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Best Atlanta Neighborhood 2023, 1st round: (5) Grant Park vs. (12) Kirkwood Josh Green Fri, 12/15/2023 - 13:40 As part of ongoingBest of Atlanta 2023 *coverage, Urbanize’s third-annual Best Atlanta Neighborhood tournament is kicking off with 16 places vying for the prestige of being called the city’s greatest. (Note: Seeding from 1 to 16 was determined by reader nominations*this month—so no pitchforks, please.)

For this Round 1 contest, which is publishing on a Friday, voting will be open until noon on Monday. Please, let’s keep the tourney fun and positive, as one neighborhood rises above the rest in very public fashion. The eliminations begin now!

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(5) Grant Park

Berne Street facades and porches today. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

This year, Grant Park has a chance to exact early revenge on the neighborhood that booted it from the tournament in 2021. For such a celebrated place to live, relatively little changed around Grant Park in 2023 (unless you count a game-changer BeltLine segment breaking ground as part of the neighborhood). That relative idleness could speak to how awesome Grant Park already is (with one idle, hollow exception), a place where gorgeous Victorians and bungalows soiree with one of Atlanta’s prettiest, most functional greenspaces. If anything, Grant Park added a dash of modern amongst its antiquity, with BeltLine-adjacent townhomes and a large new apartment stack that look plucked from Sweden. Believe it or not, Grant Park has never taken the crown across a decade of these competitions. Could lucky ’23 change all that?

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(12) Kirkwood

A recent Monday evening scene on Hosea Williams Drive in Kirkwood. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

With the exception of last year, when eventual winner Avondale Estates showed it the door in Round 1, Kirkwood has enjoyed a strong tourney history, making the Final Four in 2021 and winning the whole enchilada back in 2014. That’s understandable, given K-wood’s status as a historic place that’s packed on hundreds of new living options in recent years, alongside fresh amenities such as the extended Eastside Trolley Trail, now finished. 2023 saw a groundswell of activity on previously abandoned lots, especially near Memorial Drive, where townhomes both for sale and not continue to sprout as we speak. Kirkwood’s historically protected Pullman Yards also made a splash this year, debuting the AlcoHall concept and bagging a “Large Development of the Year” award that prompted some urbanists to shake angry fists at the sky. 

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Best of Atlanta 2023 Best Atlanta Neighborhoods Best Atlanta Neighborhood Where to Live Atlanta Atlanta Neighborhoods Urbanize Atlanta Urbanize Tournament Polls Urbanize Polls Kirkwood Grant Park

Subtitle Who should advance to the Elite Eight? Cast your vote now!

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MARTA's Five Points overhaul to close station for more than a year Josh Green Fri, 12/15/2023 - 08:03 MARTA’s plan to remake Atlanta’s largest and busiest transit hub will close access to the downtown station for thousands of riders per day once construction begins, officials confirm to Urbanize Atlanta.

But MARTA officials say a contingency plan is being formulated to make the closure of Five Points station for more than a year as non-disruptive as possible.

As outlined deep in MARTA’s draft environmental assessment opened for public comment earlier this month, the planned $206-million redevelopment of Five Points station will close the centralized hub to all bus and pedestrian traffic for roughly 18 months.

Those documents specify that rail service and transfers between MARTA lines will remain active on platform levels below ground, while the plaza and concourse levels are temporarily closed, barring pedestrian entry and bus transfers. The station serves 55,000 riders per day on average, with 22 percent of them using “walk-up access,” 7 percent using the station for rail-bus transfers, and another 2 percent using it to switch buses, per the environmental paperwork.  

That works out to more than 17,000 daily customers on average who will be impacted. 

MARTA

MARTA spokesperson Stephanie Fisher said the Atlanta City Council was briefed on the impending Five Points closure during its most recent transportation committee meeting; meanwhile, MARTA’s project, operations, and public engagement teams are working to finalize a plan that inconveniences riders the least while keeping them safe during major construction.

Exactly when construction—and closures—will start won’t be known until the environmental assessment is complete sometime next year, according to Fisher. Once that study is finished, MARTA plans to start a campaign of informing riders.

“The stakeholders are aware—it’s just that we haven’t taken it out to the customer because we need to have the plan in place,” said Fisher. “We need to know when it’s going to start. We need to know exactly where [riders] can catch their bus. We need to have everything ready to go. We’ll do an extensive public education.”

MARTA

All bus routes will likely be relocated to MARTA’s Georgia State station, located about five blocks, or half a mile, away. Fisher said it’s possible that a shuttle system could be implemented, but those logistics haven’t been finalized.

“I think it’s about 4,000 people that are the most impacted, those folks that walk up to Five Points, that’s kind of their home station,” Fisher noted. “The good news is that the majority of people use Five Points for the rail system and transferring, so that won’t be impacted. It’s just right now a matter of getting those buses relocated, making sure there’s adequate space and infrastructure over at Georgia State for those bus routes.”

