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Plans uncloaked for home portion of factory redo near Athens Josh Green Wed, 06/26/2024 - 14:11 Wire Park, a hip, sprawling adaptive-reuse project near Athens, has succeeded in attracting the area’s first food hall and a unique variety of uses in recent years. Now it’s moving forward with creating places for people to live.

Veteran Atlanta homebuilder Monte Hewett Homes has begun construction on 21 for-sale townhomes called The Towns at Wire Park that will mark the Watkinsville factory redevelopment’s first residential offerings.

Monte Hewett—part of a joint venture on the project with Blue Point Construction called Wire Park Builders—recently completed an $11.5-million land acquisition at the 1725 Electric Ave. site that’s allowed construction to move forward. From there, it’s roughly a 15-minute drive to downtown Athens and the University of Georgia.

The Towns project calls for two-story dwellings with three bedrooms and three and ½ bathrooms in 2,170 square feet. Sales are scheduled to start in late summer, with closings by fall, but project heads haven’t disclosed pricing yet.

Facades planned for two-story The Towns at Wire Park. Courtesy of Monte Hewett

Finished social spaces at the heart of Wire Park today. Wire Park

The townhomes are expected to join 47 standalone houses at Wire Park from the same development team, which remain in planning stages now. Pricing and floorplans for those will be released later this year, according to project reps.

The 66-acre site functioned for more than 50 years as a wire manufacturing plant (thus, the project’s name) called Southwire.

Example of two-story floorplans at The Towns. Monte Hewett Homes

Wire Park's 1725 Electric Ave., Watkinsville, location in relation to downtown Athens. Google Maps

Flaunting walkability to downtown Watkinsville, the old factory’s $80-million redevelopment by Athens-based Gibbs Capital has aimed to retain industrial character while appealing to young families, working professionals, and recent retirees as a walkable place to call home. It’s considered the area’s first large-scale, adaptive-reuse venture, as designed by Atlanta architect Dan Osborne and Athens-based E+E Architecture.

Beyond the food hall, which is called The Grid at Wire Park, the project features an event amphitheater, 225,000 square feet of commercial, office, and retail space (including the recently relocated Oconee County Public Library), plus a large greenspace and public park with trails.

Another facet you won’t find at Ponce City Market or The Works: a roughly 29,000-square-foot indoor baseball training facility called The Yard.  

Movie nights, live music, food trucks, and family events and activities are common, according to project officials.

Overview of the 66-acre Wire Park grounds and residential development site. Wire Park

In the gallery above, scope the latest Wire Park visuals and more context.

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1725 Electric Ave. Watkinsville Wire Park The Towns OTP Gibbs Capital Oconee County Dan Osborne E+E Architecture Duke Gibbs Oconee County Library Stafford Gibbs Capital Construction Niche Esri Smith Planning Group Golden Pantry Reign Streiter Give Back Real Estate Monte Hewett Monte Hewett Homes Wire Park Builders Blue Point Construction Southeast The Grid The Yard at Wire Park

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Wire Park's 1725 Electric Ave., Watkinsville, location in relation to downtown Athens. Google Maps

Facades planned for two-story The Towns at Wire Park. Courtesy of Monte Hewett

Example of two-story floorplans at The Towns. Monte Hewett Homes

Finished social spaces at the heart of Wire Park today. Wire Park

Wire Park

Wire Park

Overview of the 66-acre Wire Park grounds and residential development site. Wire Park

Google Maps

Subtitle The Towns at Wire Park will be first residential offering at 66-acre development

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Wirer Park - 111 South Barnett Shoals

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Photos: How development is changing prominent eastside corner Josh Green Wed, 06/26/2024 - 12:28 With delays caused by ballooning, post-pandemic construction costs behind it, The Lodge project barreled ahead early this year and has since transformed a formerly vacant, blighted corner along a main north-south Atlanta thoroughfare.

But what stands today where Ormewood Park meets East Atlanta Village, should developers’ plans pan out, will be just the beginning.

Residential components of The Lodge project—including its multifamily portions—have topped out along Moreland, Glenwood, and Portland avenues, with façade work either completed or well underway.

What makes the multifaceted project truly unique, however, is the 1940s former Masonic Lodge at its core, which remains structurally sound despite years of vacancy and neglect, project officials have said.

Jesse Clark, managing director of the Clark Property R+D firm, said the development team is currently waiting on building permit approvals for commercial facets of The Lodge project that will include repurposing the Masonic building for retail and restaurant uses.

The Lodge project's context with Ormewood Park treetops, downtown, Midtown, and Buckhead beyond. Urbanize Atlanta

Other commercial facets will include a new ground-up, four-story spec office building with revised, brick-clad designs at the corner of Moreland and Glenwood avenues, and the adaptive-reuse of a single-family home fronting Glenwood Avenue, according to Clark.

“We expect to start construction of [those facets] when the permits are approved, hopefully sometime this summer,” Clark wrote to Urbanize Atlanta via email.

Plans for the corner building call for ground floor retail space with three levels of offices above. Each floor will be white-boxed, or left as raw space for future tenants, according to project filings recently submitted to the city.

