Atlantic Realty Partners to build high-rise luxury apartment project on Dante’s Down the Hatch site

Atlantic Realty Partners announced today that it has entered into an agreement to acquire and redevelop the site where Dante’s Down the Hatch restaurant is currently located at 3380 Peachtree Road and plans to build a 10-story, 219-unit luxury apartment building on the site.   

Capitalizing on the surging demand for new, high-end housing and a lack of new supply in recent years, Atlantic will in the next few weeks submit plans to the city of Atlanta for the new development on the 2-acre parcel on Peachtree Road across from Lenox Square. 

An architect's rendering of Atlantic Realty's planned apartment building 

The high-rise tower, which is expected to break ground in the spring of 2013, will be located in the heart of Buckhead’s business and shopping district adjacent to the Mandarin Oriental Hotel and the new Del Frisco Grille. 

"This site is in one of the most appealing locations in Atlanta and arguably in the entire Southeast," said Richard Aaronson, President of Atlantic Realty Partners. "With direct proximity to Lenox Square, Phipps Plaza, the Buckhead Marta station, over 20 high-rise office buildings, and numerous 5-star hotels, this will become the premium address for luxury multifamily living in Atlanta."

The press release issued by Atlantic Realty Partners recognized Dante’s Down the Hatch as “a fixture in Atlanta’s hospitality industry for over 40 years.” Restaurant owner Dante Stephensen was recently inducted into the Hospitality Industry Hall-of-Fame inductee and has been a tireless promoter of Atlanta. 

Dante Stephensen

“Beloved by both his customers and his employees, Dante has always worked to keep them happy,” the press release stated. It said announcements in the coming weeks will provide details on operations of the restaurant in the months leading up to the start of the redevelopment, according to the press release. “Meanwhile, its business as usual, and that’s just the way Dante likes it.”

The new high-rise apartment building will have numerous lifestyle amenities and will be built to green building standards, providing residents the latest in energy conservation with highly efficient HVAC systems, high-performance windows, and energy-efficient appliances and lighting, according to the announcement.

Building amenities will include a rooftop resort-style pool, deck and grill cabana, as well as a large fitness center, cyber lounge, and Skydeck overlooking Peachtree Road. Interior finishes will mirror those found in luxury for-sale housing including granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, custom interior design trim and lighting packages, and hardwood floors.

Atlantic’s announcement said residents “will also enjoy the latest in water saving measures, including water-efficient appliances and fixtures, as well as indoor environmental quality benefits like low VOC paints.”

Atlantic Realty will also employ the latest green construction practices by employing on-site construction material recycling and the site design will maximize open space.  

"The project will be LEED Certified, and we will be marketing the community as an eco-centric sustainable development," said Atlantic Realty's Director of Development, Ben Curran. “Today’s consumers are becoming sensitive to these features, and they are now important points of differentiation.”

Above is an aerial view of the 3380 Peachtree Road site , with the Mandarin
Oriental Hotel and Del Frisco Grille to the left and Lenox Plaza offices to
the right of the 2 acres where Dante's Down the Hatch is presently located.

The Atlantic Realty Partners team—Aaronson, Curran and architect Rafael A. Garcia—met Nov. 7 with the Developmen Review Committee SPI-12 (Special Public Interest District) and received input from the DRC which included making the back of the building—essentially the parking deck—a more interesting back door to the property off of the ally so that it ties into the Community Improvement District’s new pedestrian circulation plan for that area.

DRC member Denise Starling  explained to the development team that the CID is working to create “an awesome  pedestrian space” back there to tie into the new MARTA pedestrian bridge that crosses GA 400 from Stratford Road to Tower Place and connect to the Buckhead rail station. 

The committee suggested making the bottom level of the parking desk more interesting to promote that ally off Stratford Road as a pedestrian walkway.

The committee also discussed with the development team continuing its planned lobby, with a motor entrance on the west side of the building (next to Mandarin Oriental Hotel) through the building to provide a walkway on the east side of the building. The committee was interested in looking toward future connectivity to any changes that might come with the Lenox Plaza next door and its drive onto  Peachtree at the traffic signal.

The committee commended the Atlantic Realty Team for bringing their plans before the DRC early in the process. The Atlantic Realty Partners team is scheduled to return to the DRC’s December meeting with a more detailed building plan showing some of the changes requested by the committee and agreed to.  

Dante Stephensen at home in his restaurant, Dante's Down
the Hatch, at the helm of his ship for over 40 years. 

BuckheadView agreed to not publish anything about the proposed new development until Atlantic Realty Partners gave Stephensen time to inform his employees at Dante’s Down the Hatch of the impending closing of the restaurant.

The original nautically themed Dante’s Down the Hatch opened in Underground Atlanta in 1970. After a portion of Underground  was demolished to make way for the Five Points MARTA station, business lagged and Stephensen bought the 2 acre tract in Buckhead and moved Dante’s Down the Hatch to 3380 Peachtree Road.

The favorite quote of the 86-year-old restaurateur, who has rarely missed a night greeting customers in 40 years, is said to be: “Find something you love to do; then you won’t have to work a day in your life.”  

(To read the Atlanta Business Chronicle's profile of Stephensen when he recently was inducted into the Hospitality Industry's Hall of Fame, go here.)   

Atlantic Realty Partners, founded in 1989 by Richard and Andy Aaronson, is a multifamily development and management company with headquarters in Atlanta and regional offices in Chicago and Charlotte. Since its inception, the company has developed luxury residential and mixed-use properties representing over 3,000 units.

The company recently broke ground on a new apartment community in the Collier Hills neighborhood of southwest Buckhead and is building a new residential hi-rise in Evanston (Chicago), Illinois.  Earlier this year, the firm completed the Reserve at Johns Creek Walk apartments in north Fulton County.