Developers for high-rise apartments to replace Dante’s restaurant urged to make more plan changes

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Inmid-November, Atlantic Realty Partners announced it had entered into anagreement to acquire and redevelop the site where Dante’s Down the Hatchrestaurant is currently located at 3380 Peachtree Road and plans to build a10-story, 219-unit luxury apartment building on the site. 

BuckheadView was first to report the story, although AtlanticRealty Partners had taken its plans before the Development Review Committee forSPI-12 (special public interest district) in the first week of November, beforethe company had submitted any plans to the city for approval of a specialadministrative permit.   

The initial architectural renderings shown to SPI-12's DRC

At thatpre-application meeting in November, the DRC recommended a number of changesthe developers might consider to the initial plans and Atlantic Realty Partnersreturned at the DRC’s Dec. 5 meeting confident it had addressed all the itemson the DRC’s punch list.
But,after Atlantic Realty Partners senior director of development Ben Curran andhis team finished going over the changes they had made to the initial plans,they left the meeting with a new punch list of items the committee wanted tosee addressed for the project on the 2-acre parcel across from Lenox Square.
Thehigh-rise tower, which is expected to break ground in the spring of 2013, willbe located in the heart of Buckhead’s business and shopping district adjacentto the Mandarin Oriental Hotel and the new Del Frisco Grille. 

Aerial view of the location for the 10-story apartment building
(cener of photo where white low-rise structure is shown) is
next to the Mandarin Oriental Hotel and new Del Frisco
Grille, at left in the aerial photo. 

Theinitial punch list from the DRC in November, included making the back of thebuilding—essentially the parking deck—a more interesting back door to theproperty off of the ally so that it ties into the Community ImprovementDistrict’s new pedestrian circulation plan for that area.
DRCmember Denise Starling explained to the development team that the CID isworking to create “an awesome pedestrian space” back there to tie into thenew MARTA pedestrian bridge that crosses GA 400 from Stratford Road to TowerPlace and connect to the Buckhead rail station. 
Thecommittee suggested making the bottom level of the parking desk moreinteresting to promote that ally off Stratford Road as a pedestrian walkway.But that was just some of the suggested changes.
So, Atlantic Realty Partners’ design team returned to theDRC in December to outline the modifications made to the development as aresult of the comments received by the committee in the prior meeting.  Thosemodifications were:

Atlantic Realty Partners' senior director of development, Ben
Curran (standing), explains to DRC members at the December
meeting the changes made since November suggestions. 

• Pedestrian circulation opportunities have been added to theeastern side of the site as well as the rear.
• A crosswalk has been added across the back parking lot tofacilitate pedestrian flow to the future greenspace should it be developed.
• The lower level park deck has been aligned and adjusted toincorporate a knock out wall to provide for future connectivity to the streetnetwork proposed in the Buckhead CID’s pedestrian circulation study should itoccur with the redevelopment of the Lenox Towers Property to the east.
• A new sidewalk has been incorporated to provide connectivityto Stratford Road and the northern concourse of the Buckhead MARTA station.
• Bike parking will be incorporated to exceed requirementsgiving the connectivity to the PATH GA 400 multiuse trail.
• Public art will be incorporated on the Peachtree frontage toactivate the front space.
• The main roof will be a white roof and the amenity lid willincorporate planters and green roof components.
• The alley on the east side of the building will be coveredby a proposed wing wall.
• The back of the parking deck will be “greened” using plantmaterials that grow up the structure from the ground level.
• The plaza area on the front of the building has beenexpanded to the width of the building.
• Incorporation of a dog walk into the eastern side of thesite providing both upper and lower level connectivity.

 The DRC seemed appreciative of the efforts the company hadmade to address its recommendations from the November meeting, but felt therestill was more that could be done.
The committee noted the importance of providing active useson the Peachtree frontage and recommended the front of the building beactivated more significantly than was proposed:Create a more direct visual connection to the front doorthrough the incorporation of an awning or open colonnade or similararchitectural feature;

• Create a direct connection to the proposed cyber café;
• Activate the proposed “wing wall” with public art and orarticulation of the architecture; and,
• Provide connectivity with adjacent Mandarin property toextent feasible.

The committee’s report recommended the developer address thesides of the parking deck fronting Peachtree Road with architectural featuresthat mirror the building design and break the scale of the structure.

Above is a site plan graphic that the development team showed to
DRC members at the December meeting. View is from Peachtree Road. 

The committee also recommended the developer address therear parking deck to ensure it does not “turn its back” to the pedestrianactivity that will be present due to the MARTA access and potential futurepedestrian connectivity plan access.  The DRC said the deck should includea more overtly stated and inviting back door/entryway.
And, the committee recommended working with the adjacentproperty owner to the extent possible to create an inviting pedestrian andbicycle connection to the northern concourse of the Buckhead MARTA station thatis currently under construction treating transit and trail accessibility as asite amenity rather than an afterthought.
The DRC recommended approval of the requested reduction fromthree to two loading spaces.
However, the committee reluctantly approved the variation toallow the active use height requirement to be articulated in the architecturerather than incorporated in the actual space.  The intention of thisrequirement is to facilitate the incorporation of active uses such as retailand restaurants on the street frontage.  The proposed variation will limitthe flexibility of this space in the future should its use be redefined.
The committee also “felt strongly that the proposed design,while technically meeting the zoning requirements and very early in the designprocess, does not yet reflect the intended spirit of the zoning and desiredfuture outcome for the area,” according to the DRC written report. 
The committee said it would like for the applicant torevisit the design to more thoroughly reflect the intentions of the ordinanceand return before the DRC once the design is more fleshed out.