Ardent Companies announced Tuesday that a part of Buckhead’s Piedmont Center office park, at 3525 Piedmont Rd NE, will be transformed into a “multifaceted entertainment district” called Oxton.
“Oxton will be a symbiotic mix of food, beverage and wellness,” according to Tuesday’s announcement. In partnership with Westbridge and Bridger Properties, the development team aims to create a “mixed-use experience unlike anything in Atlanta.”
The project will encompass nearly an acre of protected green space along Piedmont Road. Oxton will reimagine over 35,000 square feet of ground-floor office space to local food and beverage concepts. Atlanta-based Square Feet Studio Architects is leading the design that will spill into its courtyard, under a canopy of mature trees. Ardent plans to break ground in the third quarter of this year.
“We are creatively reinterpreting the office environment, bringing Buckhead residents and office workers something that doesn’t currently exist in their neighborhood — a place buzzing with energy from the morning coffee rush to late-night fun,” Matt Shulman, CEO of Ardent, said in a press release. “There will be spaces for kids to run around, for adults to connect and for office workers to enjoy a break outdoors. Atlanta is home to a lot of great mixed-use properties that have been the launching pad for creative local operators. Oxton will provide an environment for these creative operators to enter the Buckhead market with other like-minded local businesses.”
Ardent has tapped veteran mixed-use developers Chris Faussemagne, principal and partner of Westbridge, and Merritt Lancaster, principal and co-founder of Bridger Properties, as consultants on Oxton.
“Over the past 20 years, Atlanta has grown as a city with the emergence of intown neighborhoods providing new opportunities for younger residents looking for experiences,” Faussemagne said. “Oxton will bring the restaurants and the energy of those neighborhoods to Buckhead.”
Lancaster added, “Oxton offers a great opportunity for restaurants and retailers to establish a presence or expand in Buckhead, in a safe, comfortable environment that is relevant seven days a week, no matter the time of day.”
Office leasing for Piedmont Center is being handled by JLL and Cushman & Wakefield, and retail leasing for Oxton is being handled by Bridger Properties.
“As companies continue to bring workers back to the office and to recruit top talent, the newly imagined Piedmont Center, anchored by Oxton, provides the environment they need,” Shulman said. “People crave community, and we are delivering the mix of uses and the activated public spaces that resonate with the community and today’s workforce.”
