This year, Yan Karaoke is set to open in the Atlanta Dairies in Reynoldstown, complete with 15,000 square feet of space, multiple bars, a restaurant, VIP areas and plenty of singing suites.
It’s an ambitious project for the growing entertainment options in the Dairies. It’s also a hot-button issue for neighborhood residents and vocal historic preservationists.
The Atlanta Dairies is a former working dairy turned multi-use hub in 2010 by architecture firm Perkins & Will. Today, it’s home to The Eastern, Three Taverns Brewery, El Malo and more. It is also one of the city’s only remaining Streamline Moderne buildings.
Streamline Moderne is a late-Art Deco style from the 1930s, known for curved corners and horizontal lines. The only other Streamline Building in the city is the Atlanta Constitution Building. The dairies even have a spot on the National Register of Historic Places.
But the title provides no protections, and it can’t keep Yan Karaoke from making permanent changes to the historic exterior. Now, permit applications from the bar to alter the exterior are making locals sound the alarm.
There are two key issues that groups like the Reynoldstown Civic Improvement League and the Atlanta Preservation take issue with: exterior changes and tinted windows.
“It’s totally unaligned with the building,” Atlanta Preservation Center David Mitchell said about the proposed changes.
The first problem is dark window covers. It may seem minor, but its a touchstone issue in the neighborhood. Dark, painted or reflective window coverings are banned in the Beltline Overlay District, where the Atlanta Dairies reside.
But just down the street, a host of businesses have pitch-black windows, including Salt Factory Pub, Casa Coya and Girl Diver.
Why does it matter? According to urban design principles, it comes down to safety and pedestrian experience. Dark windows provide privacy for karaoke-goers, but they also keep pedestrians and even law enforcement from looking inside.
There is no “safety in numbers” when the street-level view is blacked out. Currently, Yan Karaoke has not specified plans to tint or cover the windows. But renderings of the bar show completely blacked-out glass, just like other Memorial Drive locales.
“We ask that this permit not repeat that precedent,” the Reynoldstown Civic Improvement League said in a letter to City of Atlanta Plan Review Staff.
The other issue, exterior changes, is where historic preservationists come in. Yan Karaoke submitted a Special Administrative Permit application to the city’s Office of Zoning and Development to alter the building’s exterior.
Yan Karaoke’s plans include a proposed change to the Memorial Drive building entrance, which would remove the original stone facade and add LED light panel awnings and systems across the curved walls. Mitchell said “these are irreversible” changes to the building.
In the historic preservation world, exterior changes are a nonstarter. Preservationists want to keep the architectural details intact. In a rapidly developing area like Reynoldstown, Mitchell said it’s even more important. He doesn’t want any permanent changes.
“A problem isn’t solved with an extreme or an absolute,” Mitchell said.
He urged the Yan Karaoke owners to “tap into” Georgia Institute of Technology’s engineering program to design lights that aren’t attached to the structure as a preservation alternative. (Mitchell has not been in contact with Yan Karaoke owner Alex Yan.)
“You should be able to make your property work to return your investment,” Mitchell said. He explained buildings aren’t preserved as “trophies,” and will often need some changes to remain viable and useful today. But he marks a clear difference between ADA accessibility updates and changes to the facade.
“By choosing a historic property, you’re embracing a certain level of relationship,” Mitchell added.
Yan Karaoke and the project designers did not respond to multiple requests for comment. In a statement to Rough Draft, Alex Yan said: “We’re building a place where you can host anything from an intimate night out to a company event. It’s going to be a true entertainment destination for Atlanta.”
Alex Yan owns Mics Karaoke in Doraville, another entertainment venue with private karaoke rooms. Some residents are skeptical of the Reynoldstown project – worried the tenants won’t be around long enough to even justify exterior change. But this isn’t the usual historic preservation battle.
“We’re on the offense,” Mitchell said. That’s rare in Atlanta’s historic preservation landscape.
There are no approved permits and plans yet. Decisions haven’t been made. Preservationists don’t have to fight against something already happening. They can voice their concerns now.
“It’s not as if we’re going out there while scaffolding is going up, and then complaining and asking for a stop-work order,” Mitchell said. “We’re making it highly visible now that this is not something that we feel comfortable with.”
