Banks Food Hall

The original Banks building was constructed in 1904 by the WC Bradley Co to warehouse raw cotton unloaded from riverboats on the Chattahoochee before being loaded onto train cars destined for textile mills in Columbus and across the eastern seaboard. One hundred and five years later, WC Bradley Real Estate began redevelopment of this heirloom asset into a food hall to help anchor the vibrant recreational ecosystem that has emerged along the riverfront in recent years. On behalf of Square Feet Studio, Holden led the architectural and interior design of the project from initial programming through construction. The food hall is subdivided into nine leasable stalls, featuring restaurants, a coffee shop, and bar, and organized via a custom suspended steel scaffold designed to support demising walls, signage, and MEP systems. Strategic openings in the original 2’-wide masonry walls and generous outdoor space, provided by a retrofitted rail alley and a new wrap-around front porch facing the river, invite the food hall program to radiate out from the formerly introverted building and mingle with the activities beyond. The Banks Food Hall now serves as an important staple of the Uptown and Riverwalk environs.

Architects / Interior Designers: Square Feet Studio

  • Project Lead: Holden Spaht, Project Manager and Creative Director

  • Project Team: Sean Fowler, Designer; Blake Burton, Architect

Client: W.C. Bradley Company Real Estate

Consultants:

  • MEP Engineering: Proficient Engineering, Inc.

  • Structural Engineering: Wright Engineering

  • Furniture: Libba Dillon, Malone Office Environments

Location: Riverwalk District, Columbus, GA

Contractor: Brasfield & Gorrie