Jamestown, the Atlanta-based global real estate investment and management company, recently celebrated Ponce 100, a centennial celebration honoring the 100-year anniversary of the historic Sears, Roebuck & Co. building that now houses Ponce City Market. Community events, a photography installation and more welcomed the public to celebrate the birthday throughout the month of September. Events focused around the weekend of September 26 included the Ponce 100 Community Celebration in the Market and in the Scout courtyard, a Centennial History Installation in The Trestle, an archival photography exhibit and special features from Market vendors, such as a special beer release from Three Taverns Brewery and Bella Alimentari’s 100-Year Celebration Pasta Classes.
In 2011, Jamestown broke ground on the project that would become Ponce City Market, but long before it became the bustling community hub that it is today, the property and its surrounding area was a gathering place and community destination for Atlantans and visitors from across the region.
Ponce City Market sits above two active natural springs and an underground waterway tunnel that drew people from near and far in the 1870s. The area surrounding Ponce City Market quickly became one of Atlanta’s early attractions complete with walking trails, a four-acre lake, picnic grounds and, eventually, an amusement park. Visitors to the amusement park dubbed it “The Coney Island of Atlanta.” By 1907, the park’s lake was filled in and converted into the Ponce de Leon ballpark and bleachers that housed the minor league Atlanta Crackers team until their move in 1965 to Atlanta Stadium. The stadium also hosted the Black Crackers from 1919 to 1952.
The amusement park closed in the early 1920s. Sears, Roebuck & Co. of Chicago purchased 16 acres of land on Ponce de Leon Avenue for construction of a retail store and warehouse distribution center for the Southeastern US, beginning construction on its original brick building in 1926. The company continued to expand the site over the years until it became the two-million-square-foot structure that stands today. It remains one of the largest brick buildings in the Southeast and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
As Atlanta’s metropolitan area spread, many distribution centers relocated to suburban sites, and the building’s role as a warehouse diminished. Sears closed its doors on Ponce de Leon Avenue in 1989, and the City of Atlanta purchased the property, but the building was never fully utilized.
When Jamestown purchased the property in 2010, the team set out to be historical stewards of the property, preserving and reinterpreting the historic brick building for a new generation. The company invested more than $180 million into restoring and renovating the building, and the company’s focus on adaptive reuse of the property brought history to life.
Since opening in 2014, Ponce City Market has become a must-visit place on travelers’ Atlanta bucket lists, a beacon in Atlanta’s skyline, and a destination for locals to gather, shop, dine, live, stay and work. In 2024, Jamestown completed adding more than 700,000 square feet of new live, work and shop space at Ponce City Market, including Scout Living, a hotel offering one- and two-bedroom units for short and long-term stays; 619 Ponce, a four-story mass timber loft office building; and Signal House, a sophisticated residential community providing a frictionless urban living experience.
“Ponce City Market’s story is really a story about Atlanta, as it has continually evolved alongside the city,” says Matt Bronfman, CEO at Jamestown. “Our goal with the building was to honor what came before us while creating something that could serve the community for generations to come. Now, one hundred years after the original building opened, Ponce City Market has become a destination for people to live, work, shop, dine and gather, and we’re proud to be part of its next chapter.”
