

The developers of Krog Street Market have tapped community nerve centers in Europe and Middle America as inspiration for their next big adaptive-reuse undertaking on Memorial Drive, which they're leasing now. According to promotional materials, Paces Properties' new Atlanta Dairies complex at the cusp of Reynoldstown, Grant Park and Cabbagetown will be an "all-day enterprise" with a more diverse slate of attractions than Krog Street Market's. "A mix of retail, restaurant, creative office space (with skyline views) and even live music venues are available for lease," notes a LoopNet advertisement. The first phases of Atlanta Dairies will offer 125,000 square feet — that's four times the size of Krog Street Market — with contiguous spaces available as large as 12,000 square feet, according to LoopNet. That's quadruple the size of the Inman Park food hall's largest restaurant.

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The site has been an abandoned eyesore since dairy producers Parmalat closed up shop in 2004. Further back in time, "the Atlanta Dairies Cooperative was once an essential part of Grant Park and the Memorial Drive corridor," the ad notes, "a place that drove Southern milk distribution and was driven by a neighborhood family's night out for milkshakes."

Paces Properties bought the site in December, with plans to invest well over $125 million in its renovation. Officials previously told Curbed the project will include 300 apartments, with an overall vibe leaning toward "Americana and entertainment." In the middle will be "The Yard," a large outdoor plaza with the potential to host live music, movie screenings, flea markets, a beer garden and private events. Preliminary demolition has begun at the site, and Paces officials hope to open the project by early 2017.

LoopNet indicates that Atlanta Dairies' design ideas were culled from old-world public squares "reminiscent of the gazebos of middle America and the fountains and parks of Continental Europe." It's being marketed as a one-stop shop for urban dwellers of all stripes: "a place where people can go for a quick coffee, a casual breakfast, a business lunch; a place to study after school or unwind after work; a place for lovers of Atlanta' s vibrant manufacturing and culinary communities to explore seven days (and nights) a week; and a destination for seekers of live music and late night revelry."

· 777 Memorial Drive [LoopNet]

· First Look: Memorial Drive's Answer to Krog Street Market [Curbed]