The Bottleworks development on Prince Avenue is under new ownership, with new businesses not too far behind.
Atlanta-based Parkside Partners bought the struggling commercial portion of the mixed-use complex in late 2012 and is trying to attract new tenants to fill a total of 35,000 square feet of office, retail and restaurant space.
“We’re hoping to find the type of tenants neighbors want to walk to,” said Parkside Partners principle Kyle Jenks, a UGA graduate.
The company is talking to architectural, technology, law and insurance firms from both Athens and Atlanta about leasing offices. They’re also trying to lure a new restaurant into the space formerly occupied by Graze; Quizno’s, also closed, may be converted to retail. Jenks said he plans to announce new tenants within the next 60 days.
Smith Wilson rehabbed the old Coca-Cola bottling plant in 2002, winning a statewide award for historic preservation. Along with Pam and Dink NeSmith, he sold the complex to Atlanta investors in 2008. It was foreclosed on last March, and Parkside snapped it up in December.
Parkside, which specializes in adaptive reuse, doesn’t plan to make drastic changes to The Bottleworks but will do some interior renovations and improve the signage and parking accessibility, Jenks said.
“It’ll hopefully be a nice addition to the downtown scene, with everything that’s happening,” he said.
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