Four years in the making, MARTA’s planned overhaul calls for removing and replacing Five Points station’s concrete canopy, reconnecting Broad Street to pedestrian traffic, adding customer amenities, and incorporating spaces for public art, agriculture, and communal gatherings. It's being funded through the More MARTA half-penny sales tax program approved by voters seven years ago, with $25 million also coming from a Federal RAISE Grant and another $13.8 million from the State of Georgia.

Five Points acts as the connecting point for all four rail lines—the north/south (Red and Gold) and east/west Lines (Green and Blue)—and nine bus routes. The renovation is expected to help set the stage for transit-oriented development downtown, including a future residential component at Underground Atlanta.

MARTA doesn’t expect the remade Five Points station to be finished in time for Atlanta’s World Cup 2026 matches—the earlier target for completion—but the agency “will ensure the rail station is ready to host soccer fans from around the world,” according to a recent project update.

MARTA

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Subtitle Rail service, transfer functionality won't be impacted during construction, transit agency says

Neighborhood Downtown

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Best Atlanta Neighborhood 2023, 1st round: (7) Chamblee vs. (10) East Atlanta Josh Green Thu, 12/14/2023 - 15:11 As part of ongoingBest of Atlanta 2023 *coverage, Urbanize’s third-annual Best Atlanta Neighborhood tournament is kicking off with 16 places vying for the prestige of being called the city’s greatest. (Note: Seeding from 1 to 16 was determined by reader nominations*this month—so no pitchforks, please.)

For each Round 1 contest, voting will be open for just 24 hours. Please, let’s keep the tourney fun and positive, as one neighborhood rises above the rest in very public fashion. The eliminations begin now!

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(7) Chamblee

Programmed outdoor spaces, arched windows, and terrace levels at the 27,000-square-foot City Hall building. JandDimages; courtesy of City of Chamblee

Once upon a time, Chamblee was a frequent and strong contender in year-end, best-of tournaments around here. Now, at last, the north ITP city has garnered enough nominations to make its Urbanize tourney debut in 2023. That’s not surprising, given the upward trajectory of Chamblee’s downtown core recently, for anyone who cherishes walkability and vibrancy. The new Chamblee City Hall bagged a prestigious award this year, while a hip “micro food hall” entered the pipeline. The prized Rail Trail project marked a milestone, and open-container laws came to be (burp). Elsewhere, the city made strides to cure a park desert near Buford Highway, and a full mountain-inspired community barreled forth. So yeah, an eventful year indeed.

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(10) East Atlanta

AAI Development

East Atlanta, the tourney’s 2016 champion, clawed to the Elite Eight round last year but was ousted by current trophy-holder Avondale Estates. Could that light a fire under this perennially hip eastside district? We’ll see. Unlike several voted-appointed competitors in ’23, East Atlanta is a bona fide ATL neighborhood, with a famed village at its core where change is persistent but gloss never outweighs funk. This year saw a unique Starbucks concept bow out in EAV, which some might consider worthy of bonus votes. But elsewhere, artist Greg Mike’s church makeover is very much moving forward, like a nearby infill project on Flat Shoals Avenue with relatively attainable housing in its mix. On the bougier side of things, East Atlanta wasn’t lacking in new options this year, either. FWIW.   

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Best of Atlanta 2023 Best Atlanta Neighborhoods Best Atlanta Neighborhood Where to Live Atlanta Atlanta Neighborhoods Urbanize Tournament Polls Urbanize Polls Chamblee East Atlanta

Subtitle Who should advance to the Elite Eight? Cast your vote now!

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Best Atlanta Neighborhood 2023, 1st round: (4) Decatur vs. (13) Reynoldstown Josh Green Thu, 12/14/2023 - 13:30 As part of ongoingBest of Atlanta 2023 *coverage, Urbanize’s third-annual Best Atlanta Neighborhood tournament is kicking off with 16 places vying for the prestige of being called the city’s greatest. (Note: Seeding from 1 to 16 was determined by reader nominations*this month—so no pitchforks, please.)

For each Round 1 contest, voting will be open for just 24 hours. Please, let’s keep the tourney fun and positive, as one neighborhood rises above the rest in very public fashion. The eliminations begin now!

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(4) Decatur

Downtown Decatur has long prized its walkability. Shutterstock

As with every year-end Urbanize tournament to date, Decatur took advantage of lenient rules that allow ITP cities and cruised to an honorable No. 4 seed, as based on number of nominations. And why not? It’s been an eventful year in DeKalb’s county seat. Projects range from a crafty corner infill venture that we’ve been told this week is officially a go (more soon) to a colorful batch of for-sale affordable housing (recently painted in rainbow hues) to a relatively large hotel development that would add exactly zero new parking spaces downtown. Other changes in Decatur’s year that was included a fresh public soccer pitch at a MARTA station and a new permanent shuttle system around the city that’s totally free, looping in nearby Oakhurst.  

