At Atlanta's Ponce City Market, Entrepreneurs Thrive Alongside Big Brands
Local developer Jamestown L.P.'s unique approach to tenant mix is showcased in full glory at Atlanta's Ponce City Market, housed in the former Sears, Roebuck & Co. headquarters in the city's Old Fourth Ward neighborhood. The marketplace is now a thriving hub where local entrepreneurs get ample opportunity to set up shop alongside big-name retailers such as West Elm and the business offices of How Stuff Works.
Some retailers with enough business can lease small stores on a percentage rent basis, while others may get a place in Citizen Supply, the curated marketplace where 200 local and international makers display their merchandise in an artisans' bazaar setting.
"Citizen Supply is a tenant of Jamestown, and we work together creatively," explains Phil Sanders, founder of Citizen Supply. "In the beginning stages, Jamestown worked closely with our team at Citizen Supply on the initial round of 40 vendors. Since then, we've continued to adapt the products and vendors we carry based on what our customers are looking for."
While Citizen Supply has its own lease and ownership, the Jamestown team feels a sense of pride and accomplishment in what this microcosm of maker spirit provides to the community. Matt Bronfman, CEO at Jamestown, defines the aesthetic in the retail space as a "sense of chaos," but in the most delightful way. "Turn the corner and see what you'll find," he told us on a recent tour of the space. To his delight, it's rarely the same experience from one visit to the next.
"We like to consider the merchandising and product selection as one big experiment," says Sanders. "Our purpose is not to simply put a new product in front of the customer, but to tell the stories of those behind the products. The store was born out of a desire to bridge the gap between artists, small brands, makers, and consumers."
Recently, Citizen Supply added a greenhouse and an in-store restaurant and bar called Likewise. It is, by design, a completely different experience than Ponce City's lower floor food hall—a hidden surprise shoppers can stumble on as they wander through the makers' marketplace.
Outside of Citizen Supply, visitors can find familiar names like Williams-Sonoma, Atlanta-bred retailers like the metaphysical Modern Mystic, or e-commerce brands making a bricks-and-mortar expansion like mattress company Casper.
Micro-businesses, small retail stores, restaurants and buzzy tech spaces like General Assembly are all encouraged to contribute to the Ponce City community by participating in programming and skills-building workshops. For example, General Assembly sometimes puts on digital marketing bootcamps free for tenants, and popular sewing lab Topstitch opens its close to two dozen workstations for periodic sewing classes.
Topstitch's classes have proved to be popular with the tech-focused office tenants because it engages their minds and hands, and gets them physically involved in making something tangible—a satisfaction many people no longer get from their day-to-day work.
The success of Ponce City Market comes down to curation, collaboration and culture–the new winning combination for a tenant mix that transforms office and retail space from a commodity to a community.
