For decades, developers have waved cash at the owners of Midtown Atlanta’s Cheetah Lounge, hoping to build bigger on a valuable piece of land in the middle of Technology Square. Now, their dream might come true.
Chicago-based developer Core Spaces plans to build a 1,600-bed student housing tower on the nearly two-acre site of the famous strip club. The company on Friday confirmed the project address at 887 Spring St. It declined further comment.
In a press release, Core said it will partner with Birmingham, Alabama-based Capstone Communities, and plans to complete the project by 2029.
In a LinkedIn post, Core Spaces said it was transforming “one of the last major undeveloped sites near Georgia Tech into a vibrant, mixed-use destination.”
No formal plans have been submitted to the city yet, and it is unclear if the property is under contract. A receptionist at the Cheetah declined comment Thursday evening.
Credit: sour
Credit: sour
Urbanize Atlanta was first to report the news Thursday.
The tower will include “a third-floor amenity deck that enhances the project’s architectural character and complements the surrounding urban fabric,” according to the release. Dwell Design Studio is the architect.
The Cheetah, an adult entertainment club popular among residents, convention-goers and businessmen alike, sits on one of the final remaining high-rise development sites in Midtown. It has sat relatively untouched as office and residential towers have risen all around it, including NCR Voyix’s headquarters and Georgia Tech’s Coda office project.
The lounge initially opened in a different location in 1977 and later moved to Spring Street. The building was originally a car dealership, with its exterior — squat compared to its neighbors — still maintaining its streamlined, midcentury look.
An Atlanta institution, the Cheetah has lived a long and headline-attracting life, facing challenges such as a state law targeting adult entertainment venues, ordinances banning dancers under 21 and lawsuits from dancers.
The club’s longtime owner Bill Hagood died in 2020 and left the lounge in a trust left to family members, who continued operating it.
His trust partner Jack Braglia told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution at the time that his plans were to continue to run the business as long as feasible and sell it when the time was right.
Developers have pushed to turn the property into a towering mixed-use project for more than a decade.
Georgia Tech’s enrollment has risen steadily over the past five years, fueling the need for additional housing near its campus.
A different student housing developer announced plans late last year to build a tower on a portion of the parking lot of the iconic Varsity fast food joint.
Core Spaces is no stranger to the area. The company opened another student housing tower called Hub Atlanta in 2023 near Georgia Tech. Capstone Communities also has a project in the area called Inspire Atlanta.
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