The family that owns the iconic Varsity fast-food restaurant overlooking the Downtown Connector is considering redeveloping its prime Midtown real estate.
The Gordy family has hired real estate consultant Cushman & Wakefield to find potential developers for The Varsity’s site at the corner of North Avenue and Spring Street, as first reported by the Atlanta Business Chronicle.
The restaurant sits on about four acres, most of which is a parking lot. The restaurant is successful and is under no pressure to sell, the family told the AJC. Plans are to keep the restaurant open, the family also said.
The Varsity opened in 1928 to serve Georgia Tech students. It now stands on one of the most visible sites in booming Midtown surrounding by the expanding university, the new Norfolk Southern Corp. headquarters and the nearby North Avenue MARTA station. Real estate experts say an acre of land in Midtown can sell for about $10 million.
“With almost $11 billion of new development either delivered or under construction in the 1.2 square mile core of Midtown since 2015, there aren’t many development sites of this size and visibility left in Midtown,” Midtown Alliance President and CEO Kevin Green told the AJC. “So this should be interesting.”
