Phipps Reinvention

The multiyear reimagining of Phipps Plaza continues with new places to play, stay, shop and dine. The upscale shopping destination entered the year with more to attract retailers, Atlantans and visitors: Nobu Hotel and Restaurant Atlanta, the five-story Life Time Buckhead (a 115,000-square-foot facility with Life Time’s athletic club and the Life Time Work coworking destination), the 13-story One Phipps Plaza and an outdoor event space connecting new and existing buildings. “It’s an amazing time to be here,” says Eric Howard, Phipps’ general manager. Citizens Culinary Market, a 24,000-square-foot, chef-driven food hall by the makers of New York’s Hudson Yards with options such as Umami Burger, is set to open in March near the greenspace, and Alexander McQueen, Dior, Fendi, Cartier and Paradise Grills should open in the first half of the year. The $5-million remodel of Legoland Discovery Center

is also expected to be complete then. Boutiques such as Givenchy and Amiri opened in 2022 at Phipps, a Simon property. Some of the anticipated stores will be near the greenspace, which hosts public and private events, as well as in the first level of the new One Phipps Plaza, a 365,000-square-foot Class A, LEED-certified office tower.

Hermès will start construction in mid-2023, with seven to eight to-be-announced luxury brands to come in the next year, says Howard. “We’ve seen a really transformational evolution of the retail here,” he says. Sales increased in 2021 and 2022 and about 30% of Phipps’ multigenerational customer base is from a seven-state region outside of metro Atlanta. The international traveler is a demographic that Howard expects to see grow. “Our collection of retail is unmatched,” he says.