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(13) Reynoldstown

Remnants of the former steel plant are apparent throughout Reynoldstown's new Breaker Breaker, but especially with this steel archway entry on Wylie retained from the site's industrial days. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

For a solid decade, small-but-mighty Reynoldstown has been synonymous with waves of BeltLine-influenced investment and change, transforming industrial properties and vacant lots into things unimaginable in generations past. That does present challenges, obviously, but like the quality of a Comfy Chicken Biscuit, you can’t deny the persistent new energy. 2023’s most buzz-worthy addition has to be Breaker Breaker, the easy-breezy BeltLine pitstop that’s part of growing Empire Stein Steel. Also along the BeltLine (surprise!) an all-affordable stack of rent-capped homes has recently topped out, while a truly unique motel conversion gets underway for Atlantans who need a boost most. Elsewhere, that penchant for flashy duplexes shows few signs of slowing. Surprisingly, R-town has never climbed beyond the Elite Eight in this hallowed quest for ATL greatness. Could '23 be the year that changes? Only time—and your votes—will tell.

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Best of Atlanta 2023 Best Atlanta Neighborhoods Best Atlanta Neighborhood Where to Live Atlanta Atlanta Neighborhoods Urbanize Tournament Polls Urbanize Polls Decatur Reynoldstown

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Remnants of the former steel plant are apparent throughout Reynoldstown's new Breaker Breaker, but especially with this steel archway entry on Wylie retained from the site's industrial days. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Subtitle Who should advance to the Elite Eight? Cast your vote now!

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Avalon ‘urbanburb' eyes upgrades as 10th birthday approaches Josh Green Thu, 12/14/2023 - 08:00 Hard to believe, but October will mark a decade since the first phase of Avalon debuted in Alpharetta, serving up four crazy days and nights of celebrations to commemorate “the timeless art of living well” with fireworks, concerts, ceaseless fashion shows, $5,000/month OTP apartments, chef demos, and what a snickering, local real estate website once joked was “a fighter-jet flyover synchronized to ‘Proud to Be an American.’” 

As a means of commemorating itself again, the grandaddy of North OTP mixed-use utopias is undergoing an “experiential facelift” to “monetize experiences” with a versatile new fun zone as its 10th birthday approaches.

Which is another way of saying they’re building a stage over by the movie theater.

We jest, but North American Properties says the addition of a raised, covered performance platform and large LED screen will apply lessons learned from the company’s other commercial hubs—including Colony Square’s remake in Midtown and Avenue East Cobb in Marietta—to continue shifting the paradigm at the South’s first “urbanburb.”

Expected look of a "Closing Time" encore. Courtesy of Avalon

Estimated to cost a million bucks, the 16-by-36-foot stage, replete with lighting and sound, and 180-square-foot screen will come together in Avalon’s The Plaza, in front of fountains and Regal Cinemas, where façade updates are also planned.

NAP officials say construction will begin in January as Avalon’s “Rockefeller-inspired ice rink” is trucked off after Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The full project is expected to be wrapped in two months, in time for the brouhaha that is Luck of Avalon, the 86-acre community’s local St. Patrick’s Day tradition. 

Long finished in terms of its overall footprint, Avalon includes more than 500,000 square feet of retail, a full-service hotel, the 12-screen theater, a conference center, Class A offices, and hundreds of apartments and standalone homes. Its $1-billion in development covers 2.4 million square feet total.

NAP says Avalon hosts more than 200 events annually, attended by seven and ½ million visitors who hang out for a very specific average of 134 minutes.

Rendering depicting a North OTP Rager. Courtesy of Avalon

NAP started developing Avalon in 2012 and sold the upscale district four years later to PGIM for $500 million, but the Cincinnati-based firm was retained to oversee retail leasing efforts and management. In a recent announcement detailing the new stage and screen, NAP managing partner Tim Perry said Avalon has remained “the region’s crown jewel” by providing “places that offer a super experience.”

“Thousands of guests attend our Kentucky Derby party each year to watch the race on a temporary screen brought in to The Plaza,” added Nina DeCristofano Fender, Avalon’s marketing manager. “Having our own will present even more opportunities to bring the community together for bonding over shared experiences like sporting watch parties, movie nights, and everything in between.”  

No mention, however, of synchronized fighter jets.  

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Expected look of a "Closing Time" encore. Courtesy of Avalon

Rendering depicting a North OTP Rager. Courtesy of Avalon

Subtitle Developers: Alpharetta mini-city’s “experiential facelift” to wrap by St. Patrick’s Day

Neighborhood Alpharetta

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Images: 100-home project quickly sprouts on former church site Josh Green Wed, 12/13/2023 - 16:52 Seemingly overnight, a sizable infill project that’s bringing more than 100 townhomes to a former vacant church property has sprung up where Kirkwood meets East Atlanta, roughly four miles due east of downtown.

