Construction on the ultra-lavish YOO on the Park tower is officially under way, and like shovelfuls of ceremonial dirt, bold proclamations for the apartment tower were flying at this week's groundbreaking. The development is significant enough to attract Mayor Kasim Reed to the ceremony (it's not like there's a shortage of groundbreakings to attend these days), where he prophesized that the "special" project will "raise the bar for residential design in the city of Atlanta," said Reed, as reported by AtlantaSkyRise blog.

"And that's why I'm here," Reed continued, "to encourage it. This will have a ripple effect across the city because I think other designers will rise to meet that challenge." Afterwards, a rep for developer Trillist Companies called the project — the brainchild of designer Philippe Starck and his world-renowned YOO brand — "a bold and innovative initiative that is sure to raise the bar and set the trend for branded luxury living." From the outside, the project isn't exactly the Guggenheim, so what's all the fuss really about?

Trillist CEO Scott L. Leventhal told the real estate blog that YOO on the Park will feel like an extension of Piedmont Park, both inside and out. How so? For starters, a six-story "living wall" has been designed to face 13th Street and lend artistic greenery to the neighborhood. Judging by renderings, aspects of the interior and the amenities level will emphasize plant life while incorporating huge walls of windows with tree-top views. The gym's giant green chandeliers could also give arborists an extra, spiritual boost on the treadmills. Maybe.

Officials made it sound like construction on the YOO project will indeed begin very soon — unlike other groundbreakings that celebrate, essentially, nothing. It's expected to open in the summer of 2016 with 245 luxury units.



· Readers Rant About Rents, Tower Quality, Buckhead Drunks [Curbed Atlanta]

· ARE YOO CURIOUS? [AtlantaSkyRise blog]