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Atlanta’s e-bike rebate bonanza starts Sunday. Here’s the 411 Josh Green Thu, 06/13/2024 - 16:11 Come Sunday, Atlanta will officially become the first city in Georgia to offer an e-bike rebate program—and just the third in the Southeast, alongside Tampa and Raleigh.

The Atlanta City Council in January approved a $1 million investment to establish the city’s e-bike rebates as a means of providing more affordable transportation options to residents with incomes considered moderate and low. Another goal is to thin out traffic congestion and improve air quality in the city.  

That million bucks will be administered by the Atlanta Regional Commission, starting with a kickoff event at 3 p.m. Sunday during the second Atlanta Streets Alive of 2024. The event returns to its 2.8-mile route between 1 and 5 p.m. Sunday, stretching along Peachtree Street from south of Underground Atlanta to near the High Museum in Midtown. 

According to ARC officials, income-qualified Atlanta residents will be eligible to receive $1,500 rebates for standard e-bikes, or $2,000 for larger cargo e-bikes with additional room for passengers, groceries, or other loads. (People generally spend around $2,000 on their first e-bike purchase, according to eBicycles, though cheaper and much more expensive models are out there.)

The majority of rebates—75 percent—will be reserved for residents earning at or below 80 percent of metro Atlanta’s median household income. That income limit will vary, based on the size of households, but it starts at $60,200 for individuals.

Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

The deal goes that rebate amounts will be deducted from total prices of bikes once rebate holders purchase them. Important note: The rebates are capped at one per City of Atlanta resident—and all e-bikes must be bought from a participating, brick-and-mortar local bike shop. (There’s a dozen of them to choose from.)

Fear not, Atlantans who don’t meet income qualifications—you won’t be left out. Rebates of $500 (standard e-bikes) and $1,000 (cargo) will be available in those cases.  

ARC and city officials expect that 700 e-bikes will be bought through the inaugural rebate program.

E-bike rebate applications must be submitted by June 23 (that’s a week from Sunday) via ARC’s website. According to program officials, a randomized lottery will held soon to select rebate recipients.

According to ARC stats, the average metro Atlantan spends $11,000 annually on vehicle fuel, maintenance, and other expenses, while less than $15 in electricity costs will power an e-bike for a year.  

When it comes to cleaner air, ARC officials point west to Denver, where a $3-million e-bike rebate initiative has put 7,600 e-bicycles on the road. That’s reduced weekly vehicle miles traveled in the Colorado city by 165,000—and kept roughly 3,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions from the air annually, per the ARC.

“E-bikes offer a meaningful solution to many of our city’s transportation challenges, particularly for people who are burdened by the high cost of owning a car,” Rebecca Serna, Propel ATL executive director, said in a prepared statement. “E-bikes increase access to transit by making it easier and faster to reach a train station or bus stop. And a cargo e-bike can be used to haul kids safely to school or run errands, making it possible for a family to own just one car.”

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IF YOU GO:

What: ARC/City of Atlanta E-Bike Rebate Program Launch

When: 3 p.m. Sunday, at second Atlanta Streets Alive of 2024

Where: Staging area across from St. Luke’s Episcopal Church (435 Peachtree St.)

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• Alternate transportation news, discussion (Urbanize Atlanta) 

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Atlanta Streets Alive Atlanta Regional Commission Electric Bikes electric bikes Alternate Transportation Alternative Transportation Atlanta Bicycling Bicycling Bicycling Infrastructure E-bikes e-bike rebates Georgia E-bikes Atlanta E-bikes

Subtitle $1M initiative aims to boost accessibility to electric bikes, cut back on congestion

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Exclusive: Amtrak seeks $30M to start building new Atlanta rail hub Josh Green Thu, 06/13/2024 - 13:27 As part of an ambitious growth spurt and hiring spree, America’s National Railroad Passenger Corporation has pinpointed downtown Atlanta as a strategic location for a new intercity station that could cost hundreds of millions of dollars and reestablish the city as the true rail hub it historically was.

Amtrak’s general and legislative annual report for fiscal year 2025 includes a request for nearly $30 million in federal funding to secure a site for a new rail hub in Atlanta and to begin the process of building it.

According to Amtrak’s report, some of the land in question is “at imminent risk of development.” The location is repeatedly referred to as being in downtown Atlanta.  

Exactly where the rail hub could be located downtown—or if downtown, in this case, is a general reference to more urban parts of the city—is not yet clear. Inquiries to Amtrak press officials this week for more information have not been returned.

Amtrak’s $29.9 million grant request for “Atlanta Hub” would support property acquisition to preserve future railroad right-of-way and "ensure that the Hub station site can be connected with existing main line track,” per the report. The funding would also help cover early phase prerequisites such as engineering and work to have the project cleared under the National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA.

But that amount could ultimately be a drop in the bucket.

Amtrak estimates the new Atlanta facility would cost roughly $700 million once needed infrastructure investments are factored in. That includes new trackage to separate passenger service from freight operations, per Amtrak.

The request for Atlanta funding comes as part of $4 billion in Amtrak grant requests for base needs and modernization of its system as passenger numbers are on the uptick.

Amtrak

As the report details, Atlanta’s current Amtrak station was built in 1918 in what was then a suburban setting, designed for a small number of passengers. Other drawbacks include no parking, no connections to local transit options, an undersized waiting room, and poor access from the station building to its single platform below, which is a particular challenge for disabled passengers, the report notes.

Amtrak has signaled interest in recent years to reestablish Atlanta as a true railroad hub, with an octopus of routes to Charlotte, Nashville, Macon, Montgomery, Birmingham, Savannah, and other cities. Today, just one Amtrak line serves Atlanta—the New York City-to-New Orleans Crescent.