Topped-out residential facets of The Lodge project as seen fronting Moreland Avenue this month. Urbanize Atlanta

Current state of the property's Masonic Lodge that's awaiting repurposing. Urbanize Atlanta

The project’s name pays homage to the Masonic Lodge that was built in 1947 and used for years as a Masonic Grand Lodge upstairs with a Kroger at street level.

The Lodge initially broke ground with demolition work in 2021, combining eight parcels that had previously housed individual homes, a parking lot, and ancillary buildings. Then came funding delays caused by hiked construction costs in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The site went idle for well over a year.

More recently, affordable housing specialists Rea Ventures closed on development financing with the Georgia Department of Community Affairs to build 42 units of affordable housing on site, allowing the project to proceed.

Rea Ventures is developing The Lodge’s separate residential component, called The Abbington at Ormewood Park. Across the site, plans call for a new four-story structure and two smaller buildings to include a mix of studios up to three-bedroom rentals. For 30 years, rents will be restricted to no more than 30 percent of income for those making between 30 percent and 80 percent of area median income.

Across the project, developers are aiming for 60 percent AMI on average for residents to ensure a mix of incomes, officials have previously told Urbanize.

That means the largest units, the three-bedroom options, are expected to rent from between $583 and $1,500, per the development team. Funding from the federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program, Invest Atlanta, and Partners for Home is helping make the project financially feasible.

Revised plans submitted to the city last month illustrate how The Lodge's spec office building will look. Clark Property R+D, King Properties; designs, Gentle Works architecture

Commercial and office spaces at The Lodge, meanwhile, are being developed by a joint venture between Clark Property R+D, King Properties, Porch & Square, and RAD Group.

Project officials said in January The Lodge’s 33,000 square feet of office, retail, restaurant, and event space was 67 percent pre-leased via King Properties. No tenant announcements have been made.

Find more context and aerial photos of The Lodge today in the gallery above.

Site plan for The Lodge/The Abbington at Ormewood Park. Clark Property R+D, King Properties

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• Ormewood Park news, discussion (Urbanize Atlanta) 

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525 Moreland Avenue McMillan Pazdan Smith Architecture Martin Riley Associates Architects Kroger The Lodge East Atlanta Atlanta Department of Transportation Moreland Avenue Glenwood Avenue East Atlanta Village ATLDOT Road Projects Ormewood Park Adaptive-Reuse Masonic Lodge Abbington at Ormewood Park Rea Ventures Porch & Square RAD Group Clark Property R+D King Properties Workforce Housing Affordable Housing Atlanta Development Atlanta Construction Gentle Works

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Topped-out residential facets of The Lodge project as seen fronting Moreland Avenue this month. Urbanize Atlanta

A four-story multifamily component fronting Glenwood Avenue. Urbanize Atlanta

Current state of the property's Masonic Lodge that's awaiting repurposing. Urbanize Atlanta

The Lodge project's context with Ormewood Park treetops, downtown, Midtown, and Buckhead beyond. Urbanize Atlanta

The corner space where a spec office component is expected to take shape with a vintage-style, brick design. Urbanize Atlanta

Looking north across The Lodge project, up Moreland Avenue. Urbanize Atlanta

How the corner of Moreland and Glenwood avenues appeared in early 2020. Google Maps

Revised plans submitted to the city last month illustrate how The Lodge's spec office building will look. Clark Property R+D, King Properties; designs, Gentle Works architecture

The Lodge communal courtyard area. Clark Property R+D, King Properties

Initial plans for the future look of Glenwood Avenue at Moreland, looking southwest into Ormewood Park. Clark Property R+D, King Properties; designs, McMillan Pazdan Smith Architecture

Site plan for The Lodge/The Abbington at Ormewood Park. Clark Property R+D, King Properties

Subtitle Where multifaceted The Lodge project near East Atlanta Village stands today

Neighborhood Ormewood Park

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Autonomous 'Hopper' makes comeback for Braves, Battery hoopla Josh Green Wed, 06/26/2024 - 11:01 Self-driving vehicles may seem like the future of transportation for tech entrepreneurs and generally lazy drivers, but for baseball (and alternative transportation) enthusiasts in Atlanta, that future is already here.  

The Cumberland Community Improvement District recently approved $325,000 for a second phase of their autonomous vehicle, or AV, pilot program dubbed “The Hopper.”

The AV currently takes passengers across the Interstate 285 pedestrian bridge that accesses The Battery and its marquee attraction, Truist Park, home of the Atlanta Braves.

According to project leaders, the Hopper has been a hit so far—if not a home run. 

Cumberland CID

Currently, the Hopper operates on Braves home gamedays and some other select dates, corresponding with high-volume events. Dates of service throughout July are available on the project’s website

And yes, the service is free.

According to Cumberland CID officials, passengers will also be able to access the Hopper on scheduled days through the remainder of this year.

The initial Hopper pilot phase ran from July 2023 until March and included an additional route that took riders through the Galleria Office Park. According to officials, rider feedback and other modes of research are being used to determine the best possible course for a second route.

Cumberland CID

The Hopper is the first project launched in connection with the Cumberland Sweep, a planned three-mile multimodal path connecting various points-of-interest in Cumberland and the surrounding area. Cumberland CID officials hope the initiative provides widespread walking, biking, and shuttle access and a safe, reliable, and easy means of commuting without personal vehicles.  

