Georgia Tech is developing the Creative Quarter as a new hub for arts, entertainment, and innovation in West Midtown Atlanta.
The initiative complements Tech Square and Science Square, two established innovation districts that drive research, startups, and investment.
The Creative Quarter fosters collaboration between students, local communities, and industry leaders through modern technology and creative spaces.
The Georgia Institute of Technology is expanding its horizons with an arts and entertainment hub and several landmark projects aimed at encouraging research, innovation, and entrepreneurship.
Over the past two decades, the school, also known as Georgia Tech, developed two innovation districts, both of which have become catalysts for investment in the heart of Midtown Atlanta, Ga.
Rendering of The Biltmore, which Georgia Tech is reimagining as the latest engine of innovation in Tech Square. Image: Georgia Tech
One of the districts, Tech Square, is an eight-acre, multi-block neighborhood that has more than two million square feet of space for collaboration, research, and innovation, and is a destination for corporate teams, university and academic enterprises, and start-up companies.
The area, on the eastern fringe of the Georgia Tech campus, has several academic buildings, including two new towers that will open in 2026. It is connected to the campus via a pedestrian bridge.
Another district, known as Science Square, is an 18-acre multi-phase development adjacent to the university dedicated to biological sciences, medical research, and technology. The area features a 13-storey tower with wet and dry labs and clean room space.
Now, another hub, the Creative Quarter, is taking shape on eight acres in West Midtown, on the rim of the university campus.
From left, Georgia Tech president Ángel Cabrera and associate vice provost for the arts Jason Freeman tour the old Randall Brothers building, which is part of the new Creative Quarter. Image: Georgia Tech
The development is located at the historic Randall Brothers factory site at 665 Marietta St., close to the city’s downtown convention, sports, entertainment, and business district. It will be a place for students to create, connect, and serve as a link between the university and the city.
The Westside Community Connector Bridge will connect the campus to the Creative Quarter and Science Square.
The development will feature modern and collaborative facilities, spaces, and technology for performance and rehearsal, recording and filming, virtual reality and AI, maker spaces, and studios.
The long-term vision for the district is to use public-private partnerships to develop the area, which will include retail, dining, residential units, a hotel, and offices in addition to the core facilities.
According to the university, “Creative Quarter will be a place for all students on campus, regardless of their major – to create, experiment, and connect as they pursue academic work, research, entrepreneurship and co-curricular activities; learn about new, arts- and creativity-focused technologies; and develop new approaches in a wide range of artistic and creative practices.”
A rendering of the 7.3-acre site shows several tall towers. The structure will include a mix of residential units, arts and academic buildings, a hotel, an office building, a food hall, and open space.
Jason Freeman, associate vice provost for the arts at Georgia Tech, recently toured the site with university president Angel Cabrera.
Freeman noted that the space’s proximity to the core of campus makes it so special. At the same time, its Westside location will make it easier for people who don’t often visit Tech to attend events at Creative Quarter, making it a vital space where the campus community meets the surrounding community.
Some of that will involve collaboration with industry partners who want to explore new technologies and work with students and faculty.
“But it will also be with people who live in the neighborhoods right around us: artists, community partners, and students,” he said.
Cabrera noted that for Georgia Tech, the Creative Quarter would mark a deeper connection into the intersection of art and technology, drawing on the deep creative energy of Atlanta and the region. For Atlanta, it will be a new arts and entertainment district in a bustling part of the city.
“On this site and in this neighborhood, we want to attract creative industries and incubate the next great companies approaching art and technology in exciting new ways – and have that happen here, through the spark that Georgia Tech gives to this. I see genius happening here. I see new forms of art and technology emerging from this space. And I simply can’t wait.”
The university is also relaunching The Biltmore, a large, multi-story, century-old building with more than 100,000 square feet in the heart of Tech Square, as a strategic hub for starting, scaling, and accelerating startups.
Built in 1824, the Biltmore has long symbolized Atlanta’s growth. It was home to the South’s first radio station and was once a central point for the city’s business and social life. The structure will have more than 100,000 square feet of space for research and programs.
Cabrera said the building is a launchpad for Atlanta’s future.
“At The Biltmore, we’re not just reinvigorating a landmark, we are creating space for more startups, opportunity, and innovation that moves Atlanta forward.”
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