In 2022, the Atlanta City Council passed a resolution urging Amtrak to consider downtown as a viable location for a rail hub; at the time, the $5-billion Centennial Yards megaproject was considered the leading alternative, with the Armour Yards district near Lindbergh also being mentioned. In April, Armour Yards was revealed as one of four locations where Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens wants to see BeltLine-connected MARTA infill stations built in coming years, though how those would be funded remains a question mark.

Amtrak’s report states the modernized new station would boost the customer experience on the Crescent route and link Atlanta with new intercity passenger trains to cities small and large—Chattanooga, Greenville, SC, Memphis, and Meridian, MS are all named—in addition to the airport.  

The grant request isn’t tied to any proposals already moving through the Federal Railroad Administration’s Corridor Identification and Development program process, but it’s compatible with that effort, per Amtrak.

According to CEO Stephen Gardner, Amtrak is on pace to grow its ridership to 66 million annual passengers—more than doubling peak ridership in pre-pandemic 2019—by 2040. In fiscal year 2025, Amtrak expects ridership to reach nearly 35 million.  

“We strongly believe that intercity passenger rail can—and must—become a much bigger part of American mobility,” Gardner wrote in the annual report, “if we are to support a growing nation and keep pace with our global competitors.”

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Subtitle Downtown site transit agency covets is "at imminent risk of development"

Neighborhood Downtown

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Ghostly North DeKalb Mall is about to meet its maker Josh Green Thu, 06/13/2024 - 11:19 The death knell is tolling for another tired, suburban-style shopping mall in metro Atlanta.

Real estate developer Edens, Decide DeKalb, and elected DeKalb County officials have scheduled a press conference June 26 that will double as the kickoff for North DeKalb Mall’s demolition.  

Located about three miles northeast of downtown Decatur, the 1960s mall property is largely vacant today, apart from a Marshalls clothing retailer and AMC movie theater. As with Gwinnett Place Mall and other formerly popular shopping destinations ringed with parking lots, North DeKalb Mall has been the subject of redevelopment talks for years as tenants slipped away and its retail corridors grew darker.

Edens plans to convert the North DeKalb Mall property into a more diversified town center called Lulah Hills. According to preliminary renderings and scope, the mixed-use lifestyle complex could resemble Halcyon or Avalon in Atlanta’s northern suburbs.

A project representative tells Urbanize Atlanta the June 26 demolition event will signal “that site’s next chapter” but is not considered the official groundbreaking for Lula Hills. An update on the status of the project will be released closer to the event date, and all details are pending until then, according to the rep.

Plans for a centralized greenspace near the AMC theatre, as illustrated in the upper left corner. Courtesy of Edens

The ailing mall's 20242 Lawrenceville Highway location in the context of ITP Atlanta's northeast side. Google Maps

Plans call for Lulah Hills to span some 73 acres and include nearly 2,000 units of housing, in addition to shopping, dining, and lodging options. Only the existing AMC movie theater will remain in place. (A site plan does depict Marshalls operating in a space adjacent to the theater in a new retail section.) 

As of last year, Edens, a national firm with regional headquarters in Atlanta, was aiming to deliver the first phases of Lulah Hills development in 2025. The company’s other retail properties in the metro include Whole Foods-anchored Buckhead Market Place and the refreshed Toco Hills.

Edens’ Lulah Hills blueprint calls for 2.5 million square feet overall, with a new PATH Foundation trail linking the property to nearby Emory University. The redevelopment breakdown: 1,700 multifamily units, 100 townhomes, a 150-key hotel, roughly 320,000 square feet for retail and restaurants, and no office space, according to details provided last year.  

Edens officials have previously said their goal is to fully open the reimagined mall property in 2028.

Planned look of the project's residential section. Courtesy of Edens

Overview of redevelopment plans. Courtesy of Edens

Upon its 1965 debut, North DeKalb Mall was the first in metro Atlanta to be fully enclosed, operating where North Druid Hills Road meets Lawrenceville Highway until it shuttered in 2020. Edens acquired the mall property the following year.

In 2022, DeKalb’s Board of Commissioners unanimously approved a Market Square Tax Allocation District, or TAD, to help kickstart North DeKalb Mall's redevelopment.

The TAD also covers areas near the mall property, including North Druid Hills Road and Lawrenceville Highway, in hopes of spurring economic development similar to what other parts of DeKalb have seen in recent years, according to county officials.

In conjunction with other redevelopment projects in the area, backers have said the TAD could spell $806 million in new property value for the outdated commercial zone—nearly 20 times the current valuation. The tax measure will also help fund affordable housing in central DeKalb, alongside new parks, landscaping, lighting, and transportation and mobility enhancements, county officials have said.

In the gallery above, find a preview of how the finished Lulah Hills district is planned to look and function where parking lots and retail skeletons are today.

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The ailing mall's 20242 Lawrenceville Highway location in the context of ITP Atlanta's northeast side. Google Maps

Overview of redevelopment plans. Courtesy of Edens

Planned look of the project's residential section. Courtesy of Edens

Plans for a centralized greenspace near the AMC theatre, as illustrated in the upper left corner. Courtesy of Edens

Courtesy of Edens

Courtesy of Edens

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Courtesy of Edens

Courtesy of Edens

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Courtesy of Edens

The car-centric mall property in its 1960s heyday. Courtesy of Edens

Subtitle Lulah Hills, a planned retail, lodging, and housing hub, to replace 1960s DeKalb County shopping mall

Neighborhood Decatur

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First look: Pocket-sized project with mix of uses enters pipeline Josh Green Wed, 06/12/2024 - 15:53 Plans are moving forward to transform a vacant corner of a South Atlanta crossroads into unique mixed-use node geared toward boosting the local community.

