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Hotel floated for vacant downtown corner near Connector Josh Green Fri, 09/06/2024 - 08:16 A vacant corner lot near the downtown Connector might finally see redevelopment as a hotel in the shadow of a major hospital, as various plans have promised for nearly a decade.

According to a Special Administrative Permit filing made with the city Tuesday, a project with more than 260 hotel rooms is in the works at 524 Peachtree St. NW, where the 1920s Rosser Building was demolished six years ago. Motto by Hilton is one brand listed as being on board.

The site is situated between the Connector and Emory University Hospital Midtown, directly south of a 3,000-space parking garage that city planners once hailed as being “beautiful” before it debuted in 2021. Next door to the west is historic Baltimore Block, a row of 1880s landmark buildings considered Atlanta’s first apartments.  

Paperwork filed with the city’s Office of Zoning and Development this week indicates the hotel would see 221 rooms by Motto and another 41 identified as “TPS.”

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The 524 West Peachtree St. site where a 1920s building was razed six years ago. Google Maps

The SAP filing indicates the project would include just 19 onsite parking spaces total, when 384 are allowed. (Parking decks, it’s worth noting, are located next door and across the street to both the east and south.) Per the filing, 45 bicycle parking spaces would also be in the mix

Property records indicate the site sold for $8.4 million to an Alpharetta-based LLC called Atlanta Hotel Development in September last year. Sales records indicate it’s less than half an acre.

Since before the COVID-19 pandemic, the Motto by Hilton brand has been trying to crack into the Atlanta market as part of the Waldo’s development in Old Fourth Ward, which remains delayed more than three years after construction got underway.

The SAP applicant is listed as Decatur-based BCA Studios. The firm’s portfolio includes numerous hotel projects around the Sunbelt, including multi-brand high-rise hospitality developments.

BCA Studios has also drawn up plans for a dual-branded Hilton hotel project in downtown Decatur that’s unique in that it would build no new parking, tapping into an underused, existing garage. That project’s two brands are expected to be Tempo, a new lifestyle-focused flag, and Homewood Suites, Hilton’s extended-stay brand.

Looking south across the site today toward Centennial Olympic Park. Google Maps

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The West Peachtree Street site was formerly home to the Rosser Building, named for an architecture firm based there for decades, until it was demolished in 2018 to make way for a 12-story, dual-branded Marriott hotel that didn’t move forward. Ditto for another hotel proposal that had been put together a couple of years earlier.

The structure was designed by prominent Atlanta architect A. Ten Eyck Brown for an automobile distributor, and it was once considered part of the city’s “Automobile Row,” a chain of distributors and dealerships. Following its automobile uses, the building served as the headquarters for Eastern Airlines. In the 1980s, Rosser architects moved into the building, occupying it until 2012. Abandoned and in desperate need of repair, the building was sold in 2015.

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524 West Peachtree St. Atlanta Hotels Motto Motto Hotel BCA Studios Downtown Development west peachtree Street 512 West Peachtree Street Urban Planning Downtown Hotels Baltimore Block Rosser Building

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The 524 West Peachtree St. site where a 1920s building was razed six years ago. Google Maps

Looking south across the site today toward Centennial Olympic Park. Google Maps

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Subtitle West Peachtree Street proposal would include Motto by Hilton brand, filings indicate

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Images: How vision for unique Capitol View infill project has evolved Josh Green Thu, 09/05/2024 - 15:11 An infill concept with classic design leanings in Capitol View is aiming to show that affordable residential development in Atlanta doesn’t necessarily have to look cheap or banal.

Just don’t hold your breath, ATL housing advocates, for the project to move forward soon.

As first reported on these pages in November 2022, the Flicker Development proposal calls for a new four-story apartment building rising across two lots at 1361 and 1365 Metropolitan Parkway, just south of Dill Avenue and within walking distance of the Beltline’s Southside Trail corridor.

The land in question currently contains an older home that wasn’t occupied at the time, according to developers, but that may have changed.

Plans for “1365 Metro” have evolved since then in interesting ways, as Fathom Architecture renderings illustrate.

An updated rendering for the multifamily concept at 1361 and 1365 Metropolitan Parkway in Capitol View. Courtesy of Fathom Architecture

A classic entry for the 1365 Metro project at street level. Courtesy of Fathom Architecture

According to building permit filings from July 2023, the project would include 62 one bedroom, one bathroom units across a total of 23,000 interior square feet. Department of City Planning records show no permitting activity since then, and a project rep this week says no outlook on a potential groundbreaking is available.

The apartments would be considered micro units, and the building would be topped with two terraces on the roof, with the project’s “common building materials arranged in an elegant design,” per Fathom’s website.

The building would be located about two blocks from the Beltline’s first Southside Trail section to open, also just south of where RangeWater Real Estate built a 325-apartment community called The Vivian in the same neighborhood.

View looking north along Metropolitan Parkway. Courtesy of Fathom Architecture

Where the Capitol View properties are located in relation to downtown. Google Maps

According to plans submitted to the Beltline Development Review Committee in 2022, 15 percent of the apartments would be reserved for tenants earning 80 percent of the area median income or less to comply with the Beltline’s Inclusionary Zoning Ordinance. Specific ranges for rents haven't been specified. 

Developers have said the project would be built with modular construction—a rarity for Atlanta.

That’s a process of assembling units in factories, and then stacking them with cranes on site to cut back on construction costs and speed the building process.

Should it move forward, the development would join a planned renovation and expansion of a 1920s Masons hall on the same side of Metropolitan Parkway, less than a block away, as an example of developer optimism in the corridor. 

Find more context and updated visuals in the gallery above.  

