We Check In On Atlanta Dragway 3 Years Later
On this day, nearly to the day (April 12th), 3 years ago when Atlanta Dragway was reported as sold. What had been brewing as a rumored sale, and likely closing, through much of the end of 2020 and into early 2021 became a reality in April 2021. Atlanta Dragway was being sold and it’s wasn’t expected to continue as a drag strip.
Not long after the final events were scheduled, with the final event happening in October 2021. In just about a year Atlanta Dragway went from seeming like it would always be a part of the Atlanta car scene to being just another shuttered drag strip and cautionary tale. So what exactly is Atlanta Dragway up to and what was built on the site?
Where Atlanta Dragway Is Now
For those of us with fond memories of Fast Fridays and other events at Atlanta Dragway, is that the big promises of what would come never materialized. Housing, manufacturing jobs, retail have yet to be built.
In the Fall of 2022 demo on the Atlanta Dragway facilities began. The iconic tower has been torn down. In large part to the pandemic that hit right as it was being sold, along with an uneven housing market, has stunted demand for such a large scale development.
The property itself appears to be available for sale for development. A Crexi listing popuped earlier this month offering the former Atlanta Dragway as part of a potential larger 325 acre plot.
The former Atlanta Dragway is +/- 165 acres and is ready for development with minimal site preparation required.
Crexi Listing – crexi.com/properties/1501044/georgia-prime-development-opportunity-former-atlanta-dragway
Buy It And Open It Back Up?
While the iconic tower is gone, for those with deep pockets and dreams of a return to drag racing in Commerce, the property is being offered for just $17,875,000. I’m sure you’ll need several million more to recreate the facilities that were demo’d in 2022, and probably some time to talk the community that finally thought cars were gone and shopping was in, that in fact, cars are back in.
Since that’s unlikely to happen, it’ll just remain an icon of the Atlanta car scene that is never likely to return. And yet somehow, even the grand vision of what would replace it seems to be gone for now too. Perhaps next economic cycle we’ll see what is made of the property.
Atlanta Dragway is still a broken dream. For racers and developers.
