Conor with 315 West Ponce developer Carter sent along the latest renderings of the mixed-use development currently under-construction at the corner of Ponce and Ponce Place. He also announced that the project – long called “315 West Ponce” or “315” for short – now has an official name, “The Place on Ponce”. You can check out their new website HERE.
He also provided this update on the project…
…we are about to complete the parking deck and get it open (in the next week). At that time, the office building tenants will start to park in the deck and we will begin full construction on the apartments in the surface parking lot facing Montgomery. We are well underway on the building facing Ponce and that is scheduled for completion this fall (November). We will begin our leasing efforts this summer. The full project will be complete next summer (2015).
Also, here’s an interior rendering…
The Place on Ponce and Ponce Place. Needs a Pete the Cat book.
The grey blue color on the tower makes more sense now. Watched the video which is all about how cool Decatur is–bicycles, dogs, skateboards, coffee drinking, eating, taking MARTA, in fact it’s a huge ad for several Downtown Decatur establishments. But little about the inside of The Place, no floorplans. I’m curious as someone who plans to downsize as soon as I get the courage to face the house-formerly-known-as-asbestos-siding and all that has accumulated inside it. The wrap-around porches seem real big for a 2-bedroom apartment. Maybe they come off of common space? Would be great if they came with apartments.
Oh, and is there a pool? The roof of the extension looks perfect for a pool and deck.
Those patios do look quite large, but just from looking at the rendering I don’t see how they could be shared. Maybe they’re for the largest 2 bedrooms in the complex?
Pool-wise, if you’re thinking about the 335 West Ponce condos and The Artisan, they were built to support elevated pools. This cheaper wood-framed structure isn’t. The development’s pool is at the back, ground level, in a courtyard opening onto Montgomery Street.
Interesting. Yes hundreds of tons of water probably needs some expensive structural support. Now I understand why pools are usually on the ground level. I’ll take a nice pool and deck wherever. On the roof has a certain penthouse feel but I can stretch out with a good book and towel on the ground level too. Inching towards a condo….
Looks pretty good to me. Not much different from the 335 building from the street.
the ad says there will be a bike shop? anyone know anything about that?
The trend in new, urban rental projects is sort of like a maker space for bicyclists that live in the building. Basic tools and bike repair materials, air compressor, etc. Not sure that’s what this is, but it would make the most sense.
The ad says there will be a bike shop? Not sure what you are referring to but the video shows the existing Decatur Bike shop across the street.
The website says “The Place on Ponce is the very first residential community of its kind in Decatur. This exciting new development features contemporary design with rustic, natural accents and progressive amenities like a fitness center, clubhouse, bike shop, dog spa, gardens and resort-style pool.”
I would hope that Scott’s description is correct! Sounds like a great service. Plus a “dog spa” too!
What is a dog spa? I’m kind of souring on this. All that us humans get is a resort-style pool, no spa. But those wrap-around porches sure do look nice….
No idea what a dog-spa is! A place with tubs to wash dogs? Or a more full-service place that provides hair and nail service for pups?
I’m not sure how deep those decks are. I suspect that they are narrow and not as awesome as they look, but I could be wrong…
It’s a hose and a galvanized washtub out back.
As a resident of the Artisan, I sometimes wish we had a small space for a hose and galvanized tub 🙂 I think as more people downsize to urban living, builders will consider the utility of such small shared spaces. Like the aforementioned bike maintenance space, for example …
And downsize we will …
http://time.com/72281/american-housing/
Speaking of the video: Are skateboards allowed on the Square proper? (Am I approaching “get off my lawn” age?)
It looks stucco-tacular!
They don’t mention the parking garage is a block away from the apartments as well.
I’m wondering how that is going to work architecturally. If they will connect through the interior of the original building, or have to walk around. Similar for the retail patrons.
Would have been nice to have a rendering of the garage – especially at night. The structure glows like a Vegas casino, and 24 hours a day. Really a shame the City didn’t protect the residents of 335 West Ponce and Fairview Avenue from that intrusion by making the developer center the garage on the property and wrap it with their own apartments. The side toward their apartments is closed.
I wonder if the rents will be anything like those announced for Ponce City Market ($1225 and up for a <600 sqft studio!!!).
What? No architectural renderings of the massive parking garage?
The apartments being built next to the Artisan told us their rents were going to range from $900 for a studio to $1600 for the 1030sf 2 bedroom. I think the $900 sounds steep, the $1600 is comparable (but sf a bit on the small side) to what similar size 2BR condos are renting for in nearby buildings.
$1600 for a 2br/2ba downtown sounds like a relatively good deal when you consider that taxes and HOA fees could easily exceed $600 for a purchased unit of similar size. In most areas it’s considerably cheaper to buy than rent, but that doesn’t seem to be the case with the numbers you cited.
Hope there will be room left to walk on the sidewalk when it is all finished. Maybe it is an illusion, but it looks awfully tight with the umbrellas, trees and street lights.
As I mentioned in another thread, right now the construction seems to loom out at you when driving by, like a chunk of concrete might topple over and crush you. I’m hoping that it’s an optical illusion and the finished product will feel differently. But I wouldn’t be surprised if the sidewalk isn’t narrower than what it is further down the block by Swirlin’ Twirlin.
I already grumble about walking in front of the Clark Harrison building. Love the trees, but hate not having room to pass other pedestrians on the constrained sidewalk.
The pillars nearest the street in the 315 front building seem to roughly line up with the front of the 335 West Ponce retail space and even with the portion of the Commerce Square retail closest to the street in the next block toward the square. But those balconies on each end will extend over the sidewalk if the sidewalk starts at the front pillars. (Looks like there may also be some canopy-like architectural element that runs below the balconies.)
The difference with the 335 condos above that retail is that they are set back from the front facade of the retail spaces allowing more sky to be visible (and avoiding that feel you describe).
I fear that we’re putting a little too many eggs in the basket with these “mixed use developments”. The problem with them is that they aren’t in any way organic. It’s the idea that “if we build it they will come”, but come for what? And the developers of these things don’t care. They build as cheaply as possible, take the money, and run. Are there enough quality businesses waiting to be opened that will actually stay for some length of time? If you notice, many of these retail spaces remain empty or don’t last long (not a rule, but a trend). It just seems like this is the architectural hotness of the 2000s, like the shopping centers of the 50’s. I hope that they don’t become the 21st century urban blight that I’m afraid they’ll end up being in the years to come, especially with as many of these things as Decatur is falling over itself to bring in.
I question the viability of retail in some of these developments too, but retail is a fairly small part of the mix. Multi-family rental is the main component, and I believe the long-term demographic and macroeconomic factors are going to be very favorable for that category.
Agree with your concern about the retail, especially when I look at the amount of vacant retail/restaurant space currently available in downtown Decatur.