concrete,” Zakem said, and new
trees will be planted. At the request of DRC members, John McColl, Cousins’ executive
vice president for development, said the company will consider ways to save and re
plant the existing trees elsewhere.
Among the bigger changes in the plan are flattening the amphitheater and replacing
it with artificial turf; installing several sculptures by two artists, one local and one re
gional; and creating a traffic turnaround circle with a sculpture in the center at the end
of the driveway off Buckhead Avenue.
Beneath the King + Duke restaurant is a retail space built into the hillside. McColl
said the awkward space made it “very difficult” for retail tenants. Cousins will turn that
space into a “bicycle facility” for commuters and visitors of the entire complex, includ
ing parking and showers, and possibly charging for electric scooters. “For lack of a bet
ter word, we call it the bird’s nest,” McColl said.
The plan also calls for bike and scooter parking along Peachtree Road.
Improved wayfinding signs are another element, including large ones to lure visi
tors up a stairway on West Paces Ferry.
McColl said Cousins would like to partner on programming with the adjacent St. Re
gis Atlanta hotel on West Paces Ferry. One possibility, he said, is moving its annual tem
porary ice skating rink onto the plaza.
A separate project noted on the plan is a potential expansion of Chops. McColl said
that project - an expansion of around 1,100 to 1,200 square feet and a repainting - is not
a done deal and would need to be permitted separately.
Restaurant, retail makeover may
come to Piedmont Road
BY JOHN RUCH
johnruch@reporternewspapers.net
A shuttered mattress
store on Piedmont Road
may get a makeover into
a Turkish restaurant and
high-end retail space, in
a plan working its way
through the city approval
process.
The plan would remake
an existing one-story retail
building at 3162 Piedmont,
just south of Peachtree,
into a two-story structure
with an exterior elevator. . , . . , ,
A design concept ol the remade restaurant
The restaurant would use and re t a ii S p ace a t 3162 Piedmont Road,
the ground floor and base
ment, and two stores would go on the second floor.
One of the stores is Italian Gold and Diamond, a jeweler that currently does
wholesale trading at downtown’s AmericasMart Atlanta. Alan Ensari, the busi
ness’s owner, is spearheading the redevelopment concept.
The other store would be JFL Corp., a men’s clothing business that also is based
at AmericasMart.
Ensari would not reveal the name of the restaurant owner he is in discussions
with, but he and his consultants described the concept as a high-end version of
Turkish food. A conceptual illustration of the project uses the name “Lolcanta
Kitchen,” but there was no sign that is a final decision or even related to the Turk
ish concept.
Starting in November, the project went through three rounds of review at the
Development Review Committee of Special Public Interest District 9, a local zon
ing area. After working out such issues as parking and accessibility for people with
disabilities, the DRC gave its blessing at a January meeting. Review from city staff
is still pending.
