Technology Square
Encyclopedia
Technology Square, commonly called Tech Square, is a mixed-use district
on the block of Fifth Street between the Downtown Connector
and Spring Street in Atlanta, Georgia. Announced in 2000 and opened in 2003, the district was built over previously vacant surface parking lots and has contributed to an ongoing revitalization of the Midtown neighborhood. Tech Square includes several academic buildings affiliated with Georgia Tech
and provides access to the campus via the Fifth Street Pedestrian Plaza Bridge, reconstructed in 2007. It also contains restaurants, retail shops, condominiums, office buildings, and a hotel.
It is home to the College of Management
, Barnes & Noble
@ Georgia Tech, (the official school bookstore), the Georgia Tech Hotel and Conference Center, as well as offices for a number of faculty and graduate students.
On November 24, 2006 the College of Management
dedicated the state of the art, 2000 square feet (185.8 m²) Ferris-Goldsmith Trading Floor. Scheduled to open early spring of 2007 the trading floor will include fifty-four dual-display computers as well as electronic stock information on the walls, training all levels of management students to use financial analysis and electronic trading tools. Management faculty will use the facility to research improved human performance in trading environments as well as the creation of new financial service models. The trading floor will house Tech's new Quantitative and Computational Finance program.
, the Georgia Tech Enterprise Innovation Institute, the Advanced Technology Development Center
(ATDC), VentureLab
, and the Georgia Electronics Design Center research group (GEDC) are all housed around Tech Square. The buildings in Technology Square also host a variety of small businesses as well as business ventures spawned by Georgia Tech research.
, Marble Slab, Tin Drum, Ribs and Blues, St Charles Deli, Starbucks
, Ray's Pizza, and Waffle House as well as other non-food retail establishments.
purchased the Crum & Forster building, located in Tech Square, and sought permits to demolish the building as part of a plan to expand Technology Square. The building was designed by the architectural firm of Ivey & Crook, whose founders Ernest Ivey and Lewis Crook helped establish the Architecture program at Georgia Tech
in 1908. Preservationists fought the demolition and in August 2009, the Atlanta City Council and Mayor Shirley Franklin
granted the building protective status as a historic landmark. The Georgia Tech Foundation appealed this decision but lost. They instead purchased an adjoining property where a SunTrust Banks
branch was previously located. , the Crum & Forster building remains standing but unused and its future is uncertain.
Mixed-use development
Mixed-use development is the use of a building, set of buildings, or neighborhood for more than one purpose. Since the 1920s, zoning in some countries has required uses to be separated. However, when jobs, housing, and commercial activities are located close together, a community's transportation...
on the block of Fifth Street between the Downtown Connector
Downtown Connector
In Atlanta, Georgia, the Downtown Connector or 75/85 is the concurrent section of Interstate 75 and Interstate 85 through the core of the city. Beginning at the I-85/Langford Parkway interchange, the Downtown Connector runs generally due north, meeting the east-west Interstate 20 in the middle....
and Spring Street in Atlanta, Georgia. Announced in 2000 and opened in 2003, the district was built over previously vacant surface parking lots and has contributed to an ongoing revitalization of the Midtown neighborhood. Tech Square includes several academic buildings affiliated with Georgia Tech
Georgia Institute of Technology
The Georgia Institute of Technology is a public research university in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States...
and provides access to the campus via the Fifth Street Pedestrian Plaza Bridge, reconstructed in 2007. It also contains restaurants, retail shops, condominiums, office buildings, and a hotel.
Georgia Tech facilities
Georgia Institute of Technology College of Management
The College of Management at the Georgia Institute of Technology was established in 1934, and is consistently ranked in the top 30 management programs in the nation. It draws its distinction from its roots in a world-renowned technical university....
, Barnes & Noble
Barnes & Noble College Booksellers
Barnes & Noble College Booksellers, Inc. operates bookstores at more than 600 U.S. colleges and universities. Barnes & Noble College Booksellers is a subsidiary of Barnes & Noble, Inc., which acquired it in 2009. It was formerly a separate company, and Barnes & Noble chairman Leonard S. Riggio...
