The Georgia Institute of Technology is expanding its horizons with an arts and entertainment hub and several landmark projects aimed at encouraging research, innovation and entrepreneurship.
Over the past two decades, the school – known as Georgia Tech – developed two innovation districts, both of which have become catalysts for investment in the heart of Midtown Atlanta, Ga.
One of the districts, Tech Square, is an eight-acre, multi-block neighborhood that has more than two million square feet of space for collaboration, research and innovation, and is a destination for corporation teams, university and academic enterprises and start-up companies.
The area, on the eastern fringe of the Georgia Tech campus, has several academic buildings, including two new towers that will open in 2026. It is connected to the campus via a pedestrian bridge.
Another district, known as Science Square, is an 18-acre multi-phase development adjacent to the university that is dedicated to biological sciences and medical research and technology. The area features a 13-storey tower that has wet and dry labs and clean room space.
Now, another hub dubbed the Creative Quarter is taking shape on eight acres in West Midtown, on the rim of the university campus.
The development is located at the historic Randall Brothers factory site at 665 Marietta St., close to the city’s downtown convention, sports, entertainment and business district. It will be a place for students to create and connect and serve as a link between the university and the city.
The Westside Community Connector Bridge will connect the campus to the Creative Quarter and Science Square.
The development will feature modern and collaborative facilities, spaces and technology for performance and rehearsal, recording and filming, virtual reality and AI, makerspaces and studios.
The long-term vision for the district is to use public-private partnerships to build out the area to include things like retail, dining, residential units, a hotel and offices to go along with the core facilities.
According to the university, “Creative Quarter will be a place for all students on campus, regardless of their major – to create, experiment, and connect as they pursue academic work, research, entrepreneurship and co-curricular activities; learn about new, arts- and creativity-focused technologies; and develop new approaches in a wide range of artistic and creative practices.”
A rendering of the 7.3-acre site shows several tall towers. Structures will include a mix of residential units, arts and academic buildings, a hotel, office building, food hall and open space.
Jason Freeman, associate vice provost for the arts at Georgia Tech, recently toured the site with university president Angel Cabrera.
What makes the space so special, Freeman noted, is its proximity to the core of campus. At the same time, its Westside location will make it easier for people who don’t often visit Tech to attend events at Creative Quarter, making it a vital space where the campus community meets the surrounding community.
Some of that will take the form of collaboration with industry partners who want to explore new technologies and work with students and faculty.
“But it will also be with people who live in the neighborhoods right around us: artists, community partners, and students,” he said.
Cabrera noted for Georgia Tech, the Creative Quarter will mark a deeper connection into the intersection of art and technology, drawing on the deep creative energy of Atlanta and the region, but for Atlanta it will be a new arts and entertainment district in a bustling part of the city.
“On this site and in this neighborhood, we want to attract creative industries and incubate the next great companies approaching art and technology in exciting new ways – and have that happen here, through the spark that Georgia Tech gives to this. I see genius happening here. I see new forms of art and new forms of technology emerging from this space. And I simply can’t wait.”
The university is also relaunching The Biltmore, a large, multi-storey, century-old building of more than 100,000 square feet in the heart of Tech Square as a strategic hub for starting, scaling and accelerating startups.
Built in 1824, The Biltmore has long stood as a symbol of Atlanta’s growth. It was home to the South’s first radio station and once served as a central point for the city’s business and social life. The structure will have more than 100,000 square feet of space for research and programs.
Cabrera said the building is a launchpad for Atlanta’s future.
“At The Biltmore, we’re not just reinvigorating a landmark, we are creating space for more startups, more opportunity, and more innovation that moves Atlanta forward.”