After breaking ground in summer 2022 and demolishing the fire-damaged Gospel Tabernacle Cathedral property, the Urban Realty Partners development has topped out several buildings in the 200 block of Clifton Street, between quickly developing Memorial Drive and Interstate 20 on Kirkwood’s southern fringes. Alonzo A. Crim High School and its sports fields are located across the street from the roughly 4 acres in question.

When we last checked in on the 103-unit project in June, no vertical construction had begun.

Looking north across new buildings along Clifton Street. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Clifton Street frontage at the Urban Realty Partners project this week. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Urban Realty promotional materials indicate the project will be called 277 Clifton for its address.

Plans call for some townhomes to be divided as one-bedroom apartments on a single level with about 650 square feet; the largest will be more traditional, stacked townhome dwellings in the 1,700-square-foot range, as designed by the Lessard Design firm, which also drew up rental townhomes slowly taking shape on Arizona Avenue.

The acreage is being maxed out, which doesn’t allow much room for greenspace, so amenities are being concentrated around a centralized communal building, project leaders told Urbanize Atlanta last year. Those will include coworking spaces, a pool, and a common room, all in an amenity building with midcentury-inspired design.

Initial plans called for the first 277 Clifton townhomes to start delivering late this year, with others continuing to come online sequentially for several months after that. Listing services indicate no 277 Clifton homes have come up for sale yet. Pricing hasn’t been specified.

The community is replacing a 1980s church property once headed by prominent pastor Wiley Jackson and operated as part of World in Action Ministries.  

The west-facing flank of the new community where Gospel Tabernacle Cathedral formerly stood. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Site plan for the 103-unit townhome community and its amenities.Courtesy of Urban Realty Partners

In September 2019, a fire ripped through the abandoned structure in the early morning hours, collapsing parts of the roof and façade. By late 2021, passersby were witnessing public urination and blatant drug use on the property, according to code enforcement complaints.

Developers enlisted the help of homeless outreach services, Atlanta police, and city officials to assist those being displaced, Urban Realty officials previously told Urbanize Atlanta.

According to RealtyTrac, the property sold in November 2021 for $4.35 million. The former church was built in 1987, per LoopNet records.

Urban Realty is the Atlanta-based firm behind Memorial Dive’s Gibson by Radius project and Grant Park’s GlenCastle. Its other projects in the Memorial Drive corridor include The Leonard apartments and Oakland Park condos in Grant Park.

The former church's Clifton Street lot between Interstate 20 and Memorial Drive, where Kirkwood meets East Atlanta.Google Maps

The 277 Clifton project continues a couple of intown trends especially prevalent near Memorial Drive: the influx of new townhome product and former church properties being redeveloped for different purposes.

Swing up to the gallery for more site context and construction progress photos.

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277 Clifton Street SE 277 Clifton Kirkwood Townhome Project Urban Realty Partners Gospel Tabernacle World in Action Ministries Wiley Jackson Thrive Residential Alonzo A. Crim Open Campus High School Phoenix Academy Eyesores Gospel Tabernacle Cathedral Atlanta Development Memorial Drive Atlanta Churches Atlanta Townhomes Atlanta Construction Lessard Design

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Clifton Street frontage at the Urban Realty Partners project this week. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Construction progress on the 103-unit project just south of Memorial Drive. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Looking north across new buildings along Clifton Street. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

The west-facing flank of the new community where Gospel Tabernacle Cathedral formerly stood. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

The former church's Clifton Street lot between Interstate 20 and Memorial Drive, where Kirkwood meets East Atlanta.Google Maps

Approaching the 4-acre site from East Atlanta, northbound on Clifton Street, as seen in June this year. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Site plan for the 103-unit townhome community and its amenities.Courtesy of Urban Realty Partners

The graffiti-strewn exterior of Gospel Tabernacle Cathedral's former building is shown in December 2021. Damage from a 2019 fire was apparent at left. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Subtitle Kirkwood community taking shape across 4 acres near Memorial Drive, East Atlanta

Neighborhood Kirkwood

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277 Clifton Street - Townhomes

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Near Ponce City Market, modern infill project shows signs of life Josh Green Wed, 12/13/2023 - 12:52 Demolition is in the works to set the stage for a multifamily project that could bring 50 new homes near Ponce City Market where one stands today, according to paperwork filed with the city.

City of Atlanta Office of Buildings records show developers have filed for residential demolition permits this week at 495 North Ave. to clear away a home and shed “in preparation for [a] new 50-unit multifamily development” along the main east-west intown corridor.

Exactly who the development team includes isn’t specified. But the address matches that of a project listed as coming soon on the website of Atlanta-based company AAI Development, the firm behind a new row of modern townhomes near East Atlanta Village and other local residential projects.