Dubbed “Brownsville Pointe,” the project would reclaim an empty, arrow-shaped lot where McDonough Boulevard meets Jonesboro Road, about three miles south of downtown and a few blocks from the BeltLine’s Southside Trail corridor.

Focused Community Strategies, the landowner and developer, specializes in creating equitable housing and commercial projects and has worked in South Atlanta for decades. FCS also created small businesses Carver Market and Community Grounds Café across the street from the proposed development site.

As designed by Kronberg Urbanists + Architects, the 105 McDonough Boulevard project would see a flatiron-shaped commercial building at the corner with two taller residential structures behind it, along with street upgrades such as bicycle racks and additional parking.

The brick-clad, triangular piece of Brownsville Pointe includes 2,765 square feet of retail at the base. Kronberg Urbanists + Architects

The 108 McDonough Boulevard project site at a key South Atlanta crossroads. Google Maps

Kevin Lynch of Keller Knapp Commercial Real Estate Advisors says demolition and site work are scheduled to kick off for Brownsville Pointe soon. Lynch and colleague Bobbie Spiller are tasked with leasing the 2,765-square-foot street retail portion of the corner building, where selling points include 11 and 12-foot ceilings.

“This is an exciting project,” Lynch tells Urbanize Atlanta. “The timing factors that every intown developer deals with are at play for us, and given the nature of this site as a gateway to South Atlanta from the BeltLine, downtown, and west Atlanta, we’re working together [with FCS] to make sure we get this right.”

The property, which FCS purchased in 2018, once functioned as a gas station, but that shuttered years ago. More recently, the buried fuel tanks were removed, and only the former convenience store portion remains standing. In 2019, FCS floated plans for converting that building into a sit-down restaurant that didn’t come to fruition.

Kronberg Urbanists + Architects

The former gas station site in question in February. Google Maps

The general concept could look familiar to Atlanta development hounds.

Across town in English Avenue, another Kronberg-designed project with a similar scope and blend of uses is under construction now, as led by nonprofit Westside Future Fund. And in East Atlanta, another flatiron-shaped proposal has also recently emerged. 

Have a closer look at what’s planned in South Atlanta in the gallery above.

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105 McDonough Boulevard Brownsville Pointe Community Grounds Café Kronberg Urbanists + Architects Kronberg Focused Community Strategies Southside Southside Trail Beltline Mixed-Use Mixed-Use Development Keller Knapp Commercial Keller Knapp Commercial Real Estate Advisors

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The 108 McDonough Boulevard project site at a key South Atlanta crossroads. Google Maps

The former gas station site in question in February. Google Maps

The brick-clad, triangular piece of Brownsville Pointe includes 2,765 square feet of retail at the base. Kronberg Urbanists + Architects

Kronberg Urbanists + Architects

Kronberg Urbanists + Architects

The Brownsville Pointe location in relation to South Downtown and the BeltLine's Southside Trail corridor. Google Maps

Subtitle Brownsville Pointe concept in South Atlanta calls for reclaiming empty, arrow-shaped lot

Neighborhood South Atlanta

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Poll: Should MARTA proceed with Five Points redo—or slam brakes? Josh Green Wed, 06/12/2024 - 12:44 MARTA brass is intent on moving forward in coming weeks with a $230-million makeover of Five Points station meant to turn the 1970s hub into what the agency describes as a vibrant, centralized city center with smoother access to trains and buses. But the chorus of opposition to those plans from powerful places is growing louder, as the war of official letters concerning Five Points continues.

A.J. Robinson, longtime president of Central Atlanta Progress and Atlanta Downtown Improvement District, sided with Mayor Andre Dickens in a letter issued to media Tuesday. Robinson is calling for MARTA to slam the brakes on a Five Points overhaul that, in his estimation, is deeply flawed and too consequential to thousands of riders who rely on the hub daily.

Robinson suggests MARTA should instead focus on a Five Points aesthetic “refresh,” reinvigorated programming, and safer pedestrian crossings before the 2026 FIFA World Cup comes to Atlanta in two years. Following that, a revised redevelopment of Five Points should begin in a way that doesn’t restrict rider access—as other major cities including New York and Chicago have been able to pull off—and that capitalizes on $1 billion in private development underway near the station, Robinson opines.

Robinson also suggests MARTA should channel energy and dollars toward reviving other downtown stations prior to 2026, including Garnett, DOME/CNN Center/Philips/GWCC, and Vine City stations. He criticizes MARTA’s post-pandemic ridership bounce-back in relation to competing cities and says Five Points’ planned overhaul does little to fix what’s ailing the station today, including idle plaza spaces and on-street bus bays clogging areas around the station.

“I take this decision to ignore the mayor’s request as unresponsive to taxpayers,” reads Robinson’s letter. “MARTA’s refusal to hold off on closing Five Points for four years underscores MARTA’s lack of accountability to taxpayers and riders.”

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

In his own letter this week (a response to Dickens’ bombshell letter last week that asked MARTA to pause Five Points plans until an audit wraps), MARTA head Collie Greenwood denied claims the station could close to buses and street access until 2028, with only a brief opening gap to accommodate World Cup visitors. Greenwood acknowledged concerns that plaza-level closures will have on riders but said MARTA’s strategy puts safety first amid such heavy construction.

“Significant adjustments to the project at this point will undermine MARTA’s ability to apply for and receive future federal funding for this and other City of Atlanta capital projects,” Greenwood wrote to Dickens in the Monday response.

