40-Story, Twin-Tower Apartment Project Proposed For Midtown

A Charleston developer is gearing up for its second Atlanta apartment project after breaking ground last month on its debut building in the city.

Middle Street Partners is proposing a twin-tower apartment project along Juniper Street between 11th and 12th streets in Midtown that will total 470 units, according to the Midtown Alliance Development Review Committee agenda for its March 9 meeting.

The first phase would include a 40-story tower with 320 units. Middle Street also plans to develop a 32-story, 150-unit tower in the second phase, along with a six-story, 694-space podium parking deck and street-level retail space, according to the Midtown Alliance agenda. 

The site, at 1081 Juniper St. next to the 1075 Peachtree office tower, is home to the popular Atlanta eateries Einstein's and Joe's on Juniper. A spokesperson for Metrotainment Cafes, which owns the property and both restaurants, confirmed in an email that the restaurateur was under contract to sell the real estate.

"At present, the intent is to continue serving our guests until early June. Metrotainment Cafes has no further information at this time," a spokesperson wrote in an email.

Middle Street recently began construction on BeltLine & Boulevard, a $73M, 323-unit apartment complex at 1015 Boulevard SE in Grant Park directly on the Southside BeltLine. Middle Street Senior Partner Johnson Bazzel declined to comment on the project.

Middle Street is one of the few developers to launch new projects in Atlanta in recent months, Haddow & Co. Managing Partner Ladson Haddow said. 

“A lot of the momentum has gone to the suburbs, largely due to construction costs,” Haddow said. “Intown got kind of overbuilt. But it's a great site, so it'll be interesting to learn more about it."

There were 15,500 units in the pipeline in Intown Atlanta late last year, the city's lowest level since 2013, according to a Haddow report.