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• Capitol View news, discussion (Urbanize Atlanta)

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1365 Metropolitan Parkway SW 1365 Metro Modular construction apartments Flicker Development Affordable Housing Atlanta apartments Metropolitan Parkway Southside Trail BeltLine DRC Atlanta BeltLine BeltLine Development Review Committee Fathom Architecture Atlanta Architecture exterior design

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An updated rendering for the multifamily concept at 1361 and 1365 Metropolitan Parkway in Capitol View. Courtesy of Fathom Architecture

A classic entry for the 1365 Metro project at street level. Courtesy of Fathom Architecture

View looking north along Metropolitan Parkway. Courtesy of Fathom Architecture

Courtesy of Fathom Architecture

Where the Capitol View properties are located in relation to downtown. Google Maps

The Metropolitan Parkway properties in question, at left, in 2022. The Southside Trail corridor is roughly two blocks up the street in this direction. Google Maps

Initial rendering for the project's facade in the 1300 block of Metropolitan Parkway. Flicker Development; designs, Fathom Architecture

Subtitle Concept calls for modular, affordable housing with "elegant design" near Atlanta Beltline corridor

Neighborhood Capitol View

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Buckhead bags $10M in federal funding for elevated bridge project Josh Green Thu, 09/05/2024 - 13:33 An important component of a sweeping plan to make the heart of Buckhead’s commercial and shopping district more walkable and bikeable has scored a federal cash boost.

According to Buckhead Community Improvement District officials, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Safe Streets and Roads for All grant program has awarded $10 million to help construct an elevated pedestrian and bicycle bridge in the district.  

Plans call for the swooping bridge project to span Lenox Road’s intersection with Ga. Highway 400, where the Buckhead Loop roadway is 10 lanes wide at one point. The design in such a highly trafficked vehicle corridor will enhance safety and mobility in the area while providing a direct link to the district’s future highway-capping park, officials have said.

Buckhead’s growing PATH400 greenway runs near the intersection, and plans call for the bridge to also link directly to that project.

Location of the Buckhead Loop bridge project (top, in red) in relation to Lenox Square and its neighboring MARTA station (bottom, in yellow). Google Maps

The bridge is considered the third phase of the Lenox Road Complete Safe Street project. That's aiming to remake 1.25 miles of the major corridor into a people-friendly route for pedestrians, bicyclists, and other non-motorists that stretches from the Lenox MARTA station to Piedmont Road.

Another key section of the Complete Street project is scheduled to begin construction in a matter of days, as BCID reps tell Urbanize Atlanta.

Total costs for the bridge and related work are estimated at $40 million. Designs call for it to rise on the south side of Lenox Road with ramps that allow users to cross both Ga. Highway 400 and Lenox Road without mixing with car traffic.

BCID is partnering with both the Georgia Department of Transportation and City of Atlanta to construct the bridge, which will span a total of .62 miles.

Plans for the Lenox Road Complete Safe Street project's third phase. Courtesy of Buckhead CID

The Buckhead Loop intersection in question today. Google Maps

Jim Durrett, BCID executive director and Buckhead Coalition president, said in today’s announcement the $10 million in federal funding is “essential to help us transform this section of Lenox Road and provide safe, easy access for pedestrians and cyclists to reach the Buckhead and Lenox MARTA stations and many other locations” in the district’s core.

Added BCID chairman Thad Ellis: “Making a major highway intersection safe and accessible for pedestrians and cyclists is no small task.”

When the bridge was initially announced two years ago, plans called for construction to begin in late 2024, but the timeline has been bumped back.

According to BCID officials, engineering design for the bridge is on pace to be finished next August. Following a public bidding project, construction is now estimated to begin in October 2025.

BCID and GDOT’s goal is to complete the bridge by January 2028.

Other federal funding secured through the Atlanta Regional Commission is in place to go toward the “gracefully curving, elevated bridge” project’s construction, BCID officials have previously said.

Meanwhile, on the opposite end of Lenox Road's three-phase Complete Street, construction on the Lenox Boardwalk portion next to Lenox Square mall was expected to start in late 2023 and again in April but was delayed.

But fear not, according to BCID officials: Construction on the Lenox Boardwalk section next to Lenox Square mall is all set to officially kick off Sept. 16.

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Lenox Road at Ga. Highway 400 Elevated Buckhead Bridge Lenox Road Complete Street Project Lenox Square Buckhead Loop PATH400 HUB404 Buckhead CID Buckhead Community Improvement District Alternate Transportation Bike Lanes Atlanta Bike Infrastructure Atlanta Regional Commission Georgia Department of Transportation Lenox Boardwalk U.S. Department of Transportation Safe Streets and Roads for All Lenox MARTA station Jim Durrett Complete Streets

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Location of the Buckhead Loop bridge project (top, in red) in relation to Lenox Square and its neighboring MARTA station (bottom, in yellow). Google Maps

The Buckhead Loop intersection in question today. Google Maps

Plans for the Lenox Road Complete Safe Street project's third phase. Courtesy of Buckhead CID

Pedestrian infrastructure improvements planned for section two of the Lenox Road Complete Street vision. Courtesy of Buckhead CID

Conceptual plans for the Lenox Boardwalk's initial phase. Courtesy of Buckhead CID

Subtitle USDOT’s Safe Streets and Roads for All grant boosts prospects for Complete Street component

Neighborhood Buckhead

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Downtown data center seeks permitting as city approves ban Josh Green Thu, 09/05/2024 - 07:55 Just as the City of Atlanta enacts a clampdown on data center development in specific intown locations, a sizable new data facility is seeking permission to move forward downtown a stone’s throw from a transit station, pro sports arenas, and historic landmarks.

An unspecified development team filed plans this week to build a 300,000-square-foot data center project at 10 Forsyth St. NW, a 1.08-acre site tucked between Ted Turner Drive and Marietta Street, next to active railway.

For context, the first new-construction building to climb from the Gulch and top out at nearby Centennial Yards—the 19-story Mitchell apartments—is also 300,000 square feet.  

The site, which is used as surface parking today, is roughly a block from Five Points MARTA station and Underground Atlanta, with Centennial Yards’ properties just to the west, in the opposite direction.  

The Special Administrative Permit filing made with the city this week indicates an ordinance grants a special use for the Forsyth Street property to be remade as a data center. “The project design, including the vertical improvements and the streetscape improvements, will be addressed in a separate submittal,” reads the SAP application.

The 1.08-acre property serves as surface parking today. Fulton County Board of Assessors

Scope of the 10 Forsyth St. NW property in question, in the broader context of downtown. City of Atlanta Department of City Planning

Property records indicate the owner is an LLC called Spring Street Atlanta, which bought the site from an affiliate of Centennial Yards developer CIM Group three years ago for $22.6 million. The total acreage listed in that deal is just shy of 1.2 aces, per the Fulton County Board of Assessors.

