Client: Cousins Properties and Emory University-Crawford Long Hospital

Background
The SoNo area is located between Downtown and Midtown in central Atlanta. The name is shorthand for South of North, referring to North Avenue, a major east-west artery through the city. Despite excellent transportation infrastructure, a favorable location, and such Atlanta landmarks as the Crawford Long Hospital, the Bank of America Plaza (the tallest building in the city), and the Civic Center / SciTrek complex, the area has been unable to redevelop as quickly or successfully as areas to the immediate north and south. SoNo lacks an identity and can’t overcome the poor quality of the public realm and urban design.

Process
Cousins Properties and Emory-Crawford Long Hospital engaged Cooper Carry to design a master plan for SoNo to promote the long-term success of the neighborhood. The process began with a series of internal workshops in which Cooper Carry engaged the Cousins and Emory-Crawford Long stakeholders to determine the goals for SoNo and to write a mission statement. After a preliminary plan was created, the plan was presented to various neighborhood stakeholders including developers, churches, and local government. The plan will be refined again to incorporate the comments of all stakeholders.

Solution
The SoNo Master Plan creates a pedestrian-friendly public realm by changing the nature of the public realm. This begins with Peachtree Street, the main street of the city and the neighborhood. While Peachtree will be home to new high-rise buildings, it will transform to a smaller scale, more intimate environment at street level. Other streets will become greener and more civic, punctuated by a series of pocket parks and civic art. The new civic emphasis in SoNo will help create an identity for the neighborhood and will be designed to a new urban design ethic that stresses activity and transparency at the street level. The plan calls for the addition of a school at SciTrek and a great deal of residential development, particularly between Peachtree and Piedmont.