@ Georgia Tech, (the official school bookstore), the Georgia Tech Hotel and Conference Center, as well as offices for a number of faculty and graduate students.
Georgia Institute of Technology College of Management
The College of Management at the Georgia Institute of Technology was established in 1934, and is consistently ranked in the top 30 management programs in the nation. It draws its distinction from its roots in a world-renowned technical university....
dedicated the state of the art, 2000 square feet (185.8 m²) Ferris-Goldsmith Trading Floor. Scheduled to open early spring of 2007 the trading floor will include fifty-four dual-display computers as well as electronic stock information on the walls, training all levels of management students to use financial analysis and electronic trading tools. Management faculty will use the facility to research improved human performance in trading environments as well as the creation of new financial service models. The trading floor will house Tech's new Quantitative and Computational Finance program.
Research laboratories
The GVU CenterGVU Center
The GVU Center at Georgia Tech is an interdisciplinary research center located near Technology Square in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, and affiliated with the Georgia Institute of Technology. It was founded by James D. Foley, the Center's first director, on October 15, 1992. According to U.S....
, the Georgia Tech Enterprise Innovation Institute, the Advanced Technology Development Center
Advanced Technology Development Center
The Advanced Technology Development Center is a science and business incubator in Georgia. It is part of the Enterprise Innovation Institute at the Georgia Institute of Technology, and is headquartered in Technology Square. ATDC was formed in 1980 to stimulate growth in Georgia's technology...
(ATDC), VentureLab
VentureLab
VentureLab is a technology commercialization project launched at Georgia Tech in 2001. It has since been adopted by the Georgia Research Alliance for other research universities in the state of Georgia...
, and the Georgia Electronics Design Center research group (GEDC) are all housed around Tech Square. The buildings in Technology Square also host a variety of small businesses as well as business ventures spawned by Georgia Tech research.
Commercial shops
Tech Square also contains several restaurants, including Moe's Southwest GrillMoe's Southwest Grill
Moe's Southwest Grill is an American chain of fast casual style Tex-Mex restaurants headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.Moe's was founded in Atlanta, Georgia, in December 2000, by Raving Brands. In August 2007, the brand was purchased by FOCUS Brands...
, Marble Slab, Tin Drum, Ribs and Blues, St Charles Deli, Starbucks
Starbucks
Starbucks Corporation is an international coffee and coffeehouse chain based in Seattle, Washington. Starbucks is the largest coffeehouse company in the world, with 17,009 stores in 55 countries, including over 11,000 in the United States, over 1,000 in Canada, over 700 in the United Kingdom, and...
, Ray's Pizza, and Waffle House as well as other non-food retail establishments.
Controversy
In 2007, the Georgia Tech FoundationGeorgia Tech Foundation
The Georgia Tech Foundation provides financial assistance to the Georgia Institute of Technology. It was founded in 1932 and chartered under the tax laws of the United States as a non-profit 501 corporation. In 2010, the foundation provided $111 million in support to the institute, including $18...
purchased the Crum & Forster building, located in Tech Square, and sought permits to demolish the building as part of a plan to expand Technology Square. The building was designed by the architectural firm of Ivey & Crook, whose founders Ernest Ivey and Lewis Crook helped establish the Architecture program at Georgia Tech
Georgia Institute of Technology College of Architecture
The College of Architecture at the Georgia Institute of Technology was established in 1908 as the Department of Architecture, offering the first four-year course of study in architecture in the Southern United States.-History:...
in 1908. Preservationists fought the demolition and in August 2009, the Atlanta City Council and Mayor Shirley Franklin
Shirley Franklin
Shirley Clarke Franklin is an American politician, a member of the Democratic Party, and served as mayor of Atlanta, Georgia from 2002 to 2010...
granted the building protective status as a historic landmark. The Georgia Tech Foundation appealed this decision but lost. They instead purchased an adjoining property where a SunTrust Banks
SunTrust Banks
SunTrust Banks, Inc., is an American bank holding company. The largest subsidiary is SunTrust Bank. It had US$172.7 billion in assets as of September 30, 2009...
branch was previously located. , the Crum & Forster building remains standing but unused and its future is uncertain.