Phipps Plaza To Get New Hotel, Office Tower And Athletic Club

ATLANTA, GA — The owner of Phipps Plaza in Buckhead announced plans Tuesday to transform the luxury shopping center by adding a cutting-edge hotel and restaurant, health club and office tower. Simon Property Group said that construction will begin next year on a new Nobu Hotel and Nobu Atlanta Restaurant, as well as a 90,000-square-foot Life Time athletic club and a 12-story office building.

Plans call for the new portions of Phipps Plaza to open beginning in the spring of 2020, Simon said. The new elements will be integrated into the luxury mall's existing footprint, and shopping and parking would not be affected during construction.

"Simon has been an exemplary partner to our city for decades," Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed said in a company statement. "As the Buckhead community continues to grow, projects like this will help create greater connectivity to the amenities our residents and visitors want — as well as more opportunities for businesses to thrive."

Phipps Plaza will continue to be anchored by Nordstrom and Saks Fifth Avenue department stores. The Belk department store, which is closing in 2018, is currently the shopping center's largest tenant, according to the website What Now Atlanta.

In the last few years, Simon has been working to expand Phipps Plaza from a shopping center into a mixed-use development. It has added a European-style hotel and a mid-rise building of luxury residences.

Nobu Hotels, founded by chef Nobu Matsuhisa, actor and director Robert De Niro and film producer Meir Teper, will open a new hotel at Phipps Plaza with 150 rooms, a rooftop pool, corporate conference space and the Nobu Atlanta Restaurant, a 10,000-square-foot Japanese-style eatery. Life Time will develop a three-level, resort-like athletic club with yoga and cycle classes, small group and personal training, a spa, rooftop pool, beach club and bistro.

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