Project leaders say Cumberland Sweep construction is set to begin in October.

The path of the current Hopper pilot program won’t necessarily be a route that remains accessible to the Hopper when the Cumberland Sweep project is complete, but the permanent Hopper will have a dedicated route, officials tell Urbanize Atlanta.  

The AV used for the Hopper initiative was engineered by Beep, which has successfully carried out similar pilot programs across the country. The Hopper has seen some of the highest ridership of any of Beep’s vehicles nationwide, according to Adam Ross, Cumberland CID director of public and government affairs. 

Ross also tells Urbanize that while the Cumberland Sweep is still in the design phase, the project’s construction budget is already fully funded. A timeline that includes a future outlook is available on the project’s website.  

Cumberland CID

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Smyrna news, discussion (Urbanize Atlanta) 

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Subtitle Meanwhile, construction of Cumberland Sweep project is on horizon, officials say

Guest Author(s) Elijah Imlay

Neighborhood Smyrna/Vinings

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Poll: What are Atlanta's chances of landing Sundance Film Festival? Josh Green Tue, 06/25/2024 - 15:51 Atlanta as host city of the largest independent film festival in the United States? Could that idea be transformed from make-believe to reality? Top-ranking city officials seem to think so.

The City of Atlanta has officially submitted its bid, or a Request for Proposal, to the Sundance Institute in hopes of becoming the new home of the annual, storied Sundance Film Festival, beginning in 2027.

With its Park City contract expiring in 2026, the iconic institute founded by Robert Redford announced in April it could be pulling up stakes from the Utah mountain town, opening a bidding process for a potential move to a new U.S. city. Deadline reports the State of Utah plans to bid hard to keep the festival either in Park City or Salt Lake City, but a potential move has been brewing for months, as festival organizers view the expiring contract as a means to remake the Sundance experience in the digital age.

Enter: Y’allywood?

According to a City of Atlanta announcement, ATL’s Sundance pitch is “robust” and illustrates how the festival could plant roots here and grow up alongside the city, the beating heart of what's now the sixth largest metro in the country. Atlanta joined an unspecified number of cities that were invited by Sundance to submit an RFP, following another phase that closed May 1.

Sundance Atlanta

The city has also prepared a slick presentation that emphasizes Atlanta’s TV/film track record, transportation infrastructure, food scene, diversity, thousands of hotel rooms, current film festivals, and 11 small-scale venues for screening flicks along one 2.5-mile route alone, stretching from Plaza Theatre and Variety Playhouse around to King Center in Sweet Auburn.  

“Atlanta is where the worlds of film, entertainment, economic development, diversity, and inclusion meet and grow cohesively, together,” Mayor Andre Dickens said in a prepared statement. “We’re ready to show the Sundance Institute that Atlanta is the place where opportunities are endless, and Sundance can continue to shine.”

Sundance Institute reported the festival, typically held over 11 days, drew about 117,000 people in 2020, before events were interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic and virtual viewership boosted reported attendance numbers in more recent years. (By comparison, an estimated 150,000 out-of-town visitors came to Atlanta for the city's most recent Super Bowl in 2019.) 

To sweeten the pot, the City of Atlanta and its partners, including the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau, have pledged $2 million to support their cause, in addition to “a robust array of concessions and in-kind support to the festival,” per the city announcement. 

According to the Salt Lake City Tribune, another contender, Boulder, Colo., has offered a $1.5 million incentive if Sundance would cross borders to its neighboring state. Other cities—including Traverse City, Mich., and San Francisco—have recently dropped out of the Sundance running.

Sundance officials have said they’re aiming to announce their decision near the end of 2024, or early next year, once all bidding cities have been vetted. Which means it’s time, dear people of ATL, for this important question:

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Subtitle City officially applies to host largest independent U.S. film fest, starting in 2027

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Roomy townhomes deliver near airport, priced from $400Ks Josh Green Tue, 06/25/2024 - 14:03 Another one of many infill projects to crop up near historic downtown Hapeville in recent years is officially ready for its closeup.

Billed as “Atlanta’s coolest boutique community,” the initial phase of the Shirley Estates townhome project has replaced a former used car lot that’d been closed for more than a decade in the City of Hapeville’s northern reaches.

The site plan calls for 28 townhomes overall, each standing three stories, according to the IHD and Capital Investments Realty development team.

The 3165 Dogwood Drive site is located just north of downtown Hapeville—about three blocks north of Arches Brewing’s location (for now)—and immediately east of West Boling Park.  

Courtesy of Capital Investments Realty

Exteriors and walkways at the first phase of Shirley Estates, a Dogwood Drive project that will eventually count 28 townhomes. Courtesy of Capital Investments Realty

The first listings at Shirley Estates, which have all popped up over the past week, range from $498,900 up to $525,000 for end-units.

Each is the same size, offering four bedrooms and three and ½ bathrooms across an even 2,200 square feet. Some facades are all brick, but most are a blend of siding and brick.

The project’s first eight finished townhomes include $18,000 in unspecified upgrades, providing what’s described as instant equity. Additional perks include two-car garages, a lofted flex space, “stylish LVP flooring throughout” the homes, and “a park literally 100 feet from your door,” according to listings.

