I Used to Live in that Pile of Rubble - #Atlanta Stories

Dateline BUCKHEAD ATLANTA (The community, not the MXD by OliverMcMillan)

By Tony Wilbert

April 3, 2015 - Having covered and/or followed Atlanta commercial real estate since former Mayor Sam Massell carried the Centennial Olympic torch past the old Buckhead bar district, I'm used to seeing buildings scraped to make way for new development.

The more I see, the more I like because it means new jobs, new workplaces, new residents. That said, when I drove past this pile of rubble across from Frankie Allen Park, it struck a chord with the nostalgic side of me. It hit me that my first Atlanta apartment was in there somewhere.

Having just moved from Savannah to Atlanta to start work at Atlanta Business Chronicle in May 1996, I needed to find a place to live fast, because the pending Summer Olympics Games resulted in constricted supply. (Recall that Muhammad Ali and others rented out Gables Over Peachtree near the North Avenue MARTA station.) 

I found a too-big, too expensive two-bedroom apartment at Gables' property at 475 Buckhead Ave., adjacent to the old Oxford Books location. (I did hate to see that structure torn down.) It was a primo location. I walked to the bar district and local restaurants to watch Redskins games.

I lived there two years and loved it. Now, it's gone. But that's OK.

Hanover of Houston soon will start construction on Hanover Park Place, a 335,062-square-foot apartment community with 375 luxury units. (Check out Buckhead View's story for a rendering.) Hanover made a splash in Atlanta when it confirmed plans in December 2001 that it would erect a 39-story apartment tower with the city's highest monthly rents. "The Hanover" at Alliance Center was built and now is The Paramount condo tower.

So, my old apartment is gone, but good things will rise in its place (though I no longer can point out my former balcony to our kids and say, "I used to live there" without getting weird stares.

Comments

[Terry Kearns]

I miss Oxford Books at Peachtree Battle especially and in the Car Dealership a bit.