Fulton County property records show AAI bought the North Avenue home for $1.3 million in March last year.

Inquiries with Bull Realty, the company behind the property’s marketing package, were not returned as of press time. 

The building elevation that would face Ponce City Market, with North Avenue frontage depicted at right. Courtesy of Bull Realty

Bull Realty officials told Urbanize Atlanta in November last year plans call for a seven-story, modern-style building to stand near the intersection of North Avenue and Boulevard. Whether the building would offer apartments or for-sale condos wasn’t known at the time.

Located about two blocks up a steep hill from Ponce City Market, the .43-acre property is currently home to a 1920s bungalow, according to Fulton County property records. The marketing team said the property had already been properly rezoned for multifamily development last year.

Renderings call for a unique design with wedge-shaped balconies over North Avenue, topped by a large deck with furniture zones, a small dog park, and what's described as “incredible city views.” Balconies would stair-step down in the back. No retail is in the mix, but a glassy lobby area would front the street.

Plans for North Avenue street frontage. Courtesy of Bull Realty

Plans for the seven-story building, which would be set upon 38 parking spaces. Courtesy of Bull Realty

The 65,400-square-foot building would sit atop a two-level parking deck with 38 spaces, largely masked from public view, per the development plans.

Units in the building would range from studios up to a handful of three-bedrooms. Cited as perks are the property’s “Walker’s Paradise” Walk Score of 90 (hills included) and proximity to Piedmont Park and the BeltLine.

Should the project materialize, it would mark the latest example of infill development planned to replace a variety of uses near PCM, a historic Old Fourth Ward landmark turned adaptive-reuse tourist attraction.

Courtesy of Bull Realty

The existing 1920s home at the 495 North Ave. property (at right), as seen in 2022.Google Maps

The residential building would rise across the street from where a dog boarding facility revealed plans in 2022 to remake a vacant medical facility into a contemporary kennel. Also across the street, developer Braden Fellman Group fenced-off the former Pinnacle Credit Union site last year for a potential mid-rise venture.

Immediately east of the 495 North Ave. property, the Novel O4W apartments opened several years ago. And around the corner on Boulevard, Wingate Companies is moving forward with an 88-unit affordable housing complex next to an Amoco gas station.

In the gallery above, find more context and project renderings for 495 North Ave.

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The existing 1920s home at the 495 North Ave. property (at right), as seen in 2022.Google Maps

The building elevation that would face Ponce City Market, with North Avenue frontage depicted at right. Courtesy of Bull Realty

Side of the building opposite North Avenue. Courtesy of Bull Realty

The north elevation. Courtesy of Bull Realty

The west elevation toward Boulevard. Courtesy of Bull Realty

Potential layout of rooftop amenities. Courtesy of Bull Realty

Courtesy of Bull Realty

Courtesy of Bull Realty

Courtesy of Bull Realty

Plans for North Avenue street frontage. Courtesy of Bull Realty

Plans for the seven-story building, which would be set upon 38 parking spaces. Courtesy of Bull Realty

Subtitle Filings indicate North Avenue building would replace old home with 50 new units

Neighborhood Old Fourth Ward

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Bracket set to officially decide Best Atlanta Neighborhood of 2023 Josh Green Wed, 12/13/2023 - 01:04 The people have spoken, the stakes are enormous, and Urbanize’s third-annual Best Atlanta Neighborhood tourney is about to begin!

As part of our efforts to spotlight the latest and greatest of Atlanta’s built environment, the time has come to start the most important quest of all: Crowning the city's top neighborhood of the year, as determined by whatever criteria you see fit.

To come up with Best Atlanta Neighborhood 2023 seeding, we asked for neighborhood nominations over the past week on the homepage, Twitter, Facebook, and now Instagram (where exactly zero nominations were cast). Dozens of reader votes flooded in, from Peoplestown to Stone Mountain Village and LaVista Park—and beyond. Forty-two places earned nods overall (“Dildoville,” The Bluff, and “Anywhere But Kirkwood” not included).

Summerhill takes pole position in 2023 with the most nominations of any neighborhood, followed by Midtown and—in a move that’s sure to piss off Atlanta’s urbanist hordes—a contestant that nominators insisted be listed as West Midtown.

The venerable field of 16 for 2023, as determined by reader nominations over the past week. Urbanize Atlanta

Interestingly, last year’s champion and current Golden Urby Chalice of Champions holder, Avondale Estates, didn’t garner enough nominations for the 2023 contest. (Just one nomination total). Ditto for 2021’s winner, mighty Mozley Park.

That means there’s plenty of room for fresh blood this year, with places like Edgewood, Cascade Heights, and Hapeville (yes, ITP cities are allowed) making their tourney debuts.

So this is your Sweet 16. Get your neighborhood pride ready, ATL. First round of competition begins tomorrow! 

Any predictions? 