The 3165 Dogwood Drive site in relation to downtown Hapeville, the airport, and other landmarks. Google Maps

Courtesy of Capital Investments Realty

Along with Hapeville’s mix of restaurants and cafes, proximity to downtown Atlanta (15 minutes) and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (10 minutes) is also cited as a bonus.

Also included is the prestige (we jest) of living in the Best Atlanta Neighborhood 2023 tournament champion and current Golden Urby Chalice of Champions holder.

Find a closer look in the gallery above.

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• Hapeville news, discussion (Urbanize Atlanta) 

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3165 Dogwood Drive Shirley Estates Capital Investments Realty Paradigm Hapeville townhomes ITP Cities Neighborhood of the Year townhomes Atlanta Construction Atlanta Development Residential Construction IHD IHD Developments Atlanta Townhomes Atlanta Homes for Sale

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The 3165 Dogwood Drive site in relation to downtown Hapeville, the airport, and other landmarks. Google Maps

The former used car lot on the property in 2019, more than a decade after it had shuttered. Google Maps

The planned full townhome layout along Dogwood Drive. IHD/Capital Investments Realty

IHD/Capital Investments Realty

Exteriors and walkways at the first phase of Shirley Estates, a Dogwood Drive project that will eventually count 28 townhomes. Courtesy of Capital Investments Realty

Courtesy of Capital Investments Realty

Courtesy of Capital Investments Realty

Courtesy of Capital Investments Realty

Courtesy of Capital Investments Realty

Courtesy of Capital Investments Realty

Courtesy of Capital Investments Realty

Courtesy of Capital Investments Realty

Courtesy of Capital Investments Realty

Courtesy of Capital Investments Realty

Courtesy of Capital Investments Realty

Subtitle Hapeville project Shirley Estates replaces used car lot, billed as “Atlanta’s coolest boutique community”

Neighborhood Hapeville

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Shirley Estates

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Westside church floated for restaurant, brewery, retail redo Josh Green Tue, 06/25/2024 - 11:57 A marketing push is underway that aims to turn a Westside church that’s been closed and boarded up since before the COVID-19 pandemic into a more active use.

Situated at 688 Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway, across the street from the new Echo Street West district, the English Avenue property in question most recently operated as Saint Mark Baptist Church.

According to marketing materials, the 8,313-square-foot space was originally built in 1999 on a .6-acre lot, just west of Northside Drive. Today the former church faces Westside Motor Lounge, an Echo Street West food-and-beverage destination that features live music and an outdoor component.

Drawings compiled by Atlanta-based Difference Design Lab show the former church converted into a social space with outdoor seating, large windows, and huge garage-style doorways in front. The former church has steel-frame construction and could be “an incredible shell for a restaurant, micro-brewery, flex work space, large retail,” or another church, according to the property’s LoopNet listing.  

Difference Design Lab

Location of the former Saint Mark Baptist Church in relation to landmarks including Westside Motor Lounge, the Trap Music Museum, and Georgia Tech. Google Maps

The posted leasing rate is $21.65 per square foot, per year—a figure that includes property taxes, utilities, and services for the building, per the listing.

Marketing materials cite proximity to Echo Street West, the BeltLine, Westside Park, and—optimistically—Microsoft’s planned but shelved 90-acre Westside campus as perks of the location.

“This location will soon look like the equivalent of placing your business across the street from Ponce City Market,” goes the spiel.

According to Fulton County property records, the church sold the property to an LLC called Cantata Properties in March 2022 for $1.35 million, the most recent sale on record.

Inside the 1990s former house of worship today. via LoopNet

The closed 688 Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway former church in early 2023, with Midtown and downtown shown at left. Google Maps

Echo Street West isn’t the only sizable investment that’s transformed formerly underused properties in that part of the neighborhood.

Roughly two blocks away, Mill Creek Residential is building a 373-unit apartment venture called Modera Westside Trail as a nod to the BeltLine’s Westside BeltLine Connector trail. No retail is planned for that development.  

Also nearby, Georgia Tech’s next phase of the multi-building Science Square district opened in April, and the second (and largest) phase of Herndon Square, an affordable housing venture, is fully under construction now.

Difference Design Lab

Find more context and images related to the empty church—and future home of Holy Suds Westside Beer Factory?—in the galley above.

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• English Avenue news, discussion (Urbanize Atlanta) 

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688 Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway Saint Mark Baptist Church Difference Design Lab LoopNet Atlanta Churches Westside Motor Lounge Northside Drive Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway Adaptive-Reuse Development Adaptive-Reuse Project Adaptive-Reuse Westside Westside BeltLine Connector Echo Street West Foah Properties

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Location of the former Saint Mark Baptist Church in relation to landmarks including Westside Motor Lounge, the Trap Music Museum, and Georgia Tech. Google Maps

The closed 688 Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway former church in early 2023, with Midtown and downtown shown at left. Google Maps

Difference Design Lab

Difference Design Lab

Difference Design Lab

Inside the 1990s former house of worship today. via LoopNet

via LoopNet

via LoopNet

Subtitle Shuttered English Avenue property located near Echo Street West development

Neighborhood English Avenue

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Rally planned in opposition to MARTA’s Five Points redevelopment Josh Green Tue, 06/25/2024 - 10:37 The summer of friction regarding plans to transform Atlanta’s largest and busiest transit hub continues.

