Atlantic Station

Atlantic Steel Brownfield Site Redevelopment (1997 – 2002)

Recycling Land: The Story of Atlantic Station

As the first steel mill in Georgia , the Atlanta Steel Hoop Company planted roots in Atlanta in 1901 and prospered as the city grew around it, making cotton bale ties and barrel hoops from recycled scrap steel. After being reorganized into the Atlantic Steel Company in 1915, the company broadened its product lines over the years and eventually became the largest employer in Georgia during World War II. Acquired in 1979 by Ivaco, a Montreal steel maker, the company slowly succumbed to foreign and domestic competition. By the time mill operations ceased in 1998, employment had dropped from 1,400 to 200.

In 1997, Atlanta-based Jacoby Development, Inc., purchased the property and formed a joint venture with AIG Global Real Estate Corp. to remediate and redevelop the 138-acre brownfield. The joint venture, known as Atlantic Station, L.L.C., is currently redeveloping the site into a live-work-play community totaling an estimated $2 billion in new construction. Called Atlantic Station, the community was designed to improve the area’s water resources and regional air quality and to serve as a model for environmental sustainability and smart growth. When completed, Atlantic Station will feature 6 million square feet of Class A office space; 10,000 new urban residences for a variety of income levels; 1.5 million square feet of retail and entertainment space, including restaurants and movie theaters; 1,000 hotel rooms in at least three hotels; and 11 acres of public parks. Bordered by downtown Atlanta to the south and Buckhead to the north, the redevelopment is located at the nexus of Interstates 75 and 85 in the heart of Atlanta .

Environmental Services and Much More

MACTEC has been involved in the Atlantic Steel redevelopment since inception, providing environmental assessment, investigation, remediation design, civil engineering design, infrastructure design, geotechnical engineering/design, construction materials testing, and construction management services in support of the property transaction, remediation, and redevelopment. Specific services include:

• Abandonment of existing City of Atlanta utilities and right-of-way, and coordination with private utility companies
• Utility design for approximately 2.7 miles of new ductile iron sanitary sewer ranging in diameter from 8 to 36 inches, and 2.5 miles of public water mains and appurtenances including fire hydrants, valves, and water meters
• Detailed stormwater management design including 2 detention ponds, over 5.5 miles of RCP storm sewer ranging in diameter from 15 to 66 inches, and a 1-mile-long, 8-foot-square reinforced concrete box culvert
• Design of approximately 4,300 linear feet of cast-in-place concrete and reinforced earth retaining walls ranging in heights of up to 50 feet
• Earthwork / site balance calculations, erosion control design, and grading plans that resulted in moving over 1.5 million cubic yards of soil
• Horizontal and vertical road design for over three miles of new public streets
• Landscape and hardscape design for public streets, parks and open spaces
• Traffic engineering for signalization and turn-lane design at major intersections

Environmental Strategies and Benefits

Throughout the two-year assessment and remediation of the site, multiple innovative strategies were employed to facilitate site redevelopment. To reduce the risk to construction workers at the site, over 165,000 tons of contaminated soil were remediated, and a soil barrier was constructed to prevent human exposure to the remaining site soils. The barrier was constructed using over 250,000 tons of imported soil. Also, a groundwater extraction and treatment system was constructed to prevent groundwater migration from the site and to remove suspended solids and vinyl chloride.

A Site Environmental Management Plan was drafted to outline a systematic approach for managing potential environmental conditions during site construction and maintenance activities. Also, a Conservation Easement has been executed for the site to ensure that any post-2001 activities on the property are performed in a manner protective of human health and the environment, in perpetuity, regardless of who owns or controls the property.

