Atlanta Opera is solidifying itself as a leading production company in the U.S., and it will soon call Buckhead home. The Opera announced in September its ambitious plans to transform the former Bobby Jones Clubhouse into its new base, highlighted by a 200-seat recital hall, educational spaces, a costume shop, a film studio, rehearsal areas, and administrative offices. Plans call for the historic clubhouse, adjacent to the Atlanta Beltline on Woodward Way, to more than triple in size to 56,000 square feet and open in summer 2027.
The announcement cements The Opera’s years-long ambition to expand its home base while creating a “community-centric” performance center. Atlanta Opera will continue to hold its main-stage productions at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre, but the former Bobby Jones Clubhouse expansion allows the Opera to connect with the Buckhead community and Atlanta more intimately.
“This opens up realms of possibilities,” Michelle Winters of the Atlanta Opera said. “What we are envisioning is a local recital hall…to have small-scale recitals and intimate connections that will just build on the love for the classics in this part of the city.”
With its plans coming to fruition, there is a positive outlook for not only the organization, but the Buckhead community at large.
Atlanta Opera’s new home a ‘serendipitous’ collaboration between the organization and its new neighbors
The Opera is “bursting at the seams” at its current location in Pullman Yards, Winters said, with several rooms running “quadruple duty” in various roles for the organization. For several years, it has been on the hunt for larger, more centrally located accommodations around the city. The search included the entire Atlanta area, Winters said, but when The Opera got wind of a group envisioning a performance space at the old clubhouse, the organizations “serendipitously” came together with a plan.
That group is the Haynes Manor Recital Hall Foundation. It was founded after Bobby Jones Golf Course was sold by the City of Atlanta to the state in 2016 before a $24 million renovation. The clubhouse was abandoned for the renovation, leaving the Grecian revival building constructed in the early 1900s in jeopardy. The clubhouse’s history also motivated the creation of the Foundation. In 1951, Alfred Holmes, a Black golfer, was denied entry when he attempted to play on the city-owned, public golf course. Holmes brought suit against the City of Atlanta. The case was ultimately decided by the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled Atlanta’s public golf courses must be desegregated.
To attempt to save the clubhouse, plans created by the Foundation called for it to be converted to a recital hall. Kendra Adams, president of the Peachtree Battle Alliance, said most neighbors backed the plan. When the Opera began investigating the site as its potential future home, Adams said neighbors were adamant they did not want another Chastain Park Amphitheater in their both literal and figurative backyards. But when the Opera unveiled its ambitions for a more intimate setting with a more community-based operation, they were on board.
“This is going to be a great addition to the neighborhood,” Adams said. “It’s actually going to have less of an impact. Previously, it was a robust golf clubhouse with many comings and goings, private events and parties. This is going to be nothing like that. It’s on another level of culture, if you will. It will still blend into the neighborhood on the residential side. On the back side, it’s a glowing lantern on the Beltline.”
Catherine Spillman, executive director of the Atlanta Memorial Park Conservancy, said the preservation of the clubhouse and its history was crucial.
“We did not want to lose it,” Spillman said. “The building is going to be a new, modern version, but there are things you could not replace if it was torn down. To have the Opera say, ‘We hear you want to preserve it’ and make it better than before, that’s so special.”
While most of the logistics and design have been worked out for the renovated clubhouse, parking and traffic plans for performances are still in the works. Winters said these issues “are getting a great deal of attention in our planning.”
“The goal is to offer as much convenience as possible while tending to the need for safety and minimal impact on the neighborhood,” she said.
Winters said there are no plans at the moment for an on-site café or eatery at the revamped clubhouse.
The Opera’s cultural impact on Buckhead
The Opera’s arrival in Buckhead is anticipated to enhance the culture of the area.
“What a gift to the City of Atlanta and the surrounding neighborhood to explore something they’ve never thought of before. To have the Opera offered on the Beltline connector trail is just such a win for the city. They are going to be a neighbor, and to be available to everyone is just really fantastic.”
Adams said once the new facility is opened and programming is set, it will mark the area as a cultural hub.
“I think the recital hall is going to be something that’s really on the map and well-known,” she said. “I don’t have a problem with it in the neighborhood because it makes it stronger, historic, and it’s a little bit of a revival with more history to build on. It’s going to be an advantage to have them in the neighborhood, both culturally and for other things we are working on.”
The Opera, too, is eager for the opportunity to be ingrained into Buckhead.
“Being great citizens is so central to what our organization cares about,” the Opera’s Winters said. “Having this position in the neighborhood, we couldn’t be more excited. This will make us so much more of a part of Atlanta and the neighborhood, and it’s really starting to feel like family for us.”
The organization’s neighborly ambitions will extend once the project is complete. Winters said there will be many opportunities for the public to engage with the Opera’s new headquarters, including the chance for neighbors to sit in on some rehearsals.
Atlanta real estate broker and The Buckhead Paper publisher Ben Hirsch, who will soon list a $6 million property one block from the Opera’s new headquarters and is developing an empty lot across from it, considers the development a win for the community.
“This new performing arts center being added to the already-vibrant mix of activities on offer within Memorial Park feels like it will really make the park complete.” Hirsh said. “It injects events, music, and culture into the current features that include an incredible golf course, racket sports center, driving range, and playgrounds, all surrounded by the Beltline and views of the city skyline. This is incredible news for all of Buckhead, but is a particular boost for this park, which may soon be as sought after as Chastain Park.”
Atlanta Opera’s move comes as the company gains influence
One of the driving forces behind the Opera relocating to Buckhead is the organization’s recent growth. The New York Times reported unlike other companies in the U.S., Atlanta’s is expanding and financially sound.
Much of that success can be attributed to Tomer Zvulun, its artistic and general director, who took over his role in 2013 following extended financial struggles for the organization.
“With Tomer, a dam burst,” Marc Scorca, the chief executive of Opera America, told the Times. “Credit to him for channeling the energy in that city in the direction of a sound organizational plan and artistic variety to build a company that we see thriving today.”
With contemporary productions, new works, and creative events, including during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Atlanta Opera’s influence and audiences have grown under Zvulun.
“This new, permanent home for The Atlanta Opera ensures the right fit for our current and future growth,” Zvulun said in a press release. “A state-of-the-art facility in this park setting will be a source of creativity for our local and visiting musicians. It is perfectly positioned to help us serve audiences and collaborators in our beautiful city and beyond.”