City officials, downtown stakeholders, and mobility advocates from across the city are scheduled to take to the streets near MARTA’s Five Points station at 12:30 p.m. today to formally ask the transit agency to pause its impactful renovation and closure plans, which are scheduled to begin in a month.

A rally and press conference is set for a space near Five Points station’s Peachtree Street entrance, between Alabama and Wall streets, according to Propel ATL, a nonprofit that advocates for sustainable transportation in the city.

Scheduled attendees include: Doug Shipman, Atlanta City Council president; city councilmember Jason Dozier (District 4); AJ Robinson, head of Central Atlanta Progress and Atlanta Downtown Improvement District; Rebecca Serna, Propel ATL executive director; Carden Wyckoff, a disability advocate and MARTA Army and Propel ATL board member; and Deborah Scott, executive director of Georgia STAND-UP, an equitable economic development nonprofit.

According to organizers, the event will aim to help persuade MARTA to reconsider its $250-million renovation and closure of street-level access to the station, which is set to begin July 29. The opposition is concerned with design plans for MARTA’s Five Points overhaul and for closures they say will have “an undue effect on the lives of the 17,000 pedestrians and bus riders who rely on Five Points to access the MARTA heavy rail system,” according to a rally announcement.

Detractors, including several city councilmembers, have publicly come out against MARTA’s redesign plan on the basis, in their view, it would detract from a town-square feel and restrict pedestrian and cycling access in favor of infrastructure for 10 bus routes that connect there.

But at this late stage, getting MARTA to budge on design and closures could be an arduous task.

A refined preview depicting how the opened-up transit hub could look and function. Courtesy of MARTA

MARTA

MARTA officials last week did acknowledge that changes to the Five Points redevelopment strategy are in the works, following weeks of pushback from the mayor’s office, mobility advocates, and downtown movers-and-shakers. That could include the installation of a temporary elevator at Five Points to accommodate riders with disabilities during construction who would otherwise have to exit trains and take a shuttle bus between Georgia State and Peachtree Center stations to avoid closures at the central transit hub.

Otherwise, MARTA appears to be sticking to its guns. In a statement submitted to Urbanize Atlanta on Friday, MARTA officials stressed that the full Five Points renovation is estimated to take four years, but that street-level access won’t be impacted for that long. MARTA engineers are currently studying ways to open at least one entrance to the Five Points station to allow for street-level access to the facility during construction, but that’s not expected to come soon.

“The goal is to get started with the deconstruction [of the Five Points concrete canopy] and demolition work and reevaluate street-level access after 18 months,” the MARTA statement reads.

MARTA

MARTA’s goal is to turn the bunker-like, 1970s transit hub into what the agency describes as a vibrant, centralized city center with smoother access to trains and buses.

However, powerful downtown groups including Central Atlanta Progress have been calling on MARTA to slam the brakes on those plans and consider a redesign, while Mayor Andre Dickens has asked MARTA to keep Five Points station open until an ongoing audit of the agency is complete.

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Subtitle City officials, downtown stakeholders to formally ask MARTA to pause renovation, closure plans

Neighborhood Downtown

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Images: Suwanee's sweeping new central park is nearly finished Josh Green Mon, 06/24/2024 - 17:05 City of Suwanee officials have set a tentative opening date for a unique greenspace project that’s been two decades in the making, as plans for the park’s food-and-beverage component also become clearer.

Located at the corner of Suwanee Dam Road and Main Street, the 25-acre Town Center on Main and DeLay Nature Park includes a sweeping, centerpiece bridge across the street from the growing Gwinnett County city’s master-planned Suwanee Town Center.

The greenspace project broke ground in September 2022 and is on pace to host its official grand opening Aug. 24, according to Chris Hardin, Suwanee’s economic development manager. (A soft opening allowing the public to access the park is expected to come sooner, likely in mid-July, according to Hardin.)

City officials purchased acreage for the new park 22 years ago as an early step in Suwanee’s comprehensive park and open-space plan—back when the city’s 22,000 population was roughly half what it is today.

A recent nighttime aerial over Suwanee's Town Center on Main and DeLay Nature Park.Courtesy of City of Suwanee

In related news, the city has also partnered with a private entity to operate an outdoor food truck/market concept called Suwanee Circle with a bar section at the park’s pavilion area.

Suwanee Circle is scheduled to open at roughly the same time as the park’s grand opening, operating initially between four and five days a week and scaling up over the next year, according to Hardin.

Programming at Suwanee Circle calls for live music and big-screen TVs for sports, plus trivia nights, silent discos, and school events.

Elsewhere, expect rocking-chair seating, a variety of food trucks, gaming areas, and a range of beverages from nonalcoholic Icees and coffees to craft beers, White Claw margaritas, boozy lemonade pouches, margarita popsicles, and what’s described as Choo Choo Shots.

How the park's Suwanee Circle component is expected to look and function. Courtesy of City of Suwanee

Video drone footage from over the centralized greenspace in March. Reeves + Young; courtesy of City of Suwanee

Aspects of Suwanee’s new park project—especially the 1,200-foot-long bridge feature over water and raised social areas—recall Rodney Cook Sr. Park in Vine City. The bridge also serves to connect an existing Suwanee library branch to a hilltop section that overlooks two expansive lawns and Town Center.  

