Renovations to Historic Ponce Apartments Set for September

A historic building on Ponce de Leon Avenue is slated to get a much-needed facelift.

After years of empty promises and lack of money, the nine-story building on the corner of Ponce de Leon Avenue and N. Highland Avenue was finally purchased by a Maine-based real estate company, and renovations are set to begin in September.

Evergreen Partners Housing, a Portland, Maine-based real estate investment firm, closed on the deal on August 7, a company spokesman told Patch. Renovations are set to begin sometime in mid-to-late September.

Both the exterior and the interior of the building located at 1050 Ponce de Leon Ave. will be restored, but the historic components of the structure will be preserved. Plans to refurbish the facade of the building have already been approved by the Atlanta Preservation Group.

New flooring, appliances, cabinets, windows, lighting, doors and bathroom and kitchen fixtures will be installed in the apartments. More amenities including a wellness center, computer center, fitness center and an activity area will be added in the building, which will remain Section 8 housing after the renovation.

It will cost about $55,000 to renovate each unit, according to the spokesman. Renovating the apartments alone will cost around $11 million.

No residents will be displaced during the renovations, the spokesman said. Crews will renovate vacant units first and move residents into updated apartments when they are completed.

The spokesman said crews will have little to no impact on traffic patterns along N. Highland Avenue and Ponce de Leon. Work on the exterior of the building will include cleaning and touch-ups, but no major exterior renovations are planned.

Financial terms of the deal were not immediately disclosed but in 2009, the property was assessed at $8.16 million.

Evergreen tried to purchase the building last year, but failed to receive the tax credits from the Georgia Department of Community Affairs needed to complete the deal.

But earlier this year, the state awarded the tax credits to the real estate company, which helped push the deal forward.

The brick building, formerly known as "The 750,” was constructed by a real estate firm owned by Asa G. Candler Jr. — the son of the Coca-Cola mogul Asa Candler Sr. — and opened in 1925 as a luxury apartment complex.

Years later it was converted into a 400-room hotel and renamed Briarcliff Hotel.

Today, the 200-unit apartment building known as provides Section 8 housing to the elderly.

The building is falling apart inside and out. Crime and drug use is a constant issue in the area and the apartment homes are outdated and in desperate need of repair.

What do you think of the plan to renovate Briarcliff Summit? Tell us in the comments!

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