Inside SoDo, Atlanta’s ‘once in a lifetime’ project

It’s the kind of project that happens once in a city’s lifetime. Ten city blocks, 58 buildings, 16 acres and one developer all working to revitalize a historic piece of downtown.

South Downtown, nicknamed SoDo, is one of Atlanta’s most ambitious projects. Downtown is a hub for tourism, sports and conferences, but many of its streets are neglected and abandoned.

South Downtown – nicknamed SoDo – is one of Atlanta’s most ambitious projects. Piece by piece, the development team aims to turn dilapidated storefronts and empty buildings into retail,  housing and workplaces.

It involves major restoration and renovation projects. It also involves changing the perception of downtown. The neighborhood is a tourism destination and event hub, but it lags in residential growth and recreational energy.

That type of change can’t happen overnight.

Playing the long game

“This is the long game,” SoDo CEO Jon Birdsong said.

The long game of revitalizing South Downtown began years ago, with a group Birdsong calls “The Germans.” He’s referring to the investment firm Newport, which spent years working on the area. Starting in 2016, Newport began to buy up property. It spent roughly $248 million acquiring buildings and planned to spend even more.

But by 2023, Newport had bailed on the project and sold its entire Atlanta portfolio. The firm blamed international pressure, pandemic problems and real estate markets for the unexpected exit. It left South Downtown’s redevelopment in flux.

Until a group of local entrepreneurs got involved. Atlanta Ventures Founder David Cummings gathered a group of business leaders like Craig Hydge, Kyle Porter, Sean McCormick and more to “reinvest back into our downtown core.”

The group bought up Newport’s pre-assembled package of land and set out on the fated redevelopment of South Downtown.

“Our generation was deprived of a sense of place in downtown,” Birdsong explained.

As an Atlanta native, Birdsong visited downtown for things like Planet Hollywood and the Hard Rock Cafe. He reminisces on the time Rich’s Department Store was the center of the Atlanta Christmas landscape, and he craves a “Sesame Street” feel for the city’s urban core.

But those ten blocks were far from Sesame Street. Still, SoDo leaders saw an “unpolished jewel with massive potential.

“With a little bit of elbow grease and spitshine, you can turn it into something that can create a kind of exponential growth,” Birdsong said.

An overhaul was needed, but the SoDo team laid out some rules early on: They would revitalize the existing buildings, and they would keep the local feel – even if it cost them money.

Atlanta’s ‘original neighborhood’

Birdsong said everybody involved in South Downtown wanted to revitalize, not rip down the buildings, for “different reasons.” But a big one was the history.

South Downtown has some of the area’s oldest standing buildings. It was spared from redevelopment in the 1960s and 1970s, so many structures are from the early 1900s. The SoDo offices are located on “Hotel Row,” a National Register block of early 20th-century commercial buildings on Mitchell Street.

The buildings still have their original historic character, with detailed facades and rich red brick exteriors on buildings only four stories high. It feels like a time capsule.

Former Downtown Atlanta, Inc. President AJ Robinson said the “authenticity” of the buildings connects the city’s past to an “incredibly promising future.”

“When we cut the ribbon at 233 Mitchell Street, I predicted that the revitalization of South Downtown could become one of the most consequential developments in Atlanta’s history.”

Birdsong admits there would have been a potentially higher return on investment if the team had decided to tear everything down and build up from scratch. But zoning doesn’t allow many new builds to stick with “gentle density,” or the 3-4-story buildings along Hotel Row.

“I want to see how people experience an Atlanta that actually has human-scale, gentle-density buildings that are from the late 1800s or early 1900s,” Birdsong said. “It’s tucked beneath the downtown in everyone’s head.”

Besides, the SoDo team isn’t expecting immediate cash flow. Birdsong said most real estate investors want returns in three to seven years, but “that’s not happening in South Downtown.”

He expects it will take decades before SoDo looks like a no-brainer.

“It’s part of the recipe, and it’s part of the risk profile,” Birdsong said.