Other facets include sandpit volleyball courts, two water features, a communal reading grotto near the library, a veterans’ memorial, and PlayTown Suwanee playground.

The project aims to seamlessly integrate the park with Town Center by way of a pedestrian tunnel beneath active railroad tracks and through another greenspace called Station Park.

Swing up to the gallery for the latest glimpses at what Suwanee’s next downtown greenspace entails.

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• Gwinnett County news, discussion (Urbanize Atlanta) 

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A recent nighttime aerial over Suwanee's Town Center on Main and DeLay Nature Park.Courtesy of City of Suwanee

How the park's Suwanee Circle component is expected to look and function. Courtesy of City of Suwanee

Courtesy of City of Suwanee

Video drone footage from over the centralized greenspace in March. Reeves + Young; courtesy of City of Suwanee

Reeves + Young; courtesy of City of Suwanee

Reeves + Young; courtesy of City of Suwanee

Reeves + Young; courtesy of City of Suwanee

Reeves + Young; courtesy of City of Suwanee

Reeves + Young; courtesy of City of Suwanee

Subtitle Parkside bar, food truck, market concept called Suwanee Circle also unveiled

Neighborhood Suwanee

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Architect targets Atlanta for striking, 'missing middle' home project Josh Green Mon, 06/24/2024 - 13:24 Architect Jennifer Bonner made headlines several years ago by pulling off a single-family, modern-home project in Old Fourth Ward, Haus Gables, that’s been described as a modern masterpiece but also polarizing for its façade lacking a front door and daring, unmissable geometry.

In any case, Haus Gables was among the first homes in the country built with cross-laminated timber panels, or CLT, and it remains a source of pride for Bonner and many ATL architecture buffs.

Five years later, Bonner is looking to replicate that general style—and quicker, more cost-effective CLT construction technique—on a larger scale in Atlanta.

Bonner, director of the MALL firm, has relocated to Portland but is back in Atlanta this week to meet with homebuilders and developers capable of putting together a cost and space-conscious concept she calls “X Houses.”

Example of unique geometry and cladding, sloped roofs, and top-floor social spaces at X Houses. Courtesy of MALL

Courtesy of MALL

The speculative infill development, which calls for 10 standalone houses with roughly 2,000 square feet each, could qualify as less expensive, “missing middle” housing on “leftover,” small parcels across the city, according to Bonner. While each house would stand alone, the roof designs allow each property to work together to create what Bonner calls a shared, cooled environment.

Three-level floorplans call for three bedrooms and a flex space for home office uses. The “camelback bump” style would incorporate exaggerated overhangs and a private terrace left open in the roof. The site plan also includes a parking section and shared open spaces.

For 10 houses with six feet of separation between, the plan requires that each parcel spans just 150 feet by 260 feet—equivalent to about eight NBA basketball courts.

Bonner has assembled a team that includes landscape architect Carley Rickles, co-founding partner of MRS Studio, real estate advisor Sam Pepper, and industrialized construction partner Modly. Prior to her Atlanta visit this week, she's held preliminary discussions with property owners about bringing X Houses to 205 Holtzclaw St., which currently operates as a Reynoldstown studio complex with frontage along the BeltLine’s Eastside Trail, but nothing is set in stone, per Bonner. 

Bonner said lessons learned when designing and developing Haus Gables have allowed her to scale up that project’s mass-timber, pre-manufactured techniques to a full community, as a means of reducing overall construction costs and creating a shorter building timeline, in addition to environmental benefits and unique aesthetics.

“The overall development is planned in two phases,” Bonner wrote to Urbanize Atlanta via email. “Phase one will include construction of five houses along with a shared open-air parking structure, and [the second phase would see] the construction of the remaining five units.”  

The final step in piecing together X Houses, per MALL. Courtesy of MALL

Courtesy of MALL

The project, she said, would mirror in certain respects Barbara Bestor’s Blackbirds residential venture in Los Angeles’ Echo Park, or Jonathan Tate’s affordable housing build in New Orleans called Saint Thomas at Ninth.

Bonner, an Alabama native, says she’s currently aiming to relocate with her family from Oregon, either back to Atlanta (where Haus Gables had been their personal home before it was sold) or to Los Angeles. She founded MALL in 2009, and the firm’s stated goal is to create projects that “hack typologies, take creative risks, reference popular culture, and invent representation.”

In the gallery above, find more context and imagery pertaining to X Houses, and in the comments section below, feel free to muse about where this concept might fit. 

