A 1970s-era office park in Brookhaven is slated to get a second life as a sprawling mixed-use community, tapping into the energy provided by the area’s new pediatric hospital.
Atlanta-based developer Third & Urban announced early-phase plans to redevelop the 32-acre Corporate Square office park into a mixed-use campus with thousands of residences, a hotel, new shops and medical office space. The proposal was first disclosed in an October development of regional impact filing, which triggers a state-required infrastructure analysis for large projects.
Located between Buford Highway and I-85, the property lies in the shadow of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta’s newly christened Arthur M. Blank Hospital. Emory University is also currently developing a new health care innovation district in the area, which began with its musculoskeletal institute.
The proposal follows in the wake of other office park overhauls that have injected residential and other commercial uses on top of acres of parking and scattered office buildings, including Palisades in Sandy Springs. The Medley project, in Johns Creek, would convert a former State Farm campus into a live-work-play community.
The developer “envisions a walkable mixed-use community that will bring housing, green space and retail to the area’s fast-growing job center,” according to a press release. The surrounding medical institutions are expected to employ more than 40,000 people, prompting developers to target the surrounding area to cater to a well-paid, well-educated medical workforce.
The proposed redevelopment requires the property to be rezoned to allow for a mix of property types and a development timeline hasn’t been released. A project rendering features multiple mid-rise buildings replacing Corporate Square’s current low-rise offices, which were developed between 1967 and 1971.
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Third & Urban envisions transforming the office buildings and surface parking into up to 2,000 residential units, which include a mix of market-rate apartments, senior housing units, corporate housing units and townhomes. The site plan also includes a 350-room hotel, about 100,000 square feet of medical office space, about 30,000 square feet of retail space and a public plaza.
The multiphase project would also connect to the Peachtree Creek Greenway, a multiuse trail that runs 1.3 miles through Brookhaven. In its second development phase, the project could be connected to the Atlanta Beltline, Path 400 and the Southeast Conservancy nature trails in addition to a new pedestrian bridge to link the site with Emory’ Executive Park.
Third & Urban is known for mixed-use projects around Atlanta, especially its intown projects, including Armour Yards and Westside Paper. Third & Urban earlier this year acquired a similar aging office complex, Dunwoody Park, and is evaluating long-term redevelopment opportunities.
Corporate Square continues the company’s focus on underperforming suburban office parks that have struggled to remain competitive after the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 upended the traditional office market.
“Both projects align with Third & Urban’s strategy of targeting underperforming office parks in high-growth, first-ring suburban markets and repositioning them into their highest and best use,” the developer said.
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