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The hallowed pantheon of Best Atlanta Neighborhood tournament winners:

2011: Inman Park

2012: Old Fourth Ward

2013: Kirkwood

2014: Reynoldstown

2015: West End

2016: East Atlanta

***2017:*West End (again)

2018-2020: (forced hiatus)

2021: Mozley Park

2022: Avondale Estates

2023: TBD

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Subtitle The people have spoken. Ladies and gentlemen of ATL, meet your 16 tournament contestants!

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Serenbe project to add dash of modern among rolling woods Josh Green Tue, 12/12/2023 - 14:41 At this point, million-dollar listings at metro Atlanta’s original utopian, master-planned wellness community are old hat, with nearly three dozen properties at that price point (or well above) currently on the market.

Now a Serenbe project with million-dollar prices but a unique, urban-style density and aesthetic is in the pipeline.

Coined “Modern in the Woods,” the four-home multifamily building is aiming to start construction in February among more traditional new houses in a scenic section of Serenbe called Overlook. 

Closeup of the planned facade of four "Modern in the Woods" homes in question. Courtesy of Serenbe

Courtesy of Serenbe

According to Serenbe media rep Nichole Hetchkop, the modern-style project along Selbourne Lane will be completed in December next year, with prices starting at $1.29 million.

All four of the floorplans offered stand three stories with four bedrooms and flex spaces. Square footages range between 3,039 and 3,219 square feet. (Find a closer look at floorplans in the gallery above.)

Sales are expected to begin in mid-2024, according to Hetchkop.

Perks include "gorgeous views out to protected woods and trails to [a nearby] waterfall," Hetchkop wrote via email. 

The broader, 40-home Serenbe community is called Overlook—named for its views across nearby Cedar Creek—and it’s taking shape between existing mixed-use hamlet Mado and a future one called Spela.

Aerial of the Overlook site in question prior to home construction. Courtesy of Serenbe

The units in question will occupy homesites 731 to 734. Courtesy of Serenbe

Serenbe is a growing biophilic community in southern Fulton County’s Chattahoochee Hills, located about 35 miles southwest of Atlanta and set among rolling woodlands and pastures. Its first house was completed in 2004, and the community now counts hundreds of full-time residents across several distinctive neighborhoods.

So what’s the least expensive homebuying option at Serenbe these days? That’d be a two-bedroom, two-bathroom, cottage-style townhome with just shy of 1,100 square feet. It’s asking $835,000, in foreclosure.

How the Modern in the Woods project is expected to be slotted among more traditional homes in Overlook. Courtesy of Serenbe

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Closeup of the planned facade of four "Modern in the Woods" homes in question. Courtesy of Serenbe

The units in question will occupy homesites 731 to 734. Courtesy of Serenbe

How the Modern in the Woods project is expected to be slotted among more traditional homes in Overlook. Courtesy of Serenbe

Aerial of the Overlook site in question prior to home construction. Courtesy of Serenbe

Courtesy of Serenbe

One three-story floorplan example on Selbourne Lane. Courtesy of Serenbe

Courtesy of Serenbe

Courtesy of Serenbe

Courtesy of Serenbe

Subtitle Plans call for more than 3,000 square feet each and views to protected forest near waterfall

Neighborhood Serenbe

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Second new Shepherd Center building eclipses halfway point Josh Green Tue, 12/12/2023 - 13:24 The Shepherd Center is bolstering its footprint on Peachtree Road in a way the Buckhead hospital says will allow more patients and their families to receive world-class care and accommodations. This includes two new buildings lending oomph to the subdistrict’s vertical growth.

As spotlighted on these pages last week, the Arthur M. Blank Family Residences tower is the southernmost of the two buildings. That 160-unit project recently topped out at 1860 Peachtree Road, where restaurants Uncle Julio’s and Ted’s Montana Grill had long stood.  

On the flipside of Piedmont Hospital’s glassy new 16-story Marcus Heart and Vascular Center, the second new structure is well into its vertical ascent at 2060 Peachtree Road on Shepherd Center’s main campus.

The Marcus Center for Advanced Rehabilitation has just finished pouring the eighth floor of 13 total floors that will be occupied, as Catherine Knuckey, a senior associate with project architect and interior designer RJTR tells Urbanize Atlanta.

Construction progress today on the 2060 Peachtree Road project in Buckhead. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

The building will include a 30,000-square-foot Innovation Institute, and a dedicated clinical lab on site will test new treatment ideas, according to Shepherd Center officials. It’s also expected to add 48 more beds, allowing Shepherd Center to treat hundreds of more inpatient people annually.

The Marcus Foundation announced an $80-million grant to help fund the expansion in late 2020.

“This is such an impactful project for the families who will benefit from it, and Shepherd Center is an amazing organization,” noted Knuckey.