Other environmental strategies and benefits include:

• Air Quality: An air quality monitoring program, in conjunction with the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), consists of site design criteria and transportation performance targets that encourage alternatives to single-occupancy vehicle trips. A clean-fueled transit shuttle system circulates between the nearby mass transit station and the development, and an incentive program developed by Atlantic Station, L.L.C., includes access to electric vehicles and discounted rates for mass transit use.
• Energy: An environmentally friendly central cooling system will not only save building owners more than $35 million in construction costs, but will also operate more than 25 percent more efficiently than traditional systems and result in lower energy bills. A 2-mile-long network of 36-inch pipes will deliver chilled water from a 50,000-square-foot cooling plant.
• Recycled Materials: During the property’s reclamation, concrete building foundations were uncovered and demolished. The concrete was crushed into smaller pieces and reused as backfill, accounting for 132,000 cubic yards of material. Additionally, 164,000 cubic yards of bedrock that was removed during site grading activities was crushed and reused as backfill.
• Stormwater: New stormwater detention facilities reduce peak runoff and combine uses to provide an aesthetically pleasing one-acre pond in the center of the residential development.
• Transportation: A 130-foot-wide, multi-modal bridge has been constructed to assist with transportation flow by reconnecting the east and west sides of Midtown previously dissected by Interstates 75 and 85. The bridge offers four single-occupancy vehicle travel lanes and two high-occupancy vehicle lanes, with bike lanes and wide sidewalks on each side.
• Trees: 3,100 new trees are being planted: 2,000 within Atlantic Station and 1,100 in nearby neighborhoods.
• Project XL: Atlantic Station is a part of the EPA’s Project XL (eXcellence and Leadership), a national initiative that tests innovative ways of achieving better and more cost-effective public health and environmental protection.

Award-Winning Innovation

In July 2004, the project won the Phoenix Award in EPA’s Region 4 by an independent panel of state, regional and federal government leaders, along with environmental, business and academic professionals. In September, the project was awarded the national Phoenix Award for excellence in brownfield redevelopment, receiving the 2004 Grand Prize Phoenix Award.

The Phoenix Awards™, Recognition for Excellence in Brownfield Redevelopment, recognizes one winner annually from each of EPA’s ten regions, as well as one national winner chosen from among the regional winners. Projects are judged based on overall effectiveness, use of innovative environmental solutions, and impact on the environment and local economy. The awards seek to showcase successful solutions and publicize premier redevelopment projects as models for other communities around the country. Click here (2.7MB) to view the Phoenix Award brochure.

In July 2005, Atlantic Station’s 171 17th Street Building was awarded Silver level certification for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED). This was the first LEED Silver "Core & Shell" certified designation in the world for a high rise office building. The entire site is also serving as a global model for future LEED development, having been the first in the world to receive prototype credits that can be applied to future buildings.

Economic Benefits

Atlantic Station is expected to generate approximately 20,000 new jobs with a predicted gain of more than $619 million in total salaries. Additionally, several million dollars in tax revenues will be generated for the City and County. Prior to the redevelopment, property taxes contributed $300,000 a year to the City’s coffers. Once fully constructed, Atlantic Station will contribute $30 million a year in property taxes. Additionally, the numerous retailers on site will contribute $10 to $20 million a year in Special Interest Local Option Sales Taxes, which help fund local education and transportation initiatives.

Throughout the course of planning and constructing this new community, Atlantic Station, L.L.C., conducted numerous meetings with local, regional, and state officials, community leaders, and residents of the surrounding neighborhoods to ensure that all parties impacted by the development had an open forum for expressing their concerns and ideas. Citizen design committees were also formed to provide design input on various components of the development.

Atlantic Station Today

When residents moved into the first Atlantic Station townhouses in October 2003, the progressive development moved from dream to reality. Owners have since taken occupancy of the first phase of apartments, condominiums, and homes. Additional apartments, condominiums, and single-family attached and detached homes are under construction.

Approximately half of the 3.5 miles of new City streets opened in early 2004, including the new bridge. Pedestrians and joggers are enjoying the streetscape and public greenspace, and the development’s first office tower (the 500,000-square-foot SouthTrust Tower) is expected to be at 70 percent occupancy in the next few months. Retail construction began in mid-2004, and most retail locations are expected to open in late 2005. More than 20 retailers, restaurants and entertainment venues have already committed to the development.

For more information, please visit the Atlantic Station website at www.atlanticstation.com.