Emory University aims to turn the historic 477 Peachtree Street and 489 Peachtree Street buildings into more than 50 rental apartments for Emory Healthcare staff, transforming the former homeless shelter into hospital-exclusive housing.
Once completed, the project will support rental units reserved for hospital staff within certain salary levels, like nurses and medical technicians.
“This project will provide Emory Healthcare staff with competitively priced housing close to work to improve their employee experience and quality of life,” Emory Chief Planning Officer Robin Morey said.
The building at 477 Peachtree Street was once home to the Peachtree-Pine homeless shelter, one of the city’s largest shelters. The shelter closed its doors in August 2017 and sat vacant until downtown business group Central Atlanta Progress sold it to Emory University in 2019.
Back then, the University didn’t know if it would preserve the historic properties. Now it has announced an adaptive reuse plan for 477 Peachtree — and restoration of its facade.
Earlier this year, the University completed an internal abatement and clean-up of the building. Planned updates include a new roof and window and door repairs along Courtland and Pine streets.
Emory will also remove part of the building at 489 Peachtree Street to create a green space and allow for windows and daylight exposure on the north side of 477 Peachtree. Preservationists see the move as a win for saving Atlanta’s older buildings.
“This is one of those situations where everybody’s winning,” Atlanta Preservation Center Executive Director David Mitchell said.
Mitchell said it’s a unique dynamic: Emory is working to limit the lengthy commute times of hospital employees who don’t live nearby by taking something nearby and “making it great.”
It’s also preserving two buildings more than 100 years old. 477 Peachtree Street was once an automotive warehouse on the city’s “Automobile row.”
It was noted for its colorful Art Deco exterior. Previously, the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation described the facade of the building as “magnificent Egyptian revival.”
Now, Mitchell said the property is “being activated” to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the official list of the country’s spots worthy of preservation.
Emory University plans to use federal and state tax credits to offset the project costs. While the completed units at 477 Peachtree won’t be available to the public, the university may open the 489 Peachtree building to the public — it’s toying with plans to open a preschool facility in the space.
“In addition to helping with the recruitment and retention of our workforce, our design will activate this area of the city with residential units and commercial uses,” Morey said.
The university aims to revive a so-called “dead zone” between Downtown and Midtown. Mitchell said it’s a “shot in the arm” to a relatively slow revival, especially with its location on the northern edge of the Stitch, a massive park project led by Central Atlanta Progress to cap the downtown highway connector with greenspace.
“It’s kind of a big deal to see an institution out there, an institution like Emory who is co-mingled in the academic and medical world be this focused on a piece of Atlanta,” Mitchell said.
