First look: theme park takes 32,000 square-feet of Buckhead mall’s third level.
Construction for Legoland Discovery Center is well underway at Phipps Plaza, a high-end mall in Buckhead.
The 32,000-square-foot Legoland is being constructed in the former food court area on the third level of Phipps Plaza. Johnny Rockets, Moe’s Southwest Grill and Subway will remain at the mall, but are currently being relocated.
Legoland is on schedule for an April 2012 opening.
Here are the latest renderings for Legoland Discovery Center in Buckhead:
For more details on Legoland’s Phipps Plaza “Discovery Center,” click here.
19 Responses
LegoLand in Phipps simply doesn’t make sense to me. Shouldn’t this be out in the burbs somewhere?
This is sad. Phipps wasn’t meant for this type of thing and it’s sad they apparently had to resort to this for some reason.
Why is this sad? Lego is one of the coolest (and most expensive) toys ever. The wealthy aren’t allowed to have fun? What kind of image do people think Phipps has? Go into Neiman’s sometime and you’ll see a bunch of elderly women in puff-paint sweatshirts and too much tacky gold. I think an injection of youth is just what Phipps needs. As for this being in the ‘burbs: look around, there are a ton of kids in Atlanta.
Phipps will be obsolete in a couple of years. My suggestion for it’s replacement – The Atlanta Museum of Urban Development, a fitting home for how things should not be done. If that doesn’t work, my next vote goes for a museum of irony.
what’s wrong with building two massive malls right across the street from each other? gas stations do it all the time!
btw thanks for the tomo suggestion. looking forward to it.
This is really a sad day for Atlanta. I like kids and all, but this is not what Phipps was designed to be. First Belks, now this?
What is so sad about this. If anything you should be sad that there are two suburban shopping malls eating up prime urban space. But to be sad because a family type thing is being placed in something that you want to consider as high end. God forbid children might be anywhere near a Prada store. We would hate to have anything other than ridiculous high end shopping that 95% percent of this city can only window shop in (assuming they are even let in in the first place).
I hope everyone realizes that these two ‘suburban shopping malls’ were buiilt on cow pastures 40-50 years ago. It is arguable that this whole area would not be urban at all today without these two malls, particularly Lenox Square.
You can’t hold yesterdays developments (which were and are hugely popular) accountable to todays standards — it is an exercise in futility.
LOL @ Destiny….what is Belks? Is it like Walmarts and Targets and even Krogers?
@Clicker, I understand what you are saying but when is building two malls across from each other ever a development standard- whether 40 yrs ago, today, or the future? The developer accountable to today’s standards- they are just accountable, period.
Do you really believe the area would not be urban at all without Phipps? I agree that Lenox probably had a big part in that, but another mall was, and is, overkill.
It’s for the developer and investors and retailers and shoppers to decide if the mall makes business sense; and Phipps has. Lots of businesse have made a lot of money in that mall. Otherwise it would have been paved over long ago
Unless you live in China. Then the government gets to decide.
Would northern Buckhead be as urban as it is today without Phipps? Maybe. Without Lenox? Probably not.
And Jay, Belk (no ‘s’) is a department store; pretty much like every other department store out there. You need to get out more.
Pretty sure Jay was poking fun @destiny calling it ‘Belks’ considering he added an ‘s’ to Target, Walmart, and Kroger in his post.
I agree Lenox helped Nobu become what it is today. But, I think you have too much faith in developers and investors to decide what makes business sense. After all, isn’t that a big part of what got us into this financial mess we have today?
@ Clicker…you need to learn sarcasm! Of course I know that Belk is a department store…I was making fun of Destiny adding an “s” to the end of Belk, like people do to the end of Target, Walmart, and Kroger,etc…..DUH!
Oh…okays Jay. I gets it nows.
The third floor food court at Phipps used to be a really fun place to hang out while waiting for all your friends to get to the mall to see a movie. As a kid growing up in north Buckhead we would hang out there a lot before movies. Now the entire food court is pretty much gone and the way they added in Lego Land looks really awkward. Maybe in the future the Buckhead Atlanta redevelopment can become the new Phipps Plaza in terms of a high end shopping district? Lego Land at Phipps is just really awkward. That’s all.
Who was the genius who thought this should go in Phipps with Gucci and Versace, and not at Atlantic Station which is becoming the family spot for intown Atlanta? Dumb move I say.
I totally agree with BCATL. I have two children and yes we live ITP. This may come as a shock, but there are lots of children in the city. We were so excited when Phipps was chosen. FREE parking and something we can do with the kids without driving 30 miles .In 2004 they were close to declaring bankruptcy. Now they consistantly post increases year after year. As a well known global brand this store will bring traffic to Phipps, which it desperately needs.
Really?!!!! This is something that should have been downtown near Imagine-it, The World of Coke and the Aquarium. This is something not just for Atlantans to enjoy but for everyone. This is an attraction and not to be hidden. Also offer a brick wall for a donation to help pay for the site. Do you have any idea the traffic this is going to add to, the already conjested, Buckhead????