The new Marcus Center for Advanced Rehabilitation in relation to the glassy, 16-story Marcus Heart and Vascular Center, shown at far left. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

An access bridge is also being constructed to link the Marcus-Woodruff building to the new rehabilitation center. It’ll feature an uplifting quote by the late James H. Shepherd Jr., a Shepherd Center cofounder.

The new buildings are part of a $350-million campaign to benefit Shepherd Center patients and families called “Pursuing Possible,” which is made possible by contributions from Home Depot cofounders and philanthropists Arthur Blank and Bernie Marcus. The Shepherd Center broke ground on both buildings in late-summer 2022 on the western side of Peachtree, slotting them among the medical complexes atop so-called Cardiac Hill.

Planned facade of the new Marcus Center for Advanced Rehabilitation on Peachtree Road. Rule Joy Trammell + Rubio is the architect and interior designer for both new Shepherd Center buildings.Courtesy of Shepherd Center

As is, the Shepherd Center provides care to about 900 inpatients and 7,100 outpatients per year. But space and availability constraints mean the facility can provide housing to families for only 30 days—about half the length of patients’ average stays. For now, the center has 84 housing units on campus and 36 more nearby.

The fundraising campaign is expected to continue into 2025—the same year that marks Shepherd Center’s 50th anniversary.

Shepherd Center officials have said both new buildings are expected to open in the latter half of next year.

Located on Shepherd Center’s main campus, the new access bridge will connect the current Marcus-Woodruff building to the new Marcus Center for Advanced Rehabilitation. Courtesy of Shepherd Center

Shepherd Center's location on Peachtree Road in relation to Midtown and central Buckhead. Google Maps

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2060 Peachtree Road The Marcus Center for Advanced Rehabilitation Shepherd Center Buckhead skyline Peachtree Road Development Buckhead Development Medical office space Atlanta Development Uncle Julio’s Ted’s Montana Grill Arthur Blank Bernie Marcus RJTR Rule Joy Trammell + Rubio

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The new Marcus Center for Advanced Rehabilitation in relation to the glassy, 16-story Marcus Heart and Vascular Center, shown at far left. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Construction progress today on the 2060 Peachtree Road project in Buckhead. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Planned facade of the new Marcus Center for Advanced Rehabilitation on Peachtree Road. Rule Joy Trammell + Rubio is the architect and interior designer for both new Shepherd Center buildings.Courtesy of Shepherd Center

Located on Shepherd Center’s main campus, the new access bridge will connect the current Marcus-Woodruff building to the new Marcus Center for Advanced Rehabilitation. Courtesy of Shepherd Center

Shepherd Center's location on Peachtree Road in relation to Midtown and central Buckhead. Google Maps

Subtitle Marcus Center for Advanced Rehabilitation rising in 2000 block of Peachtree Road

Neighborhood Buckhead

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Clayton County transit plan, possible airport link move forward Josh Green Tue, 12/12/2023 - 08:40 MARTA’s plans to lace parts of the metro with new bus-rapid transit routes have taken a key step forward south of downtown Atlanta.

MARTA’s board on Thursday approved plans to solicit design proposals for the Clayton Southlake BRT project, a means of southside and regional connectivity that’s been in the pipeline for several years. It’s expected to cost roughly $338 million, which MARTA officials say is less expensive than commuter rail for a system expansion that can be delivered more quickly.

With board permission to move forward, MARTA plans to seek final design ideas for the full 15 and 1/2-mile BRT route alignment that could include a direct connection to Atlanta’s airport.

Initial plans call for at least 13 stations along the BRT line with “rail-like amenities” including level boarding, digital signage, and off-board fare payment, according to the transit agency.

MARTA’s alignment calls for BRT to run south of the airport from Fulton County into Clayton County along bus route 196, which MARTA notes has the sixth highest ridership across the agency’s system.  

Service would link College Park to Riverdale, Southern Medical Center, Southlake Mall, and several residential neighborhoods, among other destinations in western and central Clayton County.

The BRT route in question in northern Clayton and southern Fulton counties. White circles represent proposed transit stations. Courtesy of MARTA

MARTA’s goal is to operate more than 50 percent of the BRT route in new dedicated lanes for buses that don’t allow private vehicles. That percentage could grow, however, as Clayton Southlake BRT development progresses and an amended, locally preferred alternative is considered in early spring, per agency officials.

MARTA will now seek proposals for engineering and architectural services for two specific segments—one north of Interstate 285, the other south of the interstate loop. The former segment could include a direct BRT link to MARTA’s College Park station or its Airport station.

The current timeline for the Clayton Southlake BRT project schedules final designs and construction to take place across the next two years, with service beginning sometime in 2026.

How a Clayton County BRT stop could look and function. MARTA

As part of transit upgrades in Clayton County, MARTA is also planning to build a major transportation hub at a former K-Mart distribution center that would support 31 regional bus routes and create hundreds of jobs, per the agency. The facility would include aspects such as a wellness center for employees and a police precinct with a firing range.