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X Houses Jennifer Bonner MALL KLH USA Sam Pepper MRS Studio Carley Rickles Modly Fouad Khalil Peteris Lazovskis Haus Gables Old Fourth Ward Barbara Bestor Blackbirds Echo Park Jonathon Tate Lower 9th development Atlanta Architecture Atlanta Design Atlanta Townhomes Atlanta Modern Atlanta Moderns modern design Reynoldstown Women on the Rise Female Architects Women Architects ATL Design Atlanta Homes for Sale Missing Middle Missing Middle Housing

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Example of unique geometry and cladding, sloped roofs, and top-floor social spaces at X Houses. Courtesy of MALL

Courtesy of MALL

Location of one potential site in Reynoldstown where Bonner is pitching the X Houses concept. Google Maps

Illustration of the first step in the CLT construction sequence. Courtesy of MALL

The final step in piecing together X Houses, per MALL. Courtesy of MALL

Floorplans for the first (left) and second stories. Courtesy of MALL

Plans for the third floor and roof. Courtesy of MALL

Courtesy of MALL

Courtesy of MALL

Courtesy of MALL

Courtesy of MALL

Subtitle Jennifer Bonner, head of noted MALL firm, is fishing intown for proper “X Houses” site

Neighborhood Citywide

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Image An image showing plans and the site for a cluster of modern homes with geometrical roofs under blue gray skies near a wide road in Atlanta.

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Phew! Atlanta doesn't crack top 50 on 'Dirtiest Cities in America' list Josh Green Mon, 06/24/2024 - 11:34 Anyone who’s spent enough time in Atlanta has probably spotted an annoying mound of street-side litter, a couple of rats (we’re Rat-lanta, after all), and a cockroach the size of a flip phone. But it could be worse. Much worse.

That’s according to a new analysis titled “2024’s Dirtiest Cities in America” that ranked hundreds of urban places based on four categories to determine the “filthiest” among them.  

The study was compiled by LawnStarter, a national online company offering professional lawn care services that occasionally compiles city-centric rankings. Its team of experts included academics and scientists, and data for the study was sourced from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Texas A&M Transportation Institute, U.S. Department of Energy, and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, among other sources. 

The analysis was expanded this year to include 303 of the largest U.S. cities, ranking them based on air pollution, waste management, water quality, and resident dissatisfaction levels as part of 21 total metrics.  

With its No. 60 rating, Atlanta didn’t exactly come off squeaky-clean.

But many major cities—and dozens of smaller ones, such as No. 3 “dirtiest” Reading, PA—fared worse.

Atlanta's ranking among 303 U.S. cities studied in 2024. LawnStarter

Interestingly, no cites in the Southeast landed in the top 20 on the inglorious ranking, unless you count Miami (No. 20).

Analysts noted the list’s lowest performers, such as San Bernardino, CA (No. 1), and Detroit (No. 2), aren’t necessarily choked with pests and trash, but have grappled with high levels of greenhouse gas emissions, drinking water violations, and polluted air. (The list began with America’s 500 largest cities overall but was whittled down because 197 of them lacked sufficient data in at least one of the categories.)

Atlanta scored best in the broad “Living Conditions Rank,” landing in the top half of the study at 167 of 303. The city's ranking in the pollution category—No. 51—was less flattering.

LawnStarter

How’d Georgia’s other large cities fare on the dirty-o-meter?

Augusta ranked best/highest (No. 265), followed by Columbus (235), Savannah (234), Warner Robbins (222), Athens (222), and Macon (97).  

Find a deeper dive into the study’s methodology here.

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LawnStarter Atlanta Rankings Atlanta Cleanliness Atlanta Cleanup City Rankings Rankings Atlanta City Rankings Atlanta Litter air pollution water quality waste management Detroit Macon Columbus Athens Augusta Warner Robbins Savannah City of Savannah

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Atlanta's ranking among 303 U.S. cities studied in 2024. LawnStarter

LawnStarter

LawnStarter

Subtitle Analysts used four categories to gauge "filthiest" among 300 largest U.S. cities

Neighborhood Citywide

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Image A drone photo showing Atlanta's skyline under cloudy skies with many trees to the bottom and left.

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Porter on Peachtree project announces all retail now spoken for Josh Green Mon, 06/24/2024 - 10:13 A mixed-use development fronting Brookhaven’s main north-south artery has become a bright spot for retail leasing among new ITP ventures, according to project officials.

Located at 3930 Peachtree Road, the Alta Porter on Peachtree complex has filled all of its retail space with the signing of Sucré, a New Orleans-founded patisserie, to take its final slot at street level, according to Atlanta-based Ackerman and Co. leasing reps.

Greystar’s Porter on Peachtree includes 17,592 square feet of retail beneath the 291-unit luxury Alta apartments that opened two years ago, situated just north of Buckhead and a mile south of Brookhaven’s MARTA station.

The 291-unit project's facade along Peachtree Road. Ackerman/Porter on Peachtree

Porter on Peachtree's location at 3930 Peachtree Road in relation to MARTA and other landmarks. Google Maps

Studio rents at the building’s residential Alta portion start at $1,865 per month for 688 square feet. The largest three-bedroom options (1,566 square feet) top out at $3,215 monthly, according to Apartments.com. Up to four weeks of free rent is being offered as an incentive.

Sucré will occupy a corner space described by Ackerman officials as “prime.” It will operate alongside previously signed tenants C&S Oyster Bar, Egg Harbor Café, Body20, Art of Aesthetics Cosmetic Dentistry, Highland Yoga, and Sugar Polish Nail Bar.

Known for macarons, gelato, and handmade, French-inspired desserts, Sucré currently operates four locations in metro New Orleans and another in Woodstock, in Atlanta’s northwestern suburbs.

