Constellations offers private offices, studies, and creative meeting and events space on historic Auburn Avenue.
Read on to see how we got here …
OUR PLACE IN HISTORY
Proudly constituted in the Martin Luther King, Jr. Historic District, the birthplace of Dr. King and the Civil Rights Movement, Constellations enjoys both the context of history and the desired amenities of life in the modern city.
Constructed in 1910, the building was designed by Hentz & Reid as the Southern School Book Building. Famed Atlanta architect Neel Reid poured heart and soul into the project, detailing ornate garland swags across the top, majestically centered with the torch of knowledge and an open book. In the 1960s, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee had its offices here, chaired by future Congressman John Lewis.
Today, Gene Kansas | Commercial Real Estate has reimagined the space – and the programming of it – to create the next chapter in this stunning example of early 20th-century architecture.
Our Story
Did you know? Constellations came out of a workshop originally brainstormed by Gene Kansas and Ryan Gravel, best known as the guy who came up with the Beltline.
They brought together a constellation of stars in their respective fields: a cool and quirky independent bookstore owner, a charmingly modest new urbanist, an empathetic PAC-10 decathlete turned industrial and UX designer, an architect intellectually and intrinsically focused on healthy design, the ultra-creative founder of the Squirrel Census, a clear-speaking former top-level Home Depot communications executive, a from-the-ground-up neighborhood leader and former chief of staff to an Atlanta city council member, the creator of the Atlanta BeltLine, and a real estate entrepreneur with a penchant for cultural development.
The topic of discussion? What makes for a “culturally inspiring workspace”?
From that workshop, they came up with three Guiding Principles: Freedom of Choice, Community with Retreat, and Variety of Experience & Opportunity. And that was it.
Six months later, on a random visit to see a neighboring property, Gene Kansas visited for the first time 135 Auburn Avenue in Sweet Auburn, and when he stepped through the historic mahogany doors the figurative lightbulb clicked on:
“This is it. This is Constellations.”
Sol omnibus lucet. The sun shines upon us all.
FOUNDERS & PARTNERS
GENE KANSAS, FOUNDER
Constellations is the combination of passion, purpose, and professional pursuit for award-winning cultural developer Gene Kansas, a native of New Orleans and a lover of Atlanta. A writer at heart, an entrepreneur by trade, and operating through the medium of the built environment to identify, craft and share stories that add value to community, Gene leads Constellations with a world of support and the joy of happy collaboration.
FOUNDING PARTNERS
TED BRADFORD, Partner
BEN DUPUY, Partner
BRAD SHAW, Partner
MIKE GANDY, Partner
CAROL & RAMON TOMÉ, Partners
“Our vision at Constellations is to provide an inclusive platform of joy and support – to help others reach their goals, missions, and dreams – and in doing so we can reach ours, to make a positive difference.”
– Gene Kansas
Our team in the Constellations North Star Library, from left to right: Jasmine Salazar, Community Coordinator Emeritus; Gene Kansas, Founder; Brooke Morris Rasheed, Director of Events; and Ted Bradford, Partner/Director of Operations
ADVISORY BOARD
Jamie Allen • Dr. Sarah Cook • Shelton Davis • Travis Ekmark • Matt Finn • Michael Gandy • Ryan Gravel • Caitlin Joyce • Thomas Lodato • Max Mandelis • Jacqueline Royster • Alexis Scott
COMMUNITY PARTNERS
Auburn Avenue Research Library • Museum of Design Atlanta • Georgia State University • Georgia Tech • Central Atlanta Progress • The National Trust for Historic Preservation • The Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation • Atlanta Preservation Center • Sweet Auburn Works • Office of Brothers • Cognitive Design • Proper • Doug Allen Institute • City of Atlanta • Fulton County Library • Refuge Coffee Co.