Meanwhile, closer to Atlanta’s core, MARTA is currently building the metro’s first BRT line through downtown, Summerhill, and Peoplestown with expectations of opening that five-mile route in 2025.

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BRT MARTA BRT Bus-Rapid Transit Atlanta Buses Atlanta Bus Transportation Morrow Southlake Mall Clayton County MARTA Clayton Operations & Maintenance Facility Alternate Transportation Alternative Transportation OTP Clayton Southlake bus rapid transit Clayton Southlake bus rapid transit line

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The BRT route in question in northern Clayton and southern Fulton counties. White circles represent proposed transit stations. Courtesy of MARTA

Subtitle Clayton Southlake bus rapid transit project calls for at least 13 stations, southside connectivity

Neighborhood Clayton County

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Images: Mixed-use tower tops out over Atlanta's signature street Josh Green Mon, 12/11/2023 - 14:16 Another high-rise apartment project has reached its maximum height in the northernmost blocks of Midtown, marking the third such building to top out in the vicinity within a year.

A year and ½ after demolition work started, the 1441 Peachtree project has risen 28 stories near the High Museum of Art on Atlanta’s signature street. Façade work continues, and two construction cranes remain standing over the Midtown Arts District site, next to the mid-rise 1421 Peachtree Condos building.

The multi-firm project—formerly known as “Rhapsody”—was initially expected to include for-sale condos. Instead, it’s developing 350 apartments with the stated goal, like other new high-rises in the area, of upping the bar on amenities and finishes for rentals across Midtown.

It marks the third luxury rental tower to top out within a few blocks over the past year, following the new Nomia building and JPX Works’ Emmi Midtown project.

The 1441 Peachtree project's 28-story facade over Peachtree Street, as seen last week in Midtown. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Looking north, a view of the project's context among shorter buildings in northern Midtown. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Capital City Real Estate bought the 1.5-acre property from internet company EarthLink in 2019 for $15.2 million, according to property records. The Washington, D.C.-based developer is now partnering with Atlantic Residential, FIDES Development, and Mitsui Fudosan America, the U.S. subsidiary of Japan's largest real estate company, on the project.

Crews began demolishing EarthLink’s former 40,000-square-foot Midtown offices in spring 2022 to begin work on the tower’s six-level parking structure.

Beyond apartments, according to Midtown Alliance, the project will include 463 parking spaces and 3,000 square feet of retail space at street level.

1441 Peachtree will offer rentals ranging from studios to three-bedroom floorplans, many with balconies or terraces, plus finishes such as gourmet kitchens and LED lighting packages “found in high-end condominium buildings,” per the development team.

Expect a flat façade over retail on Peachtree Street, with a stair-stepped design leading down toward residential Ansley Park on the backside, where amenity levels will be positioned.

Two restaurant spaces at the lobby level will include large glass windows and tall ceilings.

Retail and lobby arrangement along Peachtree Street. Courtesy of Atlantic Residential

The building's stair-stepped eastern face, overlooking Ansley Park. Courtesy of Atlantic Residential

Elsewhere, an internal sky bridge will lead renters to collaborative and private coworking spaces, a gym, wine bar, pool with sundeck, and a rooftop bar and lounge with views from Buckhead to Midtown, according to developers.

Project leaders have said 1441 Peachtree is scheduled to deliver late in the second quarter of 2024. Head up to the gallery for a closer look at where the building stands now—and where it’s headed.

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1441 Peachtree Street NE Atlantic Residential FIDES Development Capital City Real Estate Mitsui Fudosan America Atlanta Development Atlanta Construction High Museum of Art Piedmont Park Ansley Park Atlanta apartments Rhapsody Earthlink Midtown Skyline Atlanta Skyline

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The 1441 Peachtree project's 28-story facade over Peachtree Street, as seen last week in Midtown. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

The building's flat western facade with recessed balconies. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Where the project's retail sections will meet Peachtree. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Looking north, a view of the project's context among shorter buildings in northern Midtown. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Piedmont Park is located a few blocks to the southeast, and cultural institutions including the High Museum are just down the street.Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Location where demolition started in spring 2022 for the 1441 Peachtree apartment building. Google Maps

Courtesy of Atlantic Residential

Retail and lobby arrangement along Peachtree Street. Courtesy of Atlantic Residential

The property's planned pool and sundeck above parking levels. Courtesy of Atlantic Residential

Looking north along the 1400 block of Peachtree. Courtesy of Atlantic Residential

The building's stair-stepped eastern face, overlooking Ansley Park. Courtesy of Atlantic Residential

Courtesy of Atlantic Residential

Planned lighting scheme of the flat-fronted 1441 Peachtree Street building. Courtesy of Atlantic Residential

Subtitle 1141 Peachtree project replaces mid-rise offices with 350 residences, retail

Neighborhood Midtown

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1441 Peachtree Street

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