The SAP applicant with law firm Troutman Pepper did not respond to an inquiry for more information about the proposal this week.

A hearing date for the SAP application is scheduled for Oct. 24, according to the Department of City Planning.

Should the project move forward, it wouldn’t be the only data center in the immediate area. Equinix Data Center operates a facility next door to the site on the fifth floor of the 56 Marietta St. building, occupying about 7,600 square feet of space, according to Data Center Journal.

The filing comes as the Atlanta City Council voted this week to ban data centers within a half-mile of MARTA stations and near the Beltline’s 22-mile loop, as the city experiences surging demand to build such facilities from tech giants such as Facebook and Microsoft.

The legislation to ban data centers was introduced by councilmembers Jason Dozier and Matt Westmoreland—and cosponsored by every other city councilmember—with the logic being to keep server farms with few jobs away from hotbeds of growth where housing and commercial opportunities could be created, as available land in Atlanta becomes more scarce. 

Property records indicate the Forsyth Street parcel in question falls within a Special Public Interest zoning district. That classification’s goal is to “preserve, protect, and enhance downtown’s role as the civic and economic center of the Atlanta region” and to foster a “24-hour urban environment where people can live, work, meet, and play,” per city code.

Fulton County Board of Assessors

Should the project move forward as planned, it wouldn’t be the only data center to recently enter the intown pipeline, though most data center development in the metro has been located in the suburbs.  

West of Midtown, QTS is expanding its 100-acre campus, considered the largest data center in the Southeast, by more than 36 acres for a multi-phase project that includes offices in the Knight Park/Howell Station neighborhood. A residential component is also planned to eventually take shape along West Marietta Street with that project.  

Earlier this year, the Development Authority of Fulton County approved a controversial $10.1 million tax break for Tesla CEO and twitter/X owner Elon Musk, who plans to house computer servers for X artificial intelligence work at the QTS facility. The deal will reportedly keep 24 jobs in Atlanta but won’t create new ones.

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10 Forsyth Street NW Spring Street Atlanta LLC Elon Mush Troutman Pepper QTS QTS Data Centers Data Centers Atlanta Data Centers data center Downtown Development Fulton County Board of Assessors City of Atlanta Department of City Planning Department of City Planning Equinix Data Center

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Scope of the 10 Forsyth St. NW property in question, in the broader context of downtown. City of Atlanta Department of City Planning

The 1.08-acre property serves as surface parking today. Fulton County Board of Assessors

Fulton County Board of Assessors

Subtitle Filing indicates proposal qualifies for special uses near MARTA station, Underground Atlanta, arenas

Neighborhood Downtown

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Deluxe Peachtree Road condo tower serves up first interior glimpses Josh Green Wed, 09/04/2024 - 16:20 Condos at a new luxury tower along Peachtree Road continue to be a hot commodity as interiors and amenities round into shape, sellers report.

Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby’s International Realty Intown has provided the first interior condo glimpses while reporting that just 28 residences (of 144 total) remain unsold at The Dillon Buckhead tower, though construction isn’t expected to wrap for months.

That’s a few more inked contracts since July, when the marketing team relayed the building had notched $190 million in sales and was 75 percent sold out.

Units at the Dillon tower—billed as Buckhead’s only option for new luxury condominiums—range from 1,400 square feet to penthouses with nearly 3,700 square feet, each with a private terrace.

According to listing services, Dillon condos without contracts now range in price from $969,000 (two bedrooms and three bathrooms in 1,474 square feet, with $779 monthly HOA fees) up to $2.8 million (two bedrooms and three bathrooms in 2,518 square feet, with similar HOA fees, per Zillow).

One top-floor penthouse that’s pending sale was listed for $4.2 million, the priciest listing to date.

Example of kitchen finishes in a floorplan called Vista 3, with 2,546 interior square feet, quartz countertops, and Italian-made, soft-close cabinets.The Dillon Buckhead/Kolter Urban; Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby's International Realty

The 18-story project in August, as landscaping was being prepped for the amenity level. The Dillon Buckhead/Kolter Urban; Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby's International Realty

Work on the 18-story building—the second Atlanta project for Palm Beach-based developer Kolter Urban—kicked off with demolition of low-rise structures at 2425 Peachtree Road in summer 2022.

The 144-unit project topped out last fall, and finishing touches such as landscaping are now going in at the Dillon’s amenity areas, which are expected to cover more than an acre of total space, both indoors and out. The full building remains on pace to be finished and see first move-ins in the fourth quarter of this year.

The Dillon’s perks call for concierge services, a formal clubroom with a catering kitchen, a dog park, pool deck, outdoor yoga terrace, a speakeasy, a media room with a game simulator, and a pickleball court. An indoor-outdoor section called The Hub will offer both private and semi-private workspaces for the WFH set, plus a conference room. Elsewhere, some condos will be held as guest suites, officials have said.

In earlier phases, the building’s Sotheby’s sales team said Dillon units were landing buyers at “record levels.” That included $62 million in pre-sales in 2022 and another $30 million in contracts inked across March and April alone last year.

Most buyers are downsizing from larger single-family homes and seeking a highly amenitized, low-maintenance lifestyle in a walkable location, sellers previously told Urbanize Atlanta.

Southward views of Midtown and downtown this summer. The Dillon Buckhead/Kolter Urban; Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby's International Realty

Kitchens include a Thermador appliance package with gas cooktop and double ovens. The Dillon Buckhead/Kolter Urban; Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby's International Realty

At The Dillon, two Atlanta-based companies—The Preston Partnership (architecture) and Integra Construction (general contracting)—are part of the development team, alongside interior designers ID & Design International.

Nearby on Peachtree Road, Kolter Urban’s first foray into the Atlanta market, the 22-story Graydon Buckhead, saw condo prices begin at $1.7 million and climb to nearly $9 million for a penthouse covering the full top floor before the building sold out.

Like The Dillon, the 47-unit Graydon remains a relative anomaly in terms of Atlanta multifamily ventures the past decade. It marked the largest intown condo project between Buckhead Village’s The Charles and the 279-unit Seven88 West Midtown tower on West Marietta Street in recent years.  

