S9 Architecture designed and master planned Atlanta’s Ponce City Market, a former Sears, Roebuck & Co. distribution center re-envisioned as a vibrant community space and a model of urban redevelopment. This mixed-use complex for Jamestown saw a neglected historic property adapted into a site that knits together the surrounding neighborhoods, enhancing their character with curated retail and dining options, residential units, and flexible office space. The original early 20th century building had expanded over the decades, forming an impenetrable super-block at the center of four residential neighborhoods. 

S9 Architecture used creative interventions to modify the site into a porous public crossroads, accessible from all sides and activated novel aspects of the building’s architecture as opportunities for place making. A public courtyard, passageway, trestle, and bridge excavated from the existing structure provide moments of discovery, add public green space, and establish access from the street-scape to the BeltLine. A double-height marketplace acts as a gathering place packed with local food and boutiques, while on the roof, an adult amusement park offers vintage carnival games and panoramic vistas. The building’s history and function are celebrated through the interior design which features original freight elevators, support columns, and painstakingly restored antique floors and windows. 

S9 Architecture’s planning and revitalization of this massive complex exemplifies how considered design can enrich and connect communities within urban settings. As the largest adaptive reuse campaign in Atlanta’s history, Ponce City Market preserves a historic icon of the Old Fourth Ward, reinvigorating the site and surrounding neighborhoods with an exciting and ever-shifting mix of experiences.