The Porter on Peachtree lobby. Porter on Peachtree/Greystar

Ackerman had also represented the 4.6-acre parcel’s previous landowner, SDS Real Property Holdings, when the land sold for $15.8 million, allowing construction of Porter on Peachtree to begin in 2020.

In a Wednesday leasing announcement, Ackerman reps credited the building’s high-visibility and "proximity to the high-income neighborhoods in Brookhaven and Buckhead” as plusses.

“Porter on Peachtree’s retail and apartments are a great addition to the Brookhaven community,” noted Ackerman retail senior vice president Kelly Wilson.

The complex's clubroom. Porter on Peachtree/Greystar

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3930 Peachtree Road Brookhaven Porter on Peachtree Alta Porter on Peachtree Alta Mixed-Use Development Peachtree Road Atlanta Retail Brookhaven Retail C&S Oyster Bar Egg Harbor Café BODY20 Art of Aesthetics Cosmetic Dentistry Highland Yoga Sugar Polish Nail Bar Atlanta apartments Greystar Ackerman Retail Ackerman Ackerman & Co. Ackerman and Co.

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Porter on Peachtree's location at 3930 Peachtree Road in relation to MARTA and other landmarks. Google Maps

The 291-unit project's facade along Peachtree Road. Ackerman/Porter on Peachtree

The Porter on Peachtree lobby. Porter on Peachtree/Greystar

The complex's clubroom. Porter on Peachtree/Greystar

Google Maps

Subtitle New Orleans patisserie rounds out roster of shops, eats, services in Brookhaven

Neighborhood Brookhaven

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Image An image of a white, black, and grey building under blue skies next to a wide road with shops at the bottom and fancy interiors near Atlanta.

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Sizable eastside build is full speed ahead with construction Josh Green Fri, 06/21/2024 - 15:51 A sizable mixed-use development is barreling forward with construction near one of Atlanta’s most storied golf courses.

Roughly two blocks south of East Lake Golf Club’s Hole 4, Atlanta developer Perennial Properties is transforming what had long been a large grassy field into hundreds of residences and other uses, all to be set around a new public greenspace in unincorporated DeKalb County.

The three parcels in question—situated along 2nd and Alexander avenues, across the street from Donald Trimble Mortuary—are collectively known as the Bag Factory Site. The land, spanning about 11.7 acres, had been empty for decades, according to developers.

The scope of the 1845 2nd Ave. site and construction progress this week. Urbanize Atlanta

Preliminary designs for the project's layout and architecture. Perennial Properties/Dynamik Design

Jay McGinnity, Perennial’s vice president, tells Urbanize Atlanta the project broke ground in January and is adhering to schedule so far. Design details are being finalized, and fresh renderings will be available soon, McGinnity said.

Among other facets, plans at the 1845 2nd Ave. site call for 328 units total—with 43 of those being rental townhouses. Barring any snags with plan approvals and other paperwork, McGinnity says the first units should deliver in roughly a year, with the full project completed by the end of 2025 or early 2026.

According to plans submitted in 2022, a public-accessible village green with a central pavilion would act as the heart of the community, spanning about 32,000 square feet; other facets would include roughly 5,000 square feet of retail space.

McGinnity noted that, as part of the development, Perennial will be constructing an eight-foot-wide walking path on the north side of their property to link 2nd Avenue with Fayetteville Road and the Publix Super Market at East Lake.

The 12-acre site in question in relation to East Lake Golf Club, Publix, and other area landmarks. Google Maps

Planned mix of apartment buildings, townhomes, and greenspace along 2nd Avenue, according to 2022 filings. Perennial Properties/Dynamik Design

Around the corner on Glenwood Avenue, next to the Publix entrance, Perennial also developed a four-building, mixed-use project called Ella.

That venture, also designed by the Dynamik Design firm, includes 230 apartments and 10,000 square feet of retail, in addition to office space.

Find more imagery for the Bag Factory project in the gallery above. Updated renderings will be published on these pages when available.

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1845 2nd Avenue Bag Factory Site Perennial Properties Donald Trimble Mortuary Atlanta Development Atlanta Construction Affordable Housing Mixed-Use Wilson Brock & Irby Atlanta apartments East Lake Publix East Lake Golf Club Dynamik Design Kimley-Horn Kimley-Horn & Associates East Lake Publix

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The 12-acre site in question in relation to East Lake Golf Club, Publix, and other area landmarks. Google Maps

The scope of the 1845 2nd Ave. site and construction progress this week. Urbanize Atlanta

Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

The so-called Bag Factory Site, at left, in 2019. Google Maps

Perennial Properties

The site's proximity to the Glenwood Avenue Publix and another Perennial Properties development, at top left. Perennial Properties/Kimley-Horn

Planned mix of apartment buildings, townhomes, and greenspace along 2nd Avenue, according to 2022 filings. Perennial Properties/Dynamik Design

Preliminary designs for the project's layout and architecture. Perennial Properties/Dynamik Design

Subtitle Redevelopment of Bag Factory Site includes rental townhomes near East Lake Golf Club

Neighborhood Decatur

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Image A rendering of a new mixed-use community where apartments and townhomes are planned.

Associated Project

Bag Factory Site - 1845 2nd Avenue

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