“After nine rounds of station design and discussion with you and your senior leadership team,” Greenwood continued, referring to Dickens, “including discussion about the need to restrict pedestrian access to Five Points at the plaza level during the deconstruction and demolition phases of the project, the project was approved by both the City of Atlanta and the MARTA Board of Directors. In the eleven months since [the city] approved the current design, MARTA has proceeded with all due haste to begin construction.”

On the opposition side, another letter distributed last week by a coalition of groups including mobility advocates Propel ATL calls for MARTA to keep Five Points access open, citing “an undue effect on the lives of... 17,000 pedestrians and bus riders.” As of this writing, a petition to keep Five Points accessible had 496 signatures.

MARTA announced in May that Five Points station would be closed to street-level access and that its bus connections would be rerouted to other downtown stations beginning in July. Those initial changes are expected to last for 18 months, or roughly until the end of 2025. The agency has shown no signs of wavering from those plans.

For $230 million, MARTA officials say the Five Points project will provided Atlantans and visitors with better transit connectivity, improved customer amenities, and increased safety, with perks including communal spaces, public art, and sections for urban agriculture. By MARTA’s count, the station sees roughly 12,000 daily entries and exits, and about 4,500 transfers between buses, or from buses to rail, each day. It’s the largest and busiest transit hub across the system.

Given all of the above, it seems an appropriate time to hear directly from the people of Atlanta. Please take a second to cast a vote in the below poll.

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Subtitle Central Atlanta Progress joins chorus of opponents to makeover of largest, busiest MARTA hub

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Revived Decatur building scores old-school speakeasy, cafe, bar Josh Green Wed, 06/12/2024 - 10:56 Downtown Decatur’s roster of social hangouts is about to grow.

Competitive Social Ventures announced today a second location of its Roaring Social concept is bound for a 7,500-square-foot space across the street from Decatur’s Historic Square. Expect a restaurant and bar on the first level and a full-service speakeasy in the basement, with boutique bowling lanes, an entertainment stage, a dance floor, bar seating, and a VIP section.  

The two separate concepts will be called Sophia’s Café and Cocktails (upstairs) and RoSo Treasury (positioned behind a banker’s vault downstairs). The latter offering, a nod to 1920s vintage glam, will require a “secret password” for entry, and the motif calls for dim lighting, live music, and plush velvet seating, according to CSV reps.  

The location is described as a Class-A building at the corner of Clairmont Avenue at W. Ponce de Leon Avenue. The only building fitting that description is the renovated 101 W. Ponce complex fronting both streets. (We’ve asked project reps for clarification on exactly what portion of those buildings Roaring Social will occupy, and we’ll update this story with any additional details that come.)

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The six-story building's revised street frontage at 101 W. Ponce de Leon Avenue. Courtesy of Colliers; photography by Nick Shiovitz

Plans call for opening Roaring Social late in the fourth quarter of this year. It will follow a concept of the same name that opened in downtown Alpharetta in 2021 as part of the Hamilton boutique hotel project.

Elsewhere, CSV owns and operates four entertainment venues in Georgia under several brands, including Fairway Social, Roaring Social, and Pickle and Social. 

Previously occupied by Emory Healthcare, the 109,000-square-foot property at 101 W. Ponce de Leon Ave. was redeveloped by asset management firm The RMR Group in 2022.

The 2nd Star Group

The 2nd Star Group

The six-story building and an outbuilding beside it—originally constructed in 1992—are located immediately north of Decatur’s Historic Square, among a West Ponce de Leon Avenue strip with some of the city’s most prized restaurant and retail destinations. It’s been described by marketers as a “creative and amenity rich office building,” with features that include a communal conference facility, fitness center, modernized lobby, and a large courtyard off Ponce, for eateries or shops to operate.  

Swing up to the gallery for Roaring Social Decatur preview images.

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The 2nd Star Group

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Subtitle Roaring Social concept will take space at 101 W. Ponce building near Historic Square

Neighborhood Decatur

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In downtown Chamblee, delayed development set to beef up scope Josh Green Tue, 06/11/2024 - 15:31 A delayed residential project in downtown Chamblee once expected to break ground the very month that COVID-19 lockdowns started in Atlanta is hardly D.O.A., its developer says.

In fact, the project—now titled “The Frazier at Old Towne Gordon”—will be beefing up its scope before moving forward, given the strength of current market conditions in Chamblee, according to developer Rod Mullice of Windsor Stevens Holdings.

Previous renderings showed the brick-clad 3553 Chamblee Dunwoody Road project with four stories; updated visuals depict the building standing twice that height.  

Mullice tells Urbanize Atlanta his firm purchased the property next door last fall to increase The Frazier’s size. He intends to start the redesign process with Niles Bolton Associates architects in the first quarter of next year, with all details pending until then.

“The goal will be to increase the unit count but maintain the design standards,” said Mullice.

The additional .4-acre property in question includes a 1980s auto repair building and sold for $1.1 million in October, records show.

The Frazier at Olde Towne Gordon project as currently designed with 144 units. Windsor Stevens Holdings; designs, Niles Bolton & Associates

The Frazier project's combined 3535/3553 Chamblee Dunwoody Road location in relation to the rest of downtown and Chamblee's MARTA hub. Google Maps

As is, The Frazier calls for 144 luxury apartments at an average of 735 square feet per unit, and the project is “fully entitled with land disturbance permit in-hand,” per Windsor Holdings’ website.

Nonresidential aspects of the project, as currently designed, call for 7,400 square feet of retail space, a 1,900-square-foot “covered porch” for retail, and about 6,000 square feet of amenities for renters.