Kolter Urban purchased the Dillon's required three parcels—located next to the Peachtree Battle Promenade shopping center, home to Whitehall Tavern and a Publix—in 2021 for $16.5 million. To the immediate south, roughly half of the historic book bindery building, formerly home to Peachtree Battle Antiques and Interiors, has been preserved, including the brick house-like structure that fronts Peachtree. The Dillon’s sales center has taken that space.

In the gallery above, find a closer look at where The Dillon stands today. Find a visual breakdown of amenities over here. 

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2451 Peachtree Road NE The Dillon The Dillon Buckhead Kolter Urban Graydon Buckhead Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby's International Realty Amenities Atlanta Condos Atlanta Luxury Homes Atlanta Development Peachtree Battle Promenade Design Within Reach Peachtree Road Peachtree Battle Antiques and Interiors Renderings Interior Design Integra Construction Atlanta Construction The Preston Partnership ID & Design International aerial tours Interior Designs

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The 18-story project in August, as landscaping was being prepped for the amenity level. The Dillon Buckhead/Kolter Urban; Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby's International Realty

Southward views of Midtown and downtown this summer. The Dillon Buckhead/Kolter Urban; Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby's International Realty

Example of kitchen finishes in a floorplan called Vista 3, with 2,546 interior square feet, quartz countertops, and Italian-made, soft-close cabinets.The Dillon Buckhead/Kolter Urban; Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby's International Realty

Kitchens include a Thermador appliance package with gas cooktop and double ovens. The Dillon Buckhead/Kolter Urban; Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby's International Realty

The Dillon Buckhead/Kolter Urban; Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby's International Realty

The Dillon Buckhead/Kolter Urban; Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby's International Realty

Subtitle The Dillon Buckhead reports more than 110 sales with construction still underway

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Developer: Townhome venture just south of Beltline to rise soon Josh Green Wed, 09/04/2024 - 13:24 A southside infill project a few blocks from the Atlanta Beltline corridor that’s grappled with delays is still viable and gearing up for construction soon, according to developers.

Atlanta-based Epic Development is moving ahead with a project that will add for-sale townhome options along the southern reaches of Boulevard in Benteen, a small neighborhood bordering Boulevard Heights and Chosewood Park that includes a namesake greenspace.

Situated south of Grant Park and Zoo Atlanta, the combined sites in question—1304 and 1316 Boulevard—span 2.3 acres immediately north of southside hangout Red’s Beer Garden. Across the street is the immense construction zone that is Empire Communities’ 34-acre Zephyr project.

Jim LaVallee, Epic’s director for development and marketing, tells Urbanize Atlanta vertical construction in Benteen should start in three to four months. Plans still call for 39 townhomes on the corner; other details will be ready for release in coming weeks, LaVallee said.

The cleared corner site in question today at 1316 Boulevard in Benteen. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

A long-abandoned carwash and heavily wooded property were cleared last year to make way for the housing. Per 2023 plans, the townhomes would range from 2,080 to 2,150 square feet, with prices in the mid-$600,000s range.

The project hasn’t been named, and renderings aren’t currently available.

LaVallee previously said the project had to be redesigned twice before it could gain Special Administrative Permit approval at the city level in 2022.

Surrounding blocks, especially to the west and south, are alive with a frenzy of construction activity and heavy equipment as the promise of fresh Beltline blood permeates the southside waters.

Beyond Empire’s Zephyr community, nearby Chosewood Park projects include the 128-townhome Maguire at Skylar, a multifamily complex called The Upton, and in Boulevard Heights, a TPA residential venture that's replacing a landfill across more than 8 acres, among several other ventures.

The Epic Development townhome site is about 1/3 of a mile south of the Beltline’s Southside Trail corridor, which is now fully under construction as a multi-use pathway with plans of being completed in early 2026. (The trail portion between Boulevard and Glenwood Park has been delayed by unforeseen construction complications but is still expected to open sooner, sometime next fall, as Beltline officials recently relayed.)  

A new road installed at the corner site, with Red’s Beer Garden just beyond, as seen earlier this month. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

The site's proximity to the massive Empire Zephyr project across the street, shown at bottom. Google Maps

People-friendly infrastructure and transportation changes in the area won’t be relegated to just the Beltline.

The South Boulevard Complete Streets project is scheduled to begin construction next year, with a roughly 11-month construction schedule to follow, according to Atlanta Department of Transportation estimates released in late 2023.

It will stretch for more than two miles through Grant Park, Boulevard Heights, Chosewood Park, and Benteen, providing a safer connection to the Beltline by way of protected bike lanes and better pedestrian infrastructure.

Google Maps; 2023 UA illustration

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• News, discussion near Benteen (Urbanize Atlanta) 

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1316 Boulevard SE Benteen Epic Development EpiCity Boulevard Red's Beer Garden Chosewood Park Boulevard Heights Atlanta Townhomes Townhome Construction Atlanta Construction Atlanta Development townhomes Townhouses Beltline Atlanta BeltLine Southside Trail

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Looking north toward Grant Park, the former Boulevard carwash and wooded acreage in question, prior to demolition in January 2023. Red's Beer Garden is pictured at right. Google Maps

The site's proximity to the massive Empire Zephyr project across the street, shown at bottom. Google Maps

Part of Epic Development's 2.3-acre site prior to demolition. Google Maps

The cleared corner site in question today at 1316 Boulevard in Benteen. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

A new road installed at the corner site, with Red’s Beer Garden just beyond, as seen earlier this month. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Subtitle Epic Development project continues surge of investment in Boulevard corridor

Neighborhood Southside

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Mayor, city council announce ‘record’ funding for homeless housing Josh Green Wed, 09/04/2024 - 08:12 The largest single investment aimed at combating homelessness in Atlanta history is being put together at the city level, with a goal of creating what project leaders call hundreds of units of quality and thoroughly affordable housing, with a special focus on revitalizing downtown.

Faced with dwindling federal pandemic relief funds, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens and the Atlanta City Council on Tuesday detailed plans to authorize $60 million in new public funding to address homelessness. The scale is being described as a “record” and “historic."

