Demolition crews have been working steadily in the heart of downtown Atlanta for the last several weeks, barely taking time off for the holidays.

After chain-link barriers went up around former nightclubs, a restaurant, apartments (now fire-damaged), and low-rise offices late last summer, heavy equipment is currently wiping clean nearly a full block of buildings between 12th and 13th streets and Peachtree Walk, according to Urbanize Atlanta.

Only the establishments on Crescent Avenue will remain, the online news site reported recently.

The demolition work is preparing the site for Midtown Exchange, Selig Development's next large-scale, mixed-use venture in the immediate area. The veteran Atlanta real estate and development firm completed the three-tower 1105 West Peachtree project one block west of the work zone in 2023 and has also built five other residential and office towers nearby blocks since the Great Recession.

Urbanize Atlanta noted that Selig is now preparing to develop a residential tower at Midtown Exchange standing 37 stories tall, in addition to a 26-story office building.

Atlanta's Rule Joy Trammell + Rubio architecture studio designed a central courtyard in between the two glass towers, which will be accessed from Peachtree Walk. Another 24,500 sq. ft. of retail space is set to be installed at street level.

The office building would encompass 619,700 sq. ft., and all 465 apartments at the other Midtown Exchange tower would be market-rate, according to Selig officials. Next to the plaza is a proposed 10-story parking deck with 1,608 spaces, which would serve both buildings with access points on 12th and 13th streets, per Selig's plans.

The sloped Peachtree Walk section of the project — dotted with steel planter boxes and a bounty of plantings — is planned to be part of the proposed Midtown Art Walk, a promenade stretching between 10th Street and Woodruff Arts Center.

Development Brings Change to Midtown Atlanta

With the new construction, Midtown Exchange will replace a hodgepodge of former homes and older buildings that housed several cherished businesses for years.

Those include the longstanding Cosmolava club, the former home of Deadwood Saloon and Twisted Taco, along with a corner building most recently home to Stellar Bodies gym. Another Peachtree Walk building had served as offices for various marketing and insurance firms, while another property held surface parking for vehicles.

As a result of the Midtown Exchange construction, the Northern Italian restaurant Pasta da Pulcinella, a Midtown staple, will uproot from its Peachtree Walk bungalow to an early 1900s-era home two blocks away on West Peachtree Street. That building is currently undergoing renovation to convert it into a restaurant, according to Urbanize Atlanta.

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