There is a crane at Peachtree Street and the Buford Spring Connector, beside the large stone building with the columns. Most people driving through that stretch of Midtown probably have no idea what is rising behind the fence.
It is a preschool.
Vertical construction is underway on a four-story, 30,000-square-foot expansion of The Temple’s Weinberg Early Learning Center at 1589 Peachtree St. NE. The building will connect with the existing Rosenberg Building and include a courtyard, a larger outdoor play area and new trees along Peachtree Street.
The project is being built by Balfour Beatty on land owned by The Temple. It replaces the one-story Zale Building that previously occupied that corner.
What 30,000 square feet adds
The Weinberg Early Learning Center currently serves children from infancy through preschool. The Temple says the program is full and has a growing waitlist.
According to the congregation’s Dream, Build, Inspire campaign, the expansion will increase annual enrollment from 120 to 175 children, a gain of 55 seats.
Plans include six additional classrooms, a STEAM lab, indoor play space, a new outdoor playground, updated security and a central lobby and reception area. The program, now divided between two buildings, would operate primarily from one connected early-learning center.
That capacity increase is the practical story for families. A 30,000-square-foot building is difficult to picture. Fifty-five additional preschool seats are not.
The Temple has not announced when the new building will open. Families can find information about the existing program and application process on the WELC website, but the new seats are not available yet.
The two-foot question along Peachtree Street
The project went before the Midtown Development Review Committee on Jan. 14, 2025. At the time, The Temple proposed an eight-foot fence along the expanded outdoor play area.
The committee recommended reducing it to six feet, the maximum height permitted under Midtown’s rules. It suggested combining the shorter fence with a retaining wall and layered landscaping, including tall holly plantings, to provide security and privacy without placing an eight-foot barrier along Peachtree Street.
The committee also requested additional information about the grade along the street and a five-foot-wide section of scored pavement behind the existing sidewalk near the driveway south of the Selig Building.
That was a recommendation, not a final decision. The Development Review Committee advises the city on Special Administrative Permit applications but does not issue the final approval.
Construction has since moved forward, but I have not found a later public document confirming whether the final design uses a six-foot or eight-foot fence. That makes the completed Peachtree frontage one of the details worth watching as construction continues.
The address carries its own history
The Temple traces its congregation to 1867, with roots in the Hebrew Benevolent Society formed in 1860. Its current Peachtree Street sanctuary opened in 1931 and was designed by Atlanta architect Philip Trammell Shutze. It is the congregation’s third home and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The public project materials do not explain why the original expansion plans called for an eight-foot fence.
However, a private institution needed security and privacy for a children’s play area, while Midtown’s design reviewers wanted to protect the experience of the public sidewalk. Their recommendation attempted to provide both.
The crane may be what gets people’s attention, but the measurable outcome is 55 additional preschool seats in Midtown. The fence deserves scrutiny because it shapes what pedestrians will encounter along Peachtree Street. Still, it should not overshadow the larger project: an established Atlanta institution is replacing an older one-story building with six more classrooms, indoor and outdoor play space and room for nearly 50 percent more children. The next useful updates are an opening date, the final fence design and confirmation that those 55 additional seats become available to families.