Dickens revealed plans Tuesday for a Homeless Opportunity Bond expected to generate $50 million, while city councilmembers introduced an ordinance to authorize that funding mechanism. Other legislation that would devote $10 million from the city’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund over the next six years was also introduced by city councilmembers.

According to Dickens’ office, the funding from bond proceeds and trust fund coffers would be combined with new private and public investments totaling more than $120 million for supporting unhoused residents with services and dignified housing arrangements.

“This is not just about offering someone a roof over their heads for a night or two,” Dickens said in a prepared statement. “It is about creating a pathway and building a foundation for a better life.”  

All told, city officials estimate the investment will create up to 700 new housing units described as “high-quality” and “deeply affordable.”

Among those would be 500 quick-delivery housing options that could be open alongside wraparound services by the end of 2025, via the mayor’s Rapid Housing Initiative. That program uses modular buildings on city-owned land to fast-track production of supportive housing.

Another project outlined during a Tuesday news conference would replace a large encampment south of downtown in Mechanicsville—which city officials want shut down by the end of September—with a range of 208 housing options. Those would include modular-style units geared toward treatment and support services, plus a mix of affordable and market-rate apartments and townhomes, alongside a variety of greenspaces.

An example of housing solutions presented Tuesday for Cooper Street in Mechanicsville, where city leaders want a large encampment shut down this month. Photo courtesy of City of Atlanta

According to a Niles Bolton Associates-designed site plan presented Tuesday, current plans call for 72 townhomes with one-car garages arranged mostly toward the eastern side of the Mechanicsville site; the 136 mixed-income apartments would rise in three separate buildings. (Last year, city officials proposed a Rapid Housing Initiative for the area, similar to The Melody that opened in January downtown, but those plans were later nixed.)

As the AJC relayed in a thorough report last week, a rash of violence at encampments around the city including on Cooper Street has lit a fire under city officials to find housing solutions. The newspaper found that more than a dozen people experiencing homelessness have been killed across the metro this year alone (sometimes in brutal ways), while numerous shootings, assaults, and other serious crimes have also been reported.

Site plan in the works for the Cooper Street initiative, where a mix of affordable and market-rate housing could rise. Photo courtesy of City of Atlanta

According to the city, the funding plan outlined this week would also beef up Atlanta’s current permanent supportive housing pipeline, helping to fund up to 200 units in renovated or newly built apartment buildings.

Dickens’ office says the funding will support the mayor’s goal to revitalize downtown as one of the “priority geographies” where a “whole-of-government approach” is being applied to help reverse decades of disinvestment.

The city’s last Homeless Opportunity Bond was issued seven years ago this month. It raised a combined $50 million in local public financing and matching philanthropic dollars, per the city.

Still, in terms of Atlanta’s unsheltered population, the numbers appear grim, as with many cities still grappling with fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to a 2024 tally compiled by Atlanta housing advocates Partners for HOME, the city’s unsheltered population on the streets has swollen by 63 percent since the pandemic ebbed, from 640 in 2022 to 1,040 this year.

On the bright side, the total number of Atlantans experiencing homelessness remains 30 percent below 2016 levels, according to Partners for HOME’s tally.

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405 Cooper St. Atlanta Homelessness Atlanta Homeless Mayor Andre Dickens Andre Dickens Rapid Housing Affordable Housing affordable housing Atlanta City Council The Melody Jason Winston Atlanta Continuum of Care Partners for Home Niles Bolton Associates Atlantica Properties

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An example of housing solutions presented Tuesday for Cooper Street in Mechanicsville, where city leaders want a large encampment shut down this month. Photo courtesy of City of Atlanta

Site plan in the works for the Cooper Street initiative, where a mix of affordable and market-rate housing could rise. Photo courtesy of City of Atlanta

Subtitle Proposed $60M legislation would fast-track hundreds of quality living options, per mayor’s office

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Spotted in the wild: MARTA's sleek, more functional new railcars! Josh Green Tue, 09/03/2024 - 14:29 A glimpse of Atlanta’s transit future has arrived—from the mountainous landscapes of Utah, of all places.

Reddit user Paniolo_Man happened upon a scenelast week near Stadler US Inc.’s train manufacturing facility in Salt Lake City, which he relayed as “the first of MARTA’s new… trains… out stretching its legs for the first time at the factory.”

MARTA officials confirm to Urbanize Atlanta that it’s true: One of its new CQ400 trains was indeed spotted in the wild, albeit one that’s lacking the distinctive graphics with MARTA branding that will make it easier to identify.

Confirmed: A CQ400 train in MARTA's new fleet undergoing testing in Utah last week. Photo by Paniolo_Man/reddit

It’s the first instance, to our knowledge, of an assembled example of MARTA’s new trains being seen in the flesh.

Like all of the new fleet, the train being tested in Utah is a four-car set with open gangways in between. That means MARTA riders will be able to pass between more than one car at once, making inter-car movement for passengers and security staff easier.

According to MARTA officials, the first new trains will arrive in Atlanta in January, but they’ll remain under wraps until an unveiling event planned later that month.

Testing on the first two vehicles to arrive in Atlanta is expected to take roughly a year. But fear not, ATL transit geeks: MARTA says additional trains will be delivered after January that don’t require such a long testing period.

That means the first new MARTA train is scheduled to go into revenue service in July next year, per the transit agency.

“This model is the first of its kind in the U.S., so thorough testing is critically important—and will take time—to ensure the new trains are safe and up to the highest standards of customer experience for MARTA customers,” a MARTA spokesperson wrote via email today.

The look of a railcar in MARTA's new fleet arriving at a renovated Five Points station. Courtesy of MARTA

Observers may recall that MARTA’s first new railcar body was the subject of an unveiling party in Atlanta before Christmas in 2022, after it had been manufactured in Hungary by Stadler, a veteran train-building company. The next stop was Salt Lake City, where Stadler is building out the fleet to MARTA’s specifications.

According to MARTA, the front exteriors of railcars will have a lighted “smile” in either red, gold, blue, or green that denotes the color of each approaching rail line.

Charging stations, digital maps, computerized service information, and forward and inward-facing seats are also in the works. One goal for MARTA is to provide more room for bikes, strollers, luggage, and people in wheelchairs, officials have said.  

