Ivy built a double log cabin near where the Marriott Marquis hotel now stands at the corner of Courtland and Ellis Street presumably shortly after he acquired the land.
As the driving force behind the growth of the town that eventually became Atlanta was its location as the terminus point of the Western and Atlantic Railroad which was chartered by the State Legislature of Georgia on December 21, 1836.
Surveying for the railroad was begun in 1837 and by 1838 the now famous 'zero mile post' marking its termination was placed in Land Lot 78 - just west of Ivy's holdings.
[2] Ivy Street which is in the immediate vicinity of his cabin was named in his honor and remained so named until late in the 20th century when Ivy Street was renamed Peachtree Center Avenue to honor the newly developed mixed use building complex designed by John Portman.
The Todd's land lot (17 of the 14th district, also 202½ acres) encompassed much of what is now known as the neighborhood of Virginia-Highland and is well within the present city limits of Atlanta.