Other perks of the project—described as a Transit-Oriented Development, with the Chamblee MARTA station just 1/4 mile away—will include Google Technology in the building, a pool deck, EV chargers, and immediate access to Chamblee’s planned Rail Trail expansion route, per the developer.  

Chamblee has been "a beneficiary of explosive population growth within Atlanta, drawing new residents due to its proximity to the primary employment hubs in Buckhead and Midtown,” notes The Frazier marketing materials. “[The project] is embedded in an area with strong income statistics, population growth, and educational attainment, and will support competitive rents and consistent rent growth.”

As seen in early 2023, the 3535 Chamblee Dunwoody Road auto property added to The Frazier's scope. Google Maps

Windsor Stevens Holdings; designs, Niles Bolton & Associates

Initial plans called for The Frazier (formerly “The Gordon”) to be for-sale condos, with construction scheduled to start in March 2020.

According to the sales push in February that year, the initial phase of 24 homes was going to be priced from the $200,000s, with condos ranging from 501 to 1,098 square feet. But then, a global pandemic. 

Should it move forward as expected, The Frazier would join the new Lumen Chamblee project across the street, and another nearby multifamily development, City Heights, that's finishing construction now. 

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3553 Chamblee Dunwoody Road The Frazier at Olde Towne Gordon Rod Mullice Windsor Stevens Holdings The Frazier City of Chamblee Chamblee Development Chamblee MARTA station MARTA Transit-Oriented Development TODs Niles Bolton Associates Chamblee Apartments For Rent in Atlanta

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The Frazier project's combined 3535/3553 Chamblee Dunwoody Road location in relation to the rest of downtown and Chamblee's MARTA hub. Google Maps

As seen in early 2023, the 3535 Chamblee Dunwoody Road auto property added to The Frazier's scope. Google Maps

The Frazier at Olde Towne Gordon project as currently designed with 144 units. Windsor Stevens Holdings; designs, Niles Bolton & Associates

Windsor Stevens Holdings; designs, Niles Bolton & Associates

Subtitle Developer intends “to increase the unit count but maintain the design standards”

Neighborhood Chamblee

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Ponce's Complete Street conversion has entered homestretch Josh Green Tue, 06/11/2024 - 12:46 Urbanists, rejoice: Atlanta BeltLine Inc.’s conversion of a busy section of Ponce de Leon Avenue into a safer, more approachable thoroughfare for pedestrians and bicyclists is nearly finished.

Following delays, the Ponce de Leon Avenue Streetscapes project started construction in fall 2022 as an effort to improve pedestrian and bike connections between Boulevard and John Lewis Freedom Parkway. It covers just shy of .7 miles overall at the confluence of four intown neighborhoods, with popular destinations along the way including Ponce City Market, Green's, Whole Foods, and the BeltLine’s Eastside Trail.

According to a BeltLine construction update issued Wednesday, all sidewalk reconstruction, light-pole installation, and landscaping along the Ponce route has been completed. The BeltLine’s contractor, JHC Construction, is now working with the Atlanta Department of Transportation to convert all traffic signal operations for new signal heads along Ponce.

Bike lane improvements and pavement re-striping is scheduled to continue through mid-June, according to project officials. (Currently, bike lanes end just east of Ponce City Market, where new pedestrian medians were recently installed.)

An ABI photo from late May showing crews installing a new pedestrian refuge median in the shadow of Ponce City Market that's since been completed. Atlanta BeltLine Inc.

Previous conditions heading east on the avenue near Ponce City Market. The Ponce-BeltLine ramp will be installed at left. Google Maps

Ponce bike lanes will be extended on both sides of the BeltLine, up to the entrance of the Kroger in Poncey-Highland. But tight right-of-way constraints and existing traffic-lane configurations on that section of Ponce are prohibiting the in-street bike lanes from being extended all the way to Freedom Parkway, BeltLine planners have said.

Trees and new lighting stand in buffers between sidewalks and the forthcoming bike lanes. Traffic signals will be reconfigured at Boulevard, Glen Iris Drive, Midtown Place, and the entrance to Kroger and the 725 Ponce development, per BeltLine officials.

Meanwhile, the direct connection between Ponce and the BeltLine’s Eastside Trail that’s been in planning stages for a dozen years continues to progress, though onsite work has gone idle.

According to BeltLine officials, JHC will begin building the access ramp once the Georgia Department of Transportation approves plans for walls and materials that are under review now.                                                                     

A layout of the Ponce ramp system, which will look similar to Edgewood Avenue’s metal-ramp connection to the Eastside Trail, as pictured above. Courtesy of Atlanta BeltLine Inc.

That project aims to create a more seamless, quicker, and ADA-accessible means of exiting the BeltLine for Ponce’s shopping and eating options, and vice versa. Plans call for a steel ramp, stairs, and railings at the northwestern corner of the Ponce-BeltLine bridge, similar to Edgewood Avenue’s metal-ramp connection to the Eastside Trail where Old Fourth Ward meets Inman Park. The surface, however, won’t be serrated metal, in order to spare dogs’ feet, BeltLine officials have said.

An enhanced pedestrian connection at Ponce has been part of the Eastside Trail’s design since it debuted in 2012. Previous plans to begin work in summer 2021 were delayed.

Find a refresher on the Ponce project and more context in the gallery above.

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An ABI photo from late May showing crews installing a new pedestrian refuge median in the shadow of Ponce City Market that's since been completed. Atlanta BeltLine Inc.

