Metro Atlanta signs are the first thing subway riders see when they exit the East Exit of Five Points Metro Station onto a downtown Atlanta street.
The four-island area has a storied history. Originally a Reconstruction-era railroad hub, the area was transformed into a commercial district in the 1920s when city leaders built viaducts over the railroad tracks and shops opened on the second level of commercial buildings above rail traffic. In the 1960s, the lower level became a nightlife destination and, in the 1980s, a shopping center. It served as the center for the 1996 Olympics, then struggled to attract patrons for many years. Acquired by local real estate developer Shaneel Lalani in 2020, the historic district is in the midst of another transformation into an arts and entertainment hub.
As Atlanta prepares to welcome visitors to the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which will be held at Mercedes-Benz Stadium Less than a mile away, Lalani and city leaders are making improvements designed to welcome and guide millions of international visitors downtown, laying the foundation for a civic infrastructure they hope will serve Atlanta long after soccer fans have returned home.
“The city administration has been very focused on preparing for many more international travelers and an influx of guests and visitors, people who are not familiar with downtown Atlanta,” said Anne Michael Sustman, director of commercial mixed use and adaptive reuse for Page, an architecture and engineering firm that Stantec acquired this year.
Underground Atlanta tasked Page with preparing for that influx by studying how to improve the space’s appeal as a walkable destination with universal wayfinding interventions and a reimagined urban landscape, Sustman said.
“There’s been a big push by the city to really improve the pedestrian experience in downtown Atlanta,” Sustman said. The owners of Underground Atlanta believe that “long-term sustainability depends on a consistent presence of customers for the businesses there,” he said.
Catalyst of revitalization
Atlanta’s underground retail space was mostly empty when Lalani bought it, Sustman said. The developer found art galleries and music venues to fill the spaces below the street. “They have this incredibly vibrant nightlife now, with more than 700 shows a year, but they realized they needed more activation at street level,” he said.
Page’s design includes improvements to landscaping and lighting, as well as vegetation, to make the area feel safer and more accessible to people during the day. Crosswalks are wide enough for food trucks and emergency vehicles, but are designed to prevent vehicles from driving into a crowd of pedestrians at high speeds, Sustman said. The city has made two blocks of the main thoroughfare, Upper Alabama Street, pedestrian only and plans to do so for part of Pryor Street, which also intersects it.
Several buildings are being remodeled to maintain the authenticity of the area and “keep it gritty,” said Phuong Nguyen, Page’s director of experimental graphic design. “We want small business owners to be able to afford these spaces, so we’re starting with a light touch that reuses spaces, the most sustainable type of building.”
At the intersection of Pryor and Upper Alabama, the antebellum-era Macon & Western Railway building, most recently a Foot Locker and gallery space, is being adapted for reuse as a 7,000-square-foot “micro” food hall that will host local restaurant startups offering affordable lunch options, Sustman said.
Beyond welcoming tourists, Sustman said, the main goal of the project is to support the city’s push to bring more housing and residents downtown. Many Atlantans haven’t visited downtown since Atlanta hosted the 1996 Olympics, he said.
“It’s not just the World Cup that’s creating that momentum and that catalyst, although it’s a really good excuse for the city to come in and help in some way,” he said. “The city is aware that we are not only exposed to visitors, but we are exposed to people who could really be the catalyst for total change, transformation and revitalization of our downtown.”
