Peachtree Road Northeast and Lenox Road Northeast
Atlanta, Georgia
The eighth mall-type shopping center in Greater Atlanta was built on a 31-acre plot, located 8.6 miles northeast of Atlanta's Five Points, in a posh section of the city known as Buckhead. Conceived as a high-fashion shopping venue, PHIPPS PLAZA was developed by New York financier Ogden Phipps (1908-2002), under the auspices of the Phipps Land Company.
Atlanta's Finch, Alexander, Barnes, Rothschild & Pascal firm designed the shopping hub. PHIPPS PLAZA was Georgia's first fully-enclosed, bi-level shopping mall. Originally spanning approximately 518,000 leasable square feet, it was situated on top of a multilevel parking garage.
The mall was implemented in three phases. The first, consisting a 3-level (100,000 square foot) Saks Fifth Avenue, was completed on August 12, 1968. Phase two involved construction of the enclosed mall, which was officially dedicated on March 20, 1969. A 3-level (164,000 square foot) Lord & Taylor opened its doors on October 15th, 1969, signifying completion of phase three.
Additional PHIPPS PLAZA tenants held grand openings between 1970 and 1972. These included Tiffany & Company, Barclay Gallery Limited, Baron's men's wear, Lillie Rubin ladies' wear, Musicland and a 2-level (30,000 square foot) W. & J. Sloan Home Furnishings.
The ABC Florida State Theatres Phipps Plaza Theatre showed its first feature on December 19, 1969. A second cinema, known as the Phipps Penthouse, was added as a third level to the mall and made its debut December 9, 1973. The original single-screen venue was divided into a twinplex, which opened for business on March 28, 1975. The three auditoriums were then operated -collectively- as the Phipps Plaza Theatres.
PHIPPS PLAZA was sold to the Atlanta-based Wachovia ["wah-koh-vee-ah"] Bank in July 1975 and to New York City-based Equitable Real Estate Management, Incorporated in September 1985. In October 1987, they announced initial plans to renovate and expand the shopping hub.
Said renovation plans were made official in May 1990. Work commenced on the 140 million dollar project in May 1991. The theaters at the rear of the complex were demolished. They were replaced by a 3-level (170,000 square foot), Birmingham-based Parisian and thirty-four-store Northwest Wing.
This included and an 8-bay International Food Court and American Multi-Cinema Phipps Plaza 14 multiplex. The first features at this venue were shown on November 17, 1992. During the remodeling, Saks Fifth Avenue expanded their store to 148,600 square feet.
The interior of the existing mall was also given a face lift, creating the ambience of a grand Southern hotel or manor house. The new mall wing and department store were officially dedicated on November 18th. PHIPPS PLAZA now encompassed 819,000 leasable square feet and contained ninety-eight stores and services.
New York City's Corporate Property Investors added PHIPPS PLAZA to their retail center portfolio in October 1997. In September 1998, the Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group acquired the assets of Corporate Property Investors. Along with the deal, Simon took possession of several other shopping centers, including LENOX SQUARE and NORTHLAKE MALL.
The new century brought two anchor rebrandings to PHIPPS PLAZA. Lord & Taylor was shuttered February 8, 2004. The building was gutted, remodeled and re-opened, as a 2-level (153,700 square foot) Nordstrom, on March 11, 2005. The PHIPPS Parisian was rebranded by Charlotte-based Belk on September 12, 2007.
In April 2014, Simon announced plans for a face lift renovation of the 45-year-old complex. The project would be conducted in two phases, with the first done between the summer and fall of 2014. This included an interior upgrade, with new LED parking area lighting, "luxury soft seating areas" and remodeled restrooms.
The second stage of the renovation added a restaurant Streetscape to the southeast-facing facade of the mall. Work commenced in early 2015 and was completed in time for the holiday season. The 166-room AC Hotel Atlanta Buckhead at Phipps Plaza, built adjacent to Nordstrom, was officially dedicated in August 2016.
At a typical "Grade B" or "C" shopping mall, the loss of an anchor department store could spell disaster. However, an upscale, destination-type mall such as PHIPPS PLAZA takes such news in stride. Belk's departure, on July 31, 2018, presented several opportunities. With the vacant store demolished, there was room to build a 13-floor office tower, 150-room Nobu Hotel and a (90,000 square foot) LifeTime Fitness complex. Construction began in August 2018.
The 152-room Nobu Atlanta Hotel & Restaurant opened for business on November 30, 2022. The 5-level (127,000 square foot) Lifetime Fitness at Buckhead Phipps Plaza facility was formally inaugurated on December 8, 2022. Grand openings for the new lifestyle food hall and One Phipps Plaza office tower were held concurrently.
Sources:
The Atlanta Journal Constitution
The Atlanta Journal Constitution
The Atlanta Journal
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Atlanta Business Journal / March 5, 1999 / Nancy Groves
www.simon.com / Simon Property Group
http://metroatlantaceo.com
www.cinematreasures.org
www.georgiaencylclopedia.org
Fulton County, Georgia tax assessor website
www.georgiaencyclopedia.org
www.cinematreasures.org
www.georgiaencylclopedia.org
Fulton County, Georgia tax assessor website
www.georgiaencyclopedia.org
https://www.buckhead.com
https://news.lifetime.life
"Phipps Plaza" article on Wikipedia
"Phipps Plaza" article on Wikipedia