Previous conditions heading east on the avenue near Ponce City Market. The Ponce-BeltLine ramp will be installed at left. Google Maps

A layout of the Ponce ramp system, which will look similar to Edgewood Avenue’s metal-ramp connection to the Eastside Trail, as pictured above. Courtesy of Atlanta BeltLine Inc.

Courtesy of Atlanta BeltLine Inc.

A sample of one section for Ponce de Leon Avenue upgrades. Courtesy of Atlanta BeltLine Inc.

Courtesy of Atlanta BeltLine Inc.

Placement of the new ramp connection and a crosswalk near Ponce City Market's entrance. Courtesy of Atlanta BeltLine Inc.

Subtitle Construction of fabled Eastside Trail-Ponce connection ramp is also on tap, BeltLine reports

Neighborhood Old Fourth Ward

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Next to Buckhead greenspace, uber-pricey project enters pipeline Josh Green Tue, 06/11/2024 - 10:53 On a hilly cul-de-sac off Roswell Road, a new Buckhead subdivision is beginning to take shape in hopes of luring deep-pocketed homebuyers who covet proximity to nature and what’s described as European flair.

Loudermilk Custom Homes has begun development and revved up marketing efforts for the first two spec homes of a project called Blue Heron Walk, situated on Emily Reed Lane about a half-mile east of Chastain Park.

Eleven total lots have been designed, but custom home designs are also welcome, according to the Atlanta-based luxury homebuilder.

A chief selling point is next-door proximity to Buckhead’s cherished Blue Heron Nature Preserve, which counts boardwalks and trails among 30 acres of wetlands, meadows, creeks, and old-growth woodlands.

According to Loudermilk, each lot spans 1/2 acre or more. 

Overview of the planned community and proximity to Blue Heron Nature Preserve. Loudermilk Custom Homes/Blue Heron Walk

The project's Emily Reed Lane location in North Buckhead. Google Maps

Perks will include 10 and 11-foot ceilings, Smart Home tech, three-car garages, gobs of windows, and gourmet kitchens, per the builder.

Which all comes at a price, of course.

So far, foot-in-the-door pricing at Blue Heron Walk starts at $3.9 million for Lot 11 near the entrance (following a price increase of more than $400,000 since the home was initially listed in November).

Loudermilk Custom Homes/Blue Heron Walk

That buys five bedrooms and five and ½ bathrooms in 9,254 square feet, once two heated garage spaces and the unfinished basement level is factored in.

Meanwhile, the six-bedroom, 6,170-square-foot home project on Lot 6 (basement and garages excluded) is asking $4.1 million.

The priciest listing to date, 500 Emily Reed Lane, asks $4.1 million on Lot 6. Loudermilk Custom Homes/Blue Heron Walk

Beyond the nature preserve next door, perks of the location include a five-minute walk on nature trails to Buckhead’s coveted Sarah Smith Elementary, a two-minute drive to Ga. Highway 400, and 10-minute proximity to Brookhaven, Sandy Springs, and, uh, Midtown, per the builder’s calculations.

Find more Blue Heron Walk imagery in the gallery above. Alternately, here’s a five-minute YouTube clip for more context and a fly-through video.

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500 Emily Reed Lane Blue Heron Walk Loudermilk Custom Homes Buckhead Homes Blue Heron Nature Preserve Atlanta Home Design Buckhead Homes for Sale Buckhead Prices Atlanta Parks Buckhead Parks Spec Homes Loudermilk Homes Roswell Road

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The project's Emily Reed Lane location in North Buckhead. Google Maps

Overview of the planned community and proximity to Blue Heron Nature Preserve. Loudermilk Custom Homes/Blue Heron Walk

The priciest listing to date, 500 Emily Reed Lane, asks $4.1 million on Lot 6. Loudermilk Custom Homes/Blue Heron Walk

Loudermilk Custom Homes/Blue Heron Walk

The $3.9 million listing for Lot 11 at Blue Heron Walk. Loudermilk Custom Homes/Blue Heron Walk

Loudermilk Custom Homes/Blue Heron Walk

Loudermilk Custom Homes/Blue Heron Walk

Blue Heron Walk's platting off Roswell Road. Loudermilk Custom Homes/Blue Heron Walk

Subtitle Asking prices start at $4M alongside cherished Blue Heron Nature Preserve

Neighborhood Buckhead

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Five Points MARTA limbo; Southside trails windfall; Alpharetta density Josh Green Mon, 06/10/2024 - 16:53 DOWNTOWN—In a month that’s already seen Atlanta’s aging infrastructure make national headlines, MARTA’s timeline for updating the outdated Five Points station—the agency’s largest and busiest transit hub—appears to be in limbo. Axios Atlanta first reported Mayor Andre Dickens has submitted a letter to MARTA general manager and CEO Collie Greenwood asking that MARTA’s planned $230 million remake of the downtown hub be halted until after an ongoing audit of the agency is finished in late July.

MARTA announced in May that Five Points station would be closed to street-level access and that its bus connections would be rerouted to other downtown stations beginning in July. Those changes were expected to last for 18 months, or roughly until the end of 2025.    

Dickens’ letter states he’s read preliminary audit findings for the 2016 sales tax More MARTA spending—the primary funding mechanism for the Five Points project—and that he’s seeking additional details. Early findings suggest MARTA could have to repay more than $60 million to the More MARTA program, and Dickens noted the city has “identified other priorities that need to be considered before we move forward,” which could be a reference to new BeltLine rail stops along MARTA rail lines, as Axios reports.

