Could it be that more sensible, life-injecting development is headed to Midtown? Preliminary plans for two projects brought before city leaders last night — one that aims to erect a tower for Ga. Tech students, the other a high-end rental building with an emphasis on street-level retail — could answer that question in the affirmative. As Midtown Patch reports, the 17-story tower project would rise from 930 Spring St. The site, currently a dirt lot, sits cattycorner to the Cheetah and hosts a rollicking winter beer fest. Ambling University Development Group, which specializes in on-and off-campus student housing, says the tower would have 267 units; 60 percent of those would be large, four-bedroom flats. The design, at least for now, also calls for more than 10,000 square feet of retail along Spring Street, Patch reports.

Across town at 867 Peachtree St., in the shadow of the Viewpoint tower, Buckhead-based Loudermilk Company wants to redevelop the site currently occupied by Starbucks. Plans call for up to 39 upscale, two-and three-bedroom apartments in an eight-story building — with 4,700 square feet of retail on the street (read: The Midtown Mile). The retail component would include an expansion of the existing and perpetually crowded Starbucks. What's more, Viewpoint would undergo façade improvements and streetscape upgrades, too. A historic building designed by famed Atlanta architect Neel Reid was demolished in December to make way for the project.

Both projects are in fledgling stages, and developers have not formally submitted proposals. But, as Patch notes, formal submissions by developers could come as early as next month.

· Preliminary Review for Project Proposals on Peachtree and Spring Streets[Midtown Patch]