MARTA entered a contract in 2019 to purchase $646 million worth of modernized new railcars from Stadler—funded via MARTA’s capital improvement program—marking the largest procurement deal ever for both the train builder and transit agency.

MARTA launched an initiative in 2021 called “Your Ride, You Decide” that let people vote on four exterior options for the new fleet.

MARTA's new trains come in four-car sets, designed with open gangways to allow for easier movement from one car to the next. Courtesy of MARTA

Courtesy of MARTA

The chosen exterior designs most closely resemble the conceptual scheme called “Minimalist: Option A”—if not even more minimalist than originally envisioned. Both Minimalist options floated by MARTA in 2021 were designed to evoke speed, officials said at the time.

Many of MARTA’s 300 current railcars date to the agency’s 1970s beginnings and are prone to breakdowns, agency leaders have said.

In the gallery above, find a thorough preview of what the revised railcar fleet will look like, beginning next summer, should all go as planned.  

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MARTA Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority Rail Car Design Stadler US Lindbergh Public Input Trains Americans with Disabilities Act ADA Alternate Transportation Atlanta Transportation Salt Lake City New MARTA trains MARTA projects

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Confirmed: A CQ400 train in MARTA's new fleet undergoing testing in Utah last week. Photo by Paniolo_Man/reddit

The look of a railcar in MARTA's new fleet arriving at a renovated Five Points station. Courtesy of MARTA

MARTA's new trains come in four-car sets, designed with open gangways to allow for easier movement from one car to the next. Courtesy of MARTA

Courtesy of MARTA

Courtesy of MARTA

Courtesy of MARTA

Courtesy of MARTA

Courtesy of MARTA

Courtesy of MARTA

Courtesy of MARTA

Courtesy of MARTA

Courtesy of MARTA

Subtitle First new trains scheduled to debut in Atlanta in less than a year, transit agency reports

Neighborhood MARTA

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In growing NW Atlanta corridor, multifamily project moves forward Josh Green Tue, 09/03/2024 - 12:42 Another multifamily project is in the pipeline for a part of Atlanta that’s quietly becoming a hotbed of denser ITP growth.

Active intown developer Prestwick Development Company is planning to build 141 apartments on what’s currently a wooded, vacant 3-acre site in the Monroe Heights neighborhood, due west of Blandtown near Interstate 285.

The 1388 Northwest Drive property in question is just north of the Coretta Scott King Young Women's Leadership Academy.

According to plans Prestwick submitted to Neighborhood Planning Unit-G last month, the 129,000-square-foot building would top out at five stories. Designs by Geheber Lewis Associates architects call for 115 one-bedroom apartments and 26 two-bedroom options, alongside about 3,000 square feet of amenity space.  

Site plans indicate 127 parking spaces (for a ratio of .88 per unit) are also in the works.

The 3-acre property in question, at right, along Northwest Drive in early 2023. Google Maps

How the bulk of the building would front Northwest Drive, with surface parking at left. Geheber Lewis Associates, via City of Atlanta Office of Zoning and Development

Prestwick is aiming to have the property rezoned from a general multifamily residential classification (RG-3) to one that allows for larger multifamily dwellings (MR-4A) up to eight stories, according to the NPU-G’s August meeting agenda.

Should the project move forward as planned, it would join hundreds of new housing options in several residential developments in the area.

The new Populus Westside Apartments are located across the street, and a townhome community by homebuilders Brock Built called The Park at Monroe is situated just northwest of the site.

Around the corner on James Jackson Parkway, a Stanley Martin Homes project called Westside Bend at Proctor Creek is expected to eventually offer 216 townhomes and standalone houses arranged around a park and communal clubhouse when finished.

The 1388 Northwest Drive site's location in relation to Interstate 285 and other northwest Atlanta neighborhoods and landmarks. Google Maps

The 141-unit site plan off Northwest Drive. Geheber Lewis Associates/Prestwick Development

Elsewhere in Atlanta, Prestwick’s recent projects have included the 160-unit The Steede and a 156-unit venture called 55 Milton. Both of those apartment developments are in Chosewood Park.

Prestwick is also a joint venture partner with Atlanta Neighborhood Development Partnership on a Capitol View project with 58 rentals, mostly reserved as affordable housing, at 1055 Arden Ave. That neighbors a Prestwick senior housing project, 162-unit Gateway Capitol View, that opened in 2018.

Swing up to the gallery for more context and images from Monroe Heights. 

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1388 Northwest Drive NW GLA Geheber Lewis Associates Prestwick Development Frontline Surveying and Mapping Monroe Heights Populus Westside Apartments The Park at Monroe Atlanta Development Atlanta Construction new housing construction Atlanta apartments For Rent in Atlanta Coretta Scott King Young Women's Leadership Academy Prestwick Development Company

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The 1388 Northwest Drive site's location in relation to Interstate 285 and other northwest Atlanta neighborhoods and landmarks. Google Maps

The 3-acre property in question, at right, along Northwest Drive in early 2023. Google Maps

How the bulk of the building would front Northwest Drive, with surface parking at left. Geheber Lewis Associates, via City of Atlanta Office of Zoning and Development

The 141-unit site plan off Northwest Drive. Geheber Lewis Associates/Prestwick Development

Acreage in question. Frontline Surveying, via City of Atlanta Office of Zoning and Development

Subtitle Prestwick Development Company concept calls for 141 rentals on sloping, vacant lot

Neighborhood Westside

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Photos: Southside Beltline's first residential tower rounds into shape Josh Green Tue, 09/03/2024 - 08:07 A year after topping out, exterior construction has mostly wrapped for an Atlanta Beltline-adjacent project that’s set to introduce a sizable jolt of relatively affordable housing to the city’s southside.

Visible from several neighborhoods south and east of downtown, Skyline Apartments, a Peoplestown venture led by New York-based developer Exact Capital Group and Aleem Construction, is the tallest new development overlooking any Beltline segment not named the Eastside Trail. The 11-story project is expected to offer exclusively affordable housing, thanks to financial help from both city and state coffers.