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

MARTA’s goal is to remake the bunker-like, 1970s downtown transit hub into a vibrant city center, with better transit connectivity, improved customer amenities, and increased safety, with perks including communal spaces, public art, and sections for urban agriculture. The station sees roughly 12,000 daily entries and exits, and about 4,500 transfers between buses, or from buses to rail, each day, per data provided by MARTA.

[UPDATE: Monday, June 10, 6:69 p.m. — MARTA has officially responded to Dickens' letter.] 

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SOUTHSIDE—Good news for southside multi-use trail enthusiasts: Atlanta Regional Commission and four communities near Atlanta’s airport have bagged another $14.9 million in federal funding to help create an ambitious, 31-mile system of trails now officially dubbed the Flint River Gateway Trails Network.

ARC officials and the four communities—Clayton County and the cities of Hapeville, College Park, and East Point—collectively applied for and received funding through the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Reconnecting Communities and Neighborhoods program. The same initiative scored $50 million in U.S. DOT funding in March, so the current total is nearly $65 million.

According to ARC officials, who are leading planning and administration work on the Flint River trails plans, the money will be used to map out and engineer more than half of the network and to build portions of the trail (totaling 3.2 miles) that will eventually link the BeltLine down to the Tri-Cities and into Clayton County. Each jurisdiction will be responsible for overseeing construction of its own trail segment.

“In essence, we took a few of the already planned trails in the area (like one the City of Atlanta is building from the BeltLine in southwest ATL south toward East Point) and realized that we could knit together a contiguous 31-mile trails network,” ARC spokesperson Paul Donsky wrote in an email to Urbanize Atlanta.

Plans compiled in 2021 for a trail section near a 23-acre industrial property called the Tift site. Willingham Corridor Improvement Study, via ARC

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ALPHARETTA—In northern suburbs news, the Alpharetta City Council has unanimously approved a project that’s expected to be the densest to date in the North Fulton County city’s central business district, with one councilmember hailing the venture as setting a new standard. The four-story project by Atlanta-based Place Maker Design is set to take shape on a 1-acre parcel at 55 Canton St., roughly two blocks northwest of Alpharetta’s Town Green at City Center, as Appen Media reports.

Plans call for 36 for-sale condos and 7,000 square feet of retail space at street level, with those commercial spaces restricted in Alpharetta to uses such as clothing boutiques, coffee shops, bakeries, grocery stores, and florists.  

The project will include an underground parking structure, but that will not meet Alpharetta’s minimum parking requirements, so Place Maker Design is being required to pay a $94,500 parking in-lieu fee. According to the news outlet, city officials are permitted to use that fee to develop new public parking.

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ATL News Roundup Five Points Five Points Development Five Points MARTA Station Mayor Andre Dickens MARTA Alpharetta Alpharetta Development Alpharetta Condos Alpharetta Construction; Atlanta Regional Commission East Point Hapeville College Park Atlanta Trails Alternate Transportation Alternative Transportation U.S. Department of Transportation Flint River Gateway Trails Network Flint River Place Maker Design

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

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People-friendly expansion of key Midtown street kicks off Josh Green Mon, 06/10/2024 - 14:47 Seven years after the ball got rolling on engineering work, a relatively small but important multimodal expansion of a Midtown artery is officially underway.

Crews are moving forward with preliminary construction work for the 15th Street extension project that will create a people-friendly, two-block link from the Arts Center MARTA station to Williams Street, near the downtown Connector, according to Midtown Alliance.

That work includes test drilling for rock-blasting and removal that’s expected to begin later this month, per the Midtown agency.

As is, 15th Street dead-ends at West Peachtree Street, next to the AMLI Arts Center apartment tower. That walls off access to the transit hub for sections of Spring Street, where hundreds of new residences have recently taken shape in buildings such as Mira at Midtown Union.

The extended street will slip between apartment high-rises and consume part of what’s currently a gravel parking lot. It will include three new lanes of public roadway between West Peachtree and Spring streets, including two left-turn lanes at both of those one-way streets. West of that, expect a single through-lane in each direction, connecting to Williams Street.  

Other features will include five-foot-wide bicycle lanes at sidewalk level in each direction, another five-foot zone dedicated to trees and street furniture, and 10-foot sidewalks on both sides of the street.

Placement of the forthcoming 15th Street extension. Google Maps/Urbanize

The proposed look of two new blocks of 15th Street, looking west toward Atlantic Station from West Peachtree Street. Courtesy of Midtown Alliance

The bike lanes are designed to directly connect with the Arts Center MARTA station, existing and forthcoming residential and hotel developments, and other bike routes in the district, per Midtown Alliance.

The full two-block extension will consume Georgia Department of Transportation right-of-way, which eliminated the costs of acquiring real estate.

After receiving a grant from the Atlanta Regional Commission, city and GDOT officials began work to design the 15th Street project back in summer 2017. In addition to fundraising, engineering, traffic, and environmental studies took place over the next few years. A hiccup involving the bidding process knocked the construction timeline back in fall 2022.

More than $6 million in funding is in place to build the project, with about half of that coming from GDOT and federal coffers. Midtown Improvement District funds and City of Atlanta impact fees are covering the bulk of remaining costs.

According to Midtown Alliance, the project was awarded to low bidder Reeves Young in December. The schedule calls for completing the bulk of the extension by September next year, per project officials.

Courtesy of Midtown Alliance

A section of the proposal showing 15th Street's new functionality. Courtesy of Midtown Alliance/Jacobs

Meanwhile, on the flipside of Midtown, another people-friendly overhaul of a key crossroads officially began today with street-lane closures and construction fencing erected.

The intersection where the BeltLine’s popular Eastside Trail meets Monroe Drive and Piedmont Park is scheduled to be closed until Friday evening as utility and asphalt work unfolds and concrete ramps are installed. Find more information on detour routes here. 