That philosophy extends to the business owners. SoDo has worked to recruit “unique, boutique, and local” restaurants and retail. Spots like El Tesoro and Brewhouse are set to open second locations downtown, and Spiller Park already has a spot next to the SoDo office.

Those are strategic – places with built-in customers, goodwill and good reputations. Atlanta chef Todd Ginsberg is set to open Kitchen Counter soon, alongside new locations for Delilah’s Everyday Soul, Broad Street BBQ.

Other businesses like Tyde Tate Kitchen and Crates ATL have opened their first locations in the neighborhood. Birdsong said they have “entrepreneur-friendly terms” with each business owner.

The build-outs are subsidized, and they have a “safe environment to fail small, fail fast and iterate.”

Birdsong knows the area will get tourists, especially ahead of the 2026 World Cup and its estimated 300,000 visitors. Downtown has been bolstered by tourism for decades – the convention economy essentially guarantees customers at downtown businesses.

But SoDo is ultimately for the locals. Getting them to change their perception of downtown Atlanta is the challenge.

Many locals have expressed skepticism about the project. Some worry “SoDo” is just another attempt to rename an existing neighborhood, while others ask if local businesses would benefit. Birdsong gets the hesitation: ”Atlantans have been so beat down and burned.”

He said it’s hard for locals to get excited about development that never comes, or projects that change over time. He tries to “underpromise and overdeliver” with SoDo so people don’t get disappointed by changing renderings or swapped tenants.

But he is full of optimism. And he believes there is real, authentic demand for a downtown experience, with walkability and nearby transit.

“It’s a monumental shift in Atlanta’s psyche to reframe what downtown is, and their minds will be blown away when they walk down Broad Street for the first time, probably ever, and see these buildings,” Birdsong said.

‘Back to the Future’

SoDo is admittedly playing the long game, but there’s still a sense of urgency. Much of the energy around downtown’s revitalization can be credited to one big event: The World Cup.

The city has spent the past year in a frenzy, trying to prepare for an estimated 300,000 visitors, largely around Mercedes-Benz Stadium in downtown Atlanta.

It has been compared to the 1996 Olympics that transformed the city and spurred massive development. This time around was no different. Big-ticket projects like Centennial Yards set out to turn “The Gulch” into a $5 billion entertainment district. The former CNN Center got rebranded to “The CTR,” complete with a food hall steps from the stadium.

And SoDo joined the mix.

“When you put what we’re doing and what they’re doing combined, it starts creating exponential outcomes,” Birdsong said.

Local and state leadership is on board. Recently, the city created its first-ever open container district in the neighborhood; people will be able to explore the neighborhood with a “walking cocktail” from local establishments.

On May 20, SoDo hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony for its first green space, called “Founders Green.”  It turned a longstanding parking lot into a proper park, complete with a stage, seating areas and room for viewing parties and movie nights.

“Today is further confirmation of the momentum that’s running through downtown Atlanta right now,” Dickens said.

Birdsong feels the momentum. He’s hesitant to say SoDo has truly “arrived,” but he thinks the moment of wondering if SoDo is going to happen or not has already passed. Dickens put it in uncertain terms.

“Downtown is back!” Dickens declared to a cheering crowd on May 20.

Local, city and state leadership showed out for the ribbon-cutting ceremony, sipping on complimentary Spiller Park Coffee and basking in sunshine. Governor Brian Kemp even joined the event.

“This is really what the city and this project is all about,” Kemp said. “Second chances, creating something new out of what came before, and building on the past to build a better future with new opportunities for all.”

But SoDo isn’t finished. The construction fences and heavy machinery make that much obvious. There are still plenty of empty storefronts and incoming apartment buildings. Birdsong said there will be more affordable units, restaurants and shops as the work keeps coming.

“It’s just going to be a marvelous recipe for downtown, and there’s still tons of work to do, but I would say the pieces are lining up,” Birdsong said. 

Founders Green will officially open June 1. A full South Downtown directory is available online.