On a pleasant Saturday evening in a fast-growing Atlanta community, 20- and 30-somethings are gathered on apartment balconies, parents are sipping beers while kids play in The Camp, pups are running around Fetch Park, and empty nesters are dining al fresco at their favorite restaurants. This is a regular scene at The Works, one of the first industrial mixed-use (I-MIX) developments in the country.
Spanning 80 acres (32.4 ha) and 1 million square feet (93,000 sq m) of industrial space, The Works is located off Chattahoochee Avenue, a once-quiet industrial corridor on the west side of Atlanta. This pocket of the city—now known as the Upper Westside with a new CID to prove it—has seen explosive growth since plans for The Works were announced in 2017.
The first phase of The Works is home to 466,349 square feet (43,325 sq m) of warehouse space, of which Selig Enterprises, the owner and developer, has adapted and converted 289,869 square feet (26,930 sq m) into office and retail uses. At the signature corner of the development, Selig has constructed a 306-unit multifamily building, a feat that would not have been possible without the city’s new I-MIX zoning allowance.
Novel zoning code
In 2020, Atlanta’s Department of Planning created a first-of-its-kind, I-MIX zoning designation that supports the city’s goal of adding housing stock while protecting industrial uses and maintaining the character of historic buildings. For the first time, Atlanta developers were given a path to redevelop industrial sites with office, retail, and most notably, multifamily residential. The Works was one of the first developments in the city to receive the new zoning designation. In addition to its many restaurants, shops, offices, apartments, and food hall, The Works maintains industrial uses, too, including a brewery and several showrooms.
Versions of I-MIX are being adopted across the country to address the urgent need for more housing. For example, Denver has I-MX, Charlotte has Innovation Mixed-Use, and Portland has Central Employment (EX). Historically, industrial real estate has been allocated to nonresidential, low-cost parts of town with cheap land and good access to shipping. In Atlanta, industrial sites were largely relegated to the Westside. However, as Atlanta grew and urbanized, this part of town became more centrally located within the city. Heavy industrial uses gave way to light industries, followed by a wave of restaurant and entertainment conversions.
By 2015, Atlanta’s Westside emerged as a food and beverage hot spot. Official planning for The Works began in earnest in 2016. However, at the time, the project was not feasible at full scale because of zoning restrictions around housing constructed near industrial uses.
With the fast-growing population and interest in Atlanta’s Westside, the city recognized an opportunity to update the zoning code to allow for residential development in historically industrial-zoned areas, while still preserving in-town industrial uses and the charm of old spaces. It was a proactive and innovative move by the city that has positioned Atlanta as a leader in urban development.
I-MIX paved the way for Selig to develop residential, commercial, and industrial uses together, while protecting historic buildings and filling them with the best of Atlanta’s restaurants, retailers, and cutting-edge employers who have something new to offer the surrounding community.
Dynamic mix of uses
Today, The Works features a variety of events, experiences, and retail offerings, including: Adelina Social Goods, American Axes, AYA Medical Spa, Ballard Designs, BRASH Coffee, Chattahoochee Food Works (a 31-stall food hall), Chicheria MX Kitchen, Eric Austin Custom, Fetch Park, The Forum Cocktail Club, Fox Brothers Bar-B-Q, Les Mains Nail Bar, Love Train Antiques and Home, Stellar Bodies, Swan Space, Taste Wine Bar & Market, Tinte Salon, Woof Gang Bakery & Grooming, and Your 3rd Spot. The retail component spans 218,000 square feet (20,253 sq m), and the office encompasses 118,000 square feet (10,963 sq m). Notably, the creative offices are 100 percent leased.
Located at the entrance of the development, the five-story, newly built apartment community, Westbound at The Works, is experiencing strong leasing momentum with luxe amenities such as an open-air TV lounge, fitness center, club room, sports bar, coworking center, communal kitchens, and a courtyard pool. The 306-unit community features a mix of 70 percent one-bedroom and 30 percent two-bedroom apartments. The design of the residential building complements the industrial nature of the area, with oversized dark bronze windows, fiber panels with pops of orange, and charcoal gray brick.
A key part of the new zoning code, Selig preserved the character of more than half of the warehouses and maintained light industrial uses throughout, such as a brewery and R&D facility called Dr. Scofflaw’s Brewing; MacDermid Graphic Solutions, a hands-on printing industry education and resource center, with corporate offices; and several commercial furniture showrooms. The industrial space that was cleared for the project allowed for a grid of pedestrian connectivity, traffic ingress/egress, and a 430-car parking deck—adding much-needed parking capacity to support the new commercial uses.
In addition to bringing new housing and community amenities to the area, The Works has generated important tax revenue, job creation, and economic development in the Upper Westside. Since Selig unveiled plans for The Works in 2017, numerous multifamily developments and townhome communities have opened across the district, adding significant housing stock to Atlanta. A 2021 study by the Upper Westside CID cited $2.46 billion in planned private investment across more than 20 projects in the district.
Further development is planned at The Works. Selig has 56 acres (22.7 ha) and 850,000 square feet (79,000 sq m) of warehouses yet to be developed in the next phase. The innovative mixed-use destination serves as a valuable case study for stimulating economic growth by infusing aging industrial pockets with residential, commercial, and other creative uses.