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15th Street Extension Midtown Alliance Alternate Transportation Alternative Transportation Atlanta Construction GDOT Georgia Department of Transportation west peachtree Street Spring Street Jacobs Atlanta Complete Streets Complete Streets Complete Street

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Placement of the forthcoming 15th Street extension. Google Maps/Urbanize

The proposed look of two new blocks of 15th Street, looking west toward Atlantic Station from West Peachtree Street. Courtesy of Midtown Alliance

Courtesy of Midtown Alliance

A section of the proposal showing 15th Street's new functionality. Courtesy of Midtown Alliance/Jacobs

Subtitle Long-percolating 15th Street project will install multimodal access, reconnect street grid

Neighborhood Midtown

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Tenant picked for city-owned Grant Park space. What say you, ATL? Josh Green Mon, 06/10/2024 - 13:01 Three and ½ years after it was finished, the Grant Park Gateway’s dusty but architecturally unique retail component will officially have a familiar name as its first tenant.

The City of Atlanta Departments of Procurement and Parks and Recreation have picked Savi Provisions, a local gourmet market and grocery chain known for its wine selection and organic foods, to fill the entire 7,056-square-foot retail space overlooking the 2.5-acre park that tops a parking garage next to Zoo Atlanta.

Despite the award-winning building’s prime location in a historic neighborhood beside a top tourist attraction, the recruitment process for its first occupant took city officials two attempts across more than a year.

Savi, one of three finalists vying for the space, is expected to “boost the area’s diversity of food options and convenience, acting as a central gathering place for both residents and visitors,” according to an announcement from Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens’ office.

Aerial of the Gateway illustrating its proximity to the zoo's elephant habitat and downtown. City of Atlanta Parks and Recreation Department; via Epsten Group

Founded in 2009, Savi counts locations in North Carolina and 16 stores in metro Atlanta, spanning from the airport to Howell Mill Road, Decatur, and Brookhaven to the Crabapple district in Milton. The nearest Savi outpost to Grant Park remains the original one in Inman Park, roughly two and ½ miles away.

According to city officials, Savi’s award recommendation will now be forwarded to the Atlanta City Council for approval, following a vetting process described as “thorough.”

City Council member Jason Winston, whose District 1 covers Grant Park, said the goal of the Gateway retail project will be to “maximize the fresh and convenient options available to the neighborhood while building on the vibrancy and historical nature of the community.”

We’ve inquired with representatives from Winston’s office for information on when Savi’s buildout could begin, or an estimate on when the market might open. We’ll update this story with any additional details that come.

Another finalist for the retail space was a concept called “Gateway Park and Market,” as put together by a team that included Terminus Commercial Real Estate Partners, an Atlanta-based CRE firm, alongside Kraig Torres, owner of alcohol purveyor Hopcity, and Mike Walbert, a longtime Atlanta event curator. That called for a micro food hall “foodie destination” and “cultural experience” that would lean heavily into public programming and capitalize on proximity to Zoo Atlanta, as its creators detailed for Urbanize Atlanta last month. 

The third finalist was Rease Group Holdings Inc., an Atlanta-based company led by CEO Andy Rease and founded in 2010. 

The underside of the patio's roof comes to life with lighting at night. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

City officials took ownership of the Gateway space from the Atlanta and Fulton County Recreation Authority early last year, a key first step in getting it leased and occupied. But the first Request for Proposals issued in February 2023 didn’t attract a single bid from prospective tenants.

The city’s Department of Procurement, charged with helping lead the tenant search, concluded that rising construction costs spurred by inflation, combined with increased interest rates, contributed to the initial lack of bids. The city later partnered with Invest Atlanta to offer financial assistance to the right operator during the more recent solicitation process. Exactly what sort of financial carrot was offered hasn't been specified. 

The latest RFP was an improved pitch to businesses that could fill such a large space. It provided drone footage, set up tours for potential tenants, and specified how large the shell space is: 7,056 square feet. It called for a single enterprise to create a Gateway concept that will “increase the property value of the neighborhood, improve the area’s livability, serve as a convenience to neighborhood residents and visitors, and continue Atlanta's forward progress.” 

The $48-million Gateway project replaced a parking lot with the park-topped garage, officially opening in January 2021. In 2022, it earned the Atlanta Urban Design Commission’s Award of Excellence for sustainable design.

Clearing the cobwebs from the Gateway building will be a clear win for the area. But how do you feel, Atlanta, about another Savi occupying the entire facility?

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537 Park Avenue SE Zoo Atlanta Atlanta Parks Grant Park Grant Park Gateway Parks and Recreation HGOR Smith Dalia Architects Epsten Group Winter Johnson Group Boulevard Jason Winston Savi Provision Terminus Commercial Real Estate Partners The Rease Group Holdings Mike Walbert Kraig Torres Hopcity Gateway Park & Market

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The 2.5-acre park space in relation to the restaurant structure. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

The underside of the patio's roof comes to life with lighting at night. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

The spacious interior of the Gateway building, as seen in early 2021, looks largely the same today. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Where the south facade of the restaurant building meets stacked parking. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

The patio/pavilion area, looking west to Zoo Atlanta. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Aerial of the Gateway illustrating its proximity to the zoo's elephant habitat and downtown. City of Atlanta Parks and Recreation Department; via Epsten Group

The Grant Park Gateway, which officially debuted in January 2021, is a greenspace win for the neighborhood. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Subtitle Three years after empty, award-winning building was finished, Savi Provisions edges competition

Neighborhood Grant Park

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