Upscale apartments planned for downtown are part of multi-family boom.
The southeast corner of 10th and Ellis was the epicenter of Jack Connell’s business empire.
It’s where the legislator held court with everyone from judges to janitors at the Sandwich City diner. It’s where his Merchants Credit Bureau agency still operates.
But by the middle of next year, the corner will be a four-story apartment building that bears his name.
The revered politician’s heir, daughter Andrea Gibbs, is redeveloping the 1-acre tract into a 54-unit upscale apartment community called “The Atticus” — a tribute to Atticus Jerome “Jack” Connell Jr.
“This wouldn’t be happening if it weren’t for him,” Gibbs said. “He taught me everything I know.”
The multimillion-dollar development in the heart of downtown – potentially the central business district’s first all-new multifamily construction project in decades – is set to break ground in late spring and open in mid-2021.
It will boast a covered and gated 57-space parking lot, ground floor retail/restaurant space, a rooftop patio and high-tech features such as keyless entry – the types of amenities that appeal to urban-minded young professionals migrating to the downtown area.
“With all the things that are happening downtown, I thought this would be a really good idea,” Gibbs said, referring to tech-based developments such as Unisys, TaxSlayer and the Georgia Cyber Center. “I think the timing is right.”
According to multifamily real estate analysts, the timing is right.