Adaptive Reuse Proposal Responds to COVID-19

Designers have gone back to the drawing board to keep proposals moving through the development pipeline in light of lessons from the pandemic.

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July 30, 2020, 7:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


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"German developer Newport this week issued new renderings with virus-inspired changes for its $100 million redevelopment of the 222 Mitchell Street building," reports Andy Peters. 

The redevelopment plan calls for the developer to rehab 222 Mitchell Street, located near the Gulch redevelopment project proposed by CIM Group, which has made the planning news on several occasions.

"About three-quarters of Newport’s Mitchell street building will be converted to office space. The remainder will be retail," according to Peters. "The company altered its design after COVID hit in March, adding more and larger elevators to the 290,000-square-foot building to meet the expected demand for a less-dense gathering of workers and shoppers. It added outdoor seating areas to restaurant space."

"The developer also adjusted the design to allow office tenants create separate entrance doors and self-contained lobbies," adds Peters.

The development in Atlanta isn't the first to claim a design response to the realities of the novel coronavirus. The Almaden Boulevard Tower in San Jose claimed similar public health advancements in June.

Thursday, July 23, 2020 in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

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