How an Old Sears Building Became Atlanta's Rooftop Playground

How an Old Sears Building Became Atlanta's Rooftop Playground

Sometime in early 2015, I read an article in the Atlanta Business Chronicle about the former City Hall East building being transformed into Ponce City Market. Buried in the details was a mention of a rooftop restaurant and retail opportunity. I had no idea what that really meant, but something about it caught my attention.

At the time, Kelvin and I had been traveling to other cities where true rooftop destinations were part of the culture. Atlanta had rooftop bars, but most were only a few stories above the street. We believed Atlanta needed a true rooftop experience—something that felt like a destination, not just a bar with a view.

After several months of trying to get an appointment with the leasing team, we finally had the opportunity to tour the space and learn more about the project. When those elevator doors opened and we stepped onto the roof, our first feeling was awe. From one place, you could see Downtown, Midtown and Buckhead—Atlanta spread out in a way I had never seen before. There was nothing remotely similar in the city.

We looked at each other and thought: This is it!

Then we looked around at the scale of it: roughly 80,000 square feet of rooftop just beginning construction.

It was BIG! Far more real estate than we had ever operated before.

Kelvin with Jamestown leasing and Blue Orbit Consulting

The developer had already planned several of the elements that would eventually define Skyline Park, including mini golf, carnival games, the slide and the Heege Tower. The tenant's job would be to activate the space: give it an identity, create the guest experience, figure out how to get people to the top, determine how the games and pricing would work, build the team and ultimately bring the rooftop to life.

Building Something That Didn't Really Exist

We knew restaurants. We did not know amusement parks. That meant there was a lot to learn—and not much time to learn it. We had to understand carnival games and prizes, ticketing and pricing, guest flow, capacity, staffing and how all of those pieces could work together as one experience.

After several months of meetings between our team, the leasing team and the executives involved in the project, we signed our lease in March 2016.

Then things got fast and furious. We worked with consultants and our design and project teams to brand the park, give it an identity and turn a collection of attractions on an enormous rooftop into an experience that made sense to a guest.

Four months after signing the lease, we opened Skyline Park on July 2, 2016. Two days later was the Fourth of July. It was a huge success—and it also showed us immediately just how different this operation was going to be from anything we had done before.

Opening Day July 2, 2016. One of the first guest elevator rides.

The Guest Experience Started Before the Roof

One of the biggest surprises was simply how many people it took to operate the experience well.

Our team wasn't contained inside one restaurant. The guest experience started on the ground floor, continued through the lobby and elevators, and then spread across an enormous rooftop with games, attractions, bars and thousands of people moving through the space.

We had employees everywhere. We had to manage guest counts and capacity, direct people through the building, staff multiple areas and make sure the experience felt connected from the moment someone arrived downstairs until they reached the roof.

The scale was exhilarating, but it was also intimidating. And operating inside a building with more than a century of history brought its own set of quirks and challenges, something we are still very familiar with today.

Giving People a Reason to Come to the Top

Over time, the question that has shaped The Roof has become pretty simple:

What gives people a reason to come to the top, and what gives them a reason to come back?

A few months after Skyline Park opened, Nine Mile Station followed, adding a completely different way to experience the rooftop. Over the years, The Roof continued to evolve with new experiences, food, cocktails, events and different ways to spend time together.

We were here when Ponce City Market was becoming Ponce City Market. And for the last 10 years, we've had a front-row seat to the way Atlanta goes out, celebrates and spends time together.

What guests wanted when we opened in 2016 isn't exactly what they wanted during COVID, after COVID or what they want today. Pricing has evolved. Games have evolved. Experiences have evolved.

Atlanta has changed, and so have we.

The Reaction That Still Never Gets Old

Ten years later, one of my favorite moments hasn't changed. Someone steps off the elevator, comes through the doors, looks around and says:

“Wow. I had no idea this was up here.” Then, almost immediately, they grab their phone to capture it. We still see that reaction all the time, and it still inspires.

Pre-opening July 2016

Because what we've learned over the last decade isn't really about rooftops, restaurants or amusement parks. It's about creating experiences that give people a reason to spend time together—and hopefully creating the kind of moments they remember long after they leave.

That's what we set out to do when we first stepped onto that unfinished rooftop.

Ten years later, we're still listening, learning and changing. Atlanta keeps evolving. So do our guests. And so will The Roof.

But one thing hasn't changed: we still want to wow the person coming off that big elevator and through those doors.