Situated just north of the Southside Trail corridor, the Skyline Apartments’ 250 rentals will be reserved for tenants earning 60 percent or less of the area's median income for at least 15 years, Beltline officials have said.

Plans call for 46 studios, 101 one-bedroom rentals, and 103 two-bedrooms. A retail component that Beltline officials have described as “small” is also in the mix.

Pre-leasing has yet to launch, and the price range for rentals hasn’t been specified.

The Beltline’s affordable housing tracker lists Skyline Apartments’ delivery as TBD. The project was initially expected to open in 2023, but that was delayed.

Skyline claimed a vacant lot at 1090 Hank Aaron Drive, just east of the downtown Connector.

The vacant site as seen in November 2021. Google Maps

How the Skyline Apartments building's brick base has come together along Hank Aaron Drive. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Meanwhile, across the street, adaptive-reuse food hall and office venture Terminal South officially began construction in February. Both projects, located about two miles south of downtown, are expected to be served by MARTA’s first bus-rapid transit service line come next year.

Amenities at the Skyline complex are set to include a fitness center, outdoor pavilion, centralized laundry facilities, and access to the aforementioned public transportation, officials have said. 

The Beltline contributed $2 million toward the Skyline project, as sourced from the Atlanta Beltline Affordable Housing Trust Fund, or BAHTF. Beyond that, Exact Capital received a tax-exempt bond from Invest Atlanta’s Urban Residential Finance Authority and low-income housing tax credits from the Georgia Department of Community Affairs, among other funding sources. 

Just east of the Skyline site, more than 900 apartments and townhomes have sprung up in three separate developments along the Beltline corridor over the past few years.  

Construction on the Terminal South offices and food hall is seen across the street at left. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

How the 250-unit Skyline project will front Hank Aaron Drive in Peoplestown. Rendering courtesy of Exact Capital

Work is also barreling ahead for the area's Beltline section: Southside Trail Segments 2 and 3, or what will officially be called the Southside Trail (as opposed to the Southeast and Southwest trails). That's a 2.4-mile section between Boulevard and Metropolitan Parkway.

Tree-clearing and other heavy work began in earnest for that section last month. The Beltline expects the full trail to open by early 2026, in time for World Cup visitors that year, followed by landscaping work.

Find more context and a closer look at the Skyline project today in the gallery above.

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1090 Hank Aaron Drive SE Skyline Apartments Peoplestown Affordable Housing South Atlanta Atlanta BeltLine Affordable Housing Trust Fund BeltLine TAD Atlanta BeltLine Southside Trail Beltline Exact Capital Group Aleem Construction Georgia Department of Community Affairs U.S. Department of Transportation Atlanta Development Atlanta Construction Atlanta Housing AMI Area Median Income

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A pinpoint of the 1090 Hank Aaron Drive SE site, with the Southside Trail corridor spanning across the frame just to the south, running under a bridge with active rail. Google Maps

The vacant site as seen in November 2021. Google Maps

How the Skyline Apartments building's brick base has come together along Hank Aaron Drive. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

The northern section of the 250-unit Skyline Apartments. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Construction on the Terminal South offices and food hall is seen across the street at left. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

The full building as seen from the south, beyond active railroad tracks above the Beltline's Southside Trail corridor. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

How the 250-unit Skyline project will front Hank Aaron Drive in Peoplestown. Rendering courtesy of Exact Capital

Subtitle Expect 250 apartments reserved at below-market rates in Peoplestown

Neighborhood Peoplestown

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Downtown ATL museum expansion reaches construction milestone Josh Green Fri, 08/30/2024 - 12:14 A construction project that’s making one of Atlanta’s most cherished cultural attractions more than 50 percent larger reached a significant milestone this week—and its maximum height.

According to Atlanta-based Juneau Construction Company, National Center for Civil and Human Rights’ $56 million expansion has topped out, marking the hallway point of construction at 100 Ivan Allen Jr. Boulevard. A ceremony was held downtown Thursday to mark the occasion.

To commemorate its 10th anniversary, NCCHR is refreshing its current facilities and expanding its recognizable downtown building with two new wings—totaling about 29,000 square feet—to add classrooms, more exhibits, event areas, and retail space, plus a new café.

Plans for the east wing expansion. Courtesy of National Center for Civil and Human Rights; designs, Perkins & Will

The current NCCHR, which opened with 42,500 square feet in June 2014, was designed by the late, award-winning architect Philip Freelon in partnership with HOK. Its designs were chosen following an international competition.

The Perkins & Will-designed expansion project calls for new wings added around the NCCHR’s symbolic, multicolored façade, both of them swooping from Pemberton Place around toward Ivan Allen Jr. Boulevard.

According to Juneau officials, structural framework is now finished for the museum’s East Wing (7,195 square feet) and West Wing (21,790 square feet) expansions of the iconic museum.

Those winged expansions will house a Family Gallery for kids (12 and under), a dedicated gallery on the Reconstruction Era, and updates to permanent exhibits. That includes a redesigned gallery to display artifacts and papers from the Morehouse College Martin Luther King Jr. Collection, per project leaders.

How the reimagined King Gallery is expected to look and function. Courtesy of National Center for Civil and Human Rights; designs, Perkins & Will

A rendering of the NCCHR expansion, as seen from across Ivan Allen Jr. Boulevard. Courtesy of National Center for Civil and Human Rights; designs, Perkins & Will

All NCCHR expansion and renovation work remains on pace to be finished in fall 2025, as Juneau officials reported this week.

The work is substantial enough to temporarily close the museum between January and August next year.

To foot the bill for a larger facility, NCCHR’s “Fulfilling the Vision” capital campaign raised more than $52 million, with a goal of eventually bringing in $56 million, as of this past spring. Officials have told Urbanize Atlanta more than two dozen companies, foundations, and individuals have contributed to the expansion campaign. A $15 million gift from the Arthur M. Blank Foundation “anchored” the fundraising efforts.

Other public and private funding has included $10 million from the City of Atlanta, $8.5 million from the Robert W. Woodruff Foundation, and $5 million from the Wilbur and Hilda Glenn Family Foundation. 

