Images: Rows of rentals quickly sprout on former strip mall site Josh Green Mon, 04/29/2024 - 16:38 When we last checked in on the redevelopment of Moreland Plaza shopping center in April last year, putting drones in the air to illustrate the site’s enormity, it was little more than bare dirt and the rubble of former department stores.
A year later, that’s drastically changed.
After breaking ground in the first quarter of 2023, the Moreland & Custer project by partners Empire Communities and Trammell Crow Residential has razed the boarded-up, 1960s strip center and erected the bulk of its multifamily rental component, now called Allora Eastland.
The site's vastness is apparent from the parking lot of a new self-storage facility across the street, as seen here looking south. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta
Custer Avenue apartment facades. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta
The site in question spans roughly 32 acres—or 10 acres larger than Centennial Olympic Park, for context—directly south of East Atlanta Village, next to Gresham Park. Moreland & Custer’s scope calls for 674 housing units, 14 freestanding buildings, a network of connected greenspaces, a corner building for retail, and a creek-side park. Building permits indicate the community will be broken down into 260 townhomes and 414 multifamily units, with surface parking serving each standalone building.
According to TCR, the multifamily component's developer, Allora Eastland expects to see its first move-ins in May at a location the company describes as being “just minutes away from Atlanta’s top attractions.” As an incentive, six months of free rent is being offered for 15-month leases on some apartments.
Listed rents start at $1,570 monthly for one-bedroom, one-bathroom units with 808 square feet right now.
The largest, priciest options are renting for $2,288 and up, which gets two bedrooms and two bathrooms in 1,233 square feet.
The Allora Eastland clubroom. TCR/Allora Eastland
Proximity of the project to Intrenchment Creek, at right, where new greenspace and a waterway cleanup is planned, per project officials. Multifamily buildings are shown in orange. Courtesy of Empire Communities
Perks of the community are listed as open-concept floor plans, gourmet kitchens with granite countertops, a resort-style pool, a dog park with an agility course, a clubroom with a gaming area, and a “tech lounge” that includes a conference room, a huddle room, work stations, and printing services.
The site’s former shopping center had been mostly vacant for years. Three years ago, national multifamily developer Alliance Residential Company planned a 500-home venture, Broadstone Moreland, at the site but eventually backed away.
Site work is being finished on Empire Communities’ portion of the acreage, but vertical construction has yet to begin.
At the corner of Moreland and Custer avenues, the project’s new retail building would consist of roughly 20,000 square feet of leasable space, per plans filed with the city. Cleanup, restoration, and greenspace implementation on Intrenchment Creek, which snakes along the property to the east, are also planned, developers have said.
Have a look at where construction stands today—and where it’s planned to eventually be headed—in the gallery above.
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1296 Moreland Avenue Allora Eastland Moreland & Custer Empire Communities Trammell Crow Residential EAH Acquisitions Atlanta Shopping Centers Gresham Park Southeast Atlanta Atlanta Townhomes Mixed-Use Development Atlanta Construction Atlanta Development Atlanta apartments TCR Kimley-Horn Kimley Horn Moreland Plaza Moreland Avenue aerial tours
Images
How the 1296 Moreland Ave. project has come together, as seen from intersection of Moreland and Custer avenues this month. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta
An entry point along Custer Avenue. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta
The site's vastness is apparent from the parking lot of a new self-storage facility across the street, as seen here looking south. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta
Custer Avenue apartment facades. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta
Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta
What's described as a resort-style pool with a tanning ledge at Allora Eastland. TCC/Allora Eastland
Example of interior finishes planned with one-bedroom units. TCR/Allora Eastland
The Allora Eastland clubroom. TCR/Allora Eastland
Rendering of the onsite fitness center. TCR/Allora Eastland
The tech lounge. TCR/Allora Eastland
TCR/Allora Eastland
Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta
Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta
The project's 1296 Moreland Avenue location, where suburban-style shopping center Moreland Plaza operated for decades. Google Maps
Overview of the 30-plus acre site plan in southeast Atlanta, with Moreland Avenue depicted at left. Courtesy of Empire Communities
Demolition and site work underway in April 2023 at the corner of Moreland Avenue (bottom) and Custer Avenue.
Proximity of the project to Intrenchment Creek, at right, where new greenspace and a waterway cleanup is planned, per project officials. Multifamily buildings are shown in orange. Courtesy of Empire Communities
How a corner retail building and multifamily structures with surface parking would be arranged near Moreland Avenue, according to an approved Special Administrative Permit plan. Courtesy of Empire Communities
The Moreland Plaza site in question in 2021. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta
Subtitle Section of 32-acre project coined “Allora Eastland” expects to see first move-ins soon
Neighborhood DeKalb County
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