Starbucks Succumbs to Selig's Development

Coffee shop to close Sunday

The Starbucks Coffee location that opened early last year at Spring & 4th Streets in Midtown, is slated to close this coming Sunday, October 9th.  After extensive renovations, the coffee shop opened in place of what had been an abandoned Arby's restaurant and drive-thru.

Selig Properties, which owns not only the Starbucks property, but all of the properties between 3rd and 4th Streets, plans to demolish everything to make way for new student housing. The re-development represents 708-738 Spring Street, about 1.75 acres in total.

The Standard, as the re-development is known, is a mixed-use student housing project that will include 280 furnished residential units for students and 11,200 square feet of commercial space at street-level.  Selig Enterprises, in partnership with Landmark Properties, will complete the 19-story project on the southwest corner of Spring Street and 4th Street.  Parking will be provided in a 10-story parking deck that is enclosed by residential units on the street-fronting façades.

Plans for The Standard were first revealed this past April, at which time the Starbucks was expected to close, but "no time soon."  Starbucks representatives reportedly attempted to secure space nearby for a temporary "pop-up" cafe, but were unsuccessful.  (A mini Starbucks within the Barnes & Noble at Tech Square remains open.)

Not far away, at Peachtree & 8th Streets, a freestanding Starbucks relocated to a temporary space in the Viewpoint condo building in 2014.  The old Starbucks property was then razed and rebuilt as Seventh Midtown, a new luxury condo building with a lobby level Starbucks that reopened earlier this year.

As shown in the rendering, Starbucks Coffee is expected to occupy a prominent space in the lobby level of The Standard, but likely not until sometime in 2018.  A Starbucks employee with whom I spoke this week indicated that plans call for the coffee shop to be demolished as soon as mid month.

In other Starbucks news, the company is making progress with two upcoming locations in Atlanta, and another near Tucker  As in midtown, both will make use of existing freestanding buildings and their respective drive-thrus. Starbucks will renovate and open in the former Wendy's on Peachtree Road in Brookwood Hills and will also open in place of Saigon basil on Piedmont Avenue.  Near Tucker, Starbucks will relocate from Northlake Festival to a newly constructed cafe with drive-thru on LaVista Road, next to Northlake Mall.

Are you sad to be losing midtown's only drive-thru Starbucks?  Do you think midtown needs more student housing?  What else would you like to see open in the ground level retail space of The Standard?

Please share your thoughts below.