Once seemingly destined for demolition, Atlanta’s historic Highland Inn & Ballroom Lounge now appears poised for a new era.
With potential plans for flexible housing, among other upgrades, local developer Canvas Companies has purchased the almost century-old building from Thomas Carmichael for an undisclosed price, What Now Atlanta has confirmed.
“We have been playing around with the idea of some type of flexible housing option that doesn’t really exist Intown,” Benjamin McLoughlin, a managing partner with Canvas Companies, said, citing a potential combination of short-term rentals and traditional apartments. “Nothing is really set in stone yet except for the fact that we will 100-percent be keeping all the exterior footprints and structures intact.”
First reported by Atlanta magazine, Canvas’ ideas for the Highland Inn represent markedly different plans than what had been floated by the building’s previous owner just seven months ago. In July, What Now Atlanta reported that a demolition permit application had been filed for the building and that Carmichael had plans for a new mixed-use development with apartments, retail, and other uses at the site, located in the Poncey-Highland neighborhood, at 644 North Highland Ave. NE.
“In investigating ways to make the Inn viable, we were researching possible renovation solutions,” Highland Inn General Manager Steve Harvey told What Now Atlanta. “The engineers that looked at the building discovered serious structural issues. As a result after consultation with professionals, it was decided that demolition and rebuilding was the only option.”
But plans to pave the way for such a development never materialized. Instead of a permit being issued last summer, plans to raze the Highland Inn were subject to interim controls related to the since-adopted Poncey-Highland Historic District, the Atlanta Business Chronicle reported in October.
Now, Canvas Companies’ plans call for the Inn building, which was built in 1927, to remain, even if possibly for new uses. Along with the idea of short-term rentals and other housing options, McLoughlin said the future of property’s traditional hotel portion is “still up in the air,” while other aspects, like the hotel’s courtyard, are also likely to change.
Even so, plans will still be subject to the new historic district, which the Inn’s previous owner staunchly opposed even before filing for a demolition permit. Moreover, Canvas expects the Inn’s existing adjacent businesses (whose real estate was also in the deal), like a barbershop and antique store, to stay. In the meantime, too, the plan for a phased renovation could at least allow for a temporary reopening of the Inn, which has been closed since last month as the sale was pending, according to Atlanta magazine’s report.
“What’s there is pretty fantastic, it’s just a little-bit older and needs a little bit of work,” McLoughlin said. “And while it needs a little bit of work from a structural and safety standpoint, there are some things we think we can do that will further enhance the property and in turn further enhance the neighborhood.
“It’s really important that the finished product looks and feels like it’s been in the neighborhood for the last 100 years, regardless of how much is new versus old.”
16 Responses
$800K-1M to live in a townhouse on North Ave???
Good grief.
These look sharp! I actually think the price point is accurate based on the size and quality and the location is great too – right on Freedom Trail (so basically the Beltline), close to shops/restaurants, Freedom Park Farmer’s Market, and walkable to Publix too. I think the townhomes built on North Highland by Manual’s Tavern sold pretty quickly at just a bit less than this.
Does anyone know if a portion of this development will front North Highland Ave. by Java Vino?
How could these front anything on North Highland when they’re built on North Ave?
Between JavaVino and the gas station there is a surface lot, now parking for Manual’s Tavern. I thought the first plans for this site included frontage here (sort of forming a T if that makes sense). I’m guessing the surface lot is not part of this development but I recall years ago when the first developer had plans here it was going to include frontage on this section.
Look at the map above.
This is nowhere near where you’re talking about.
The Maloof’s own that parking lot and I assume they will eventually sell it like they did the lot that became 550 North Highland townhomes. This development is directly behind Buddy’s gas station. It’s not on North Highland.
Yep, I understand…and didn’t expect it to include this but remember when the first developer was going to build something that set on the property like this. It was the reason why they tore down the old house that was a local art store that sat on a portion of that parking lot back in the day. The two lots abut each other, again, forming a T with the top of the T coming off North Ave running toward Freedom Park and the base of the T hitting North Highland.
I was thinking this was in the other direction on North.
I knew one of us was crazy– apparently (no surprise) it was me.
My apologies…
Ha! No worries!
I live in Poncey-Hi and was involved with this project when it came through the neighborhood land use process. The North Highland frontage was sold off separately from the 1099 North Ave townhouse development. Manual’s Tavern now requires the surface parking lots to meet city parking spaces numbers so that surface parking is here to stay indefinitely and unfortunately for that stretch of urban street frontage. We don’t like it but there’s shit we can do about it. The townhouse renderings look nice, though.
Selig now owns the property where Manuel’s is and the lot across the street. One of the benefits of the newly adopted Poncey-Highland Historic District is that it completely eliminates minimum parking requirements. The plan is that that parking lot will eventually be developed with pedestrian-oriented restaurant/retail/service on the ground level and residential/hotel/office above, as required by the historic district zoning. The development at 1099 North went through the hood and permitted years ago, so is being developed based on pre-HD zoning.
Lisa, yes that’s true, and I was trying to shorthand the situation in my remarks, but until it is viable for a restaurant like Manual’s to stay in business without that parking there isn’t really a chance that surface parking lot can get redeveloped. Loss of that parking for the duration of construction would give Brian Maloof a heart attack. So I don’t see that parking lot going anywhere. But yay there is something that might help it go away in the future!
This one breaks my heart… they tore down a beautiful urban forest and now that whole block will be these lame cheap boxes full of old “empty nesters”.
I wouldn’t call these townhomes ‘cheap’ and the ones at 550 North Highland replaced a parking lot.
The beautiful urban forest in question has been an off-and-on (mostly on) homeless encampment for at least the 7 years I’ve lived a block away.
So boring – reminds me of the super expensive townhouses that went up in Berlin behind the main train station (Hauptbahnhof) in the 2010s. There’s also no shade or green space…who will want to sit the blaring August Atlanta sunlight in those fake private parks? Also wondering about these buildings’ energy efficiency ratings. I wish Atlanta would think bigger and develop a style rather than copy other cities.