The NCCHR won’t be idle during its 2025 closure. Staff plan to host community events across metro Atlanta that include NCCHR’s Truth programs, which are designed to “bring history to life and address contemporary rights issues” at area restaurants, coffee shops, and event and performance venues, per the center. NCCHR will also continue its current programming—such as K-12 education, the LGBTQ+ Institute, and human rights training for law enforcement—throughout the closure.

As seen prior to construction, the multi-toned NCCHR facade was designed to represent "a mosaic of different nationalities [and] the idea that people from all walks of life can work together in harmony."Courtesy of National Center for Civil and Human Rights

Protective fencing installed around the museum’s perimeter will remain in place through the duration of construction, per officials. The museum's Pemberton Place and Ivan Allen Jr. Boulevard entrances will remain accessible throughout 2024.

Have a closer look at what’s to come in the gallery above.

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100 Ivan Allen Jr. Boulevard National Center for Civil and Human Rights NCCHR Robert W. Woodruff Foundation Wilbur and Hilda Glenn Family Foundation downtown construction Downtown Development Atlanta Museums Atlanta Development Civil Right Museum Atlanta Landmarks Atlanta Architecture Architecture Phil Freelon HOK Perkins & Will Juneau Construction Company

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As seen prior to construction, the multi-toned NCCHR facade was designed to represent "a mosaic of different nationalities [and] the idea that people from all walks of life can work together in harmony."Courtesy of National Center for Civil and Human Rights

The NCCHR entry off Ivan Allen Jr. Boulevard today. Courtesy of National Center for Civil and Human Rights

Ground-level view from Pemberton Place, near the Georgia Aquarium. Courtesy of National Center for Civil and Human Rights; designs, Perkins & Will

How the reimagined King Gallery is expected to look and function. Courtesy of National Center for Civil and Human Rights; designs, Perkins & Will

Plans for the east wing expansion. Courtesy of National Center for Civil and Human Rights; designs, Perkins & Will

A planned classroom space at the expanded NCCHR. Courtesy of National Center for Civil and Human Rights; designs, Perkins & Will

Rendering of new wings as seen over Pemberton Place. Courtesy of National Center for Civil and Human Rights; designs, Perkins & Will

Example of planned classroom space. Courtesy of National Center for Civil and Human Rights; designs, Perkins & Will

A rendering of the NCCHR expansion, as seen from across Ivan Allen Jr. Boulevard. Courtesy of National Center for Civil and Human Rights; designs, Perkins & Will

Subtitle With wing-like designs, National Center for Civil and Human Rights project officially tops out

Neighborhood Downtown

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Stitch vision; downtown tower; Atlanta Medical Center as mixed-use? Josh Green Thu, 08/29/2024 - 15:23 …

DOWNTOWN—Plans are coming into clearer focus for what’s now the only highway-capping project left on the table in downtown and Midtown, after the Connector Park concept officially bowed out of the running for local, federal, and philanthropic funding last month.

As Rough Draft Atlanta relays, project officials leading the charge to build downtown’s Stitch released new details and renderings at a town hall event Wednesday, showing how the park’s first 4.5-acre phase will cap the Connector between Peachtree and Courtland streets, alongside upgrades to existing street corridors. Some $200 million is in the bank to get the project underway (engineering is ongoing, as we speak), and phase-one construction is expected to kick off in either 2026 or 2027. The forecast for the full 14 acres being open, however, is now estimated at 2036, pending funding.

Long-term Stitch vision and potential downtown impact. The Stitch/Central Atlanta Progress

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DOWNTOWN—A towering, relatively affordable downtown proposal geared toward low and middle-income Atlantans that’s already been three years in the making is showing concrete signs of life.

The Development Authority of Fulton County is reportedly set to issue up to $370 million in federally tax-exempt bonds to support the development of workforce housing project Teachers Village Atlanta, according to the Atlanta Business Chronicle.

The 98 Cone St. project, which is being put together by a local affiliate of New Jersey-based real estate firm RBH Group, now calls for 426 apartments total, with about 26,000 square feet of retail at the base and 9,000 square feet of amenities in the building.

A revised look at the Teachers Village project's planned retail space where Ted Turner Drive, at left, meets Walton Street. RBH Group; designs, S9 Architecture

RBH has described the 375-foot-tall downtown proposal as a first for Georgia, in that all apartments would be marketed to teachers, other school employees, and seniors in Atlanta as affordable living options. More than half of the rentals will be reserved for independent living seniors, with the remaining units (roughly 200) considered workforce housing. Estimated rents haven't been specified. 

Invest Atlanta in 2021 approved more than $30 million in bond and grant financing for developing the homes set aside for teachers. (Find the latest Teachers Village renderings and more project context over here.)

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OLD FOURTH WARD—The hulking Old Fourth Ward complex that is the former Atlanta Medical Center has been shuttered since Halloween 2002, marking nearly two years of idleness, development moratoriums, and contemplation as to what could (or should) be done with it. But brighter, more vibrant days just might be ahead for the property—at some point in the future.

A main building at the Atlanta Medical Center complex in July. Google Maps

Redevelopment talks are gaining momentum that could turn the Wellstar Health System facility into a quintessential mixed-use hub of housing, retail, office space, and parks—but to the chagrin of some observers, no medical uses.

With the latest moratorium set to expire in October, the city’s Department of City Planning is sharing tentative plans with neighbors for a long-term reimagining of the medical complex, as the AJC reports. No timeline has been specified, but the well-positioned site reportedly has potential to house 2.4 million square feet of residential units. Elsewhere would be 120,000 square feet of commercial and retail, along with 240,000 square feet of offices.

An 11-story hospital tower and other aged structures could be retained and converted to mixed uses, but demolition of other buildings is estimated to cost $25 million alone.

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CITYWIDE—In what could be good news for vibrancy and housing options near the 22-mile Beltline loop and within a half-mile of MARTA stations, the Atlanta City Council is set to vote Tuesday on a ban for the development of data centers in those areas. As Bisnow Atlanta reports, the separate measures (bans near the Beltline and MARTA hubs, that is) have been cosponsored by every city council member, who generally feel it’s a good idea to keep server farms with few jobs away from hotbeds of growth where housing and commercial opportunities could be created.

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Subtitle Real estate, architecture, and urban planning news from around Atlanta this week

Neighborhood Citywide

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