1.5 years after innovative project's unveiling, it's crickets in SW ATL

For neighbors in Southwest Atlanta, the postindustrial Murphy Crossing site holds such exciting potential it’s inspired at least one essay and cartoon-like artistic interpretations.

Whether any of those hopes for a vibrant community will spring to life soon—or at any point in the future—remains to be seen.

Nearly a year and ½ after Atlanta BeltLine officials announced they’d finally found the right developer for Murphy Crossing following a national search, the 20-acre site in Oakland City remains dormant, and no definitive plans are in place for when that might change, though redevelopment work continues to some degree, sources tell Urbanize Atlanta.

BeltLine leaders announced in September 2022 they’d chosen Arizona-based real estate development company Culdesac to reshape the BeltLine-owned property that once operated as the Georgia Farmers Market, promising affordable housing, jobs, and a village-like feel. The site abuts the BeltLine’s Westside Trail and includes about a dozen warehouses and other buildings today.

The following month, early site plans emerged for a project called simply “Murphy Crossing by Culdesac.”

This month, Culdesac representatives wrote to Urbanize Atlanta via email there’s “nothing new to share yet [regarding Murphy Crossing], but [we’re] still actively working through the process.” BeltLine spokesperson Jenny Odom echoed that sentiment: “We don’t have any new info on Murphy Crossing at this time.” 

Inquiries to leadership groups in Oakland City and neighboring Adair Park have not been returned. Apart from some commercial electrical work related to a pantry service last month, city permitting records show no recent activity at the Murphy Crossing site.

Culdesac’s plan includes a mix of housing and offices in new and revived buildings, a grocery store, dining and retail options, a farmers’ market (in homage to the land’s historical use), and arts and culture programming.

BeltLine leaders have said the project will contribute to the 22-mile loop’s affordable housing goal by designating 25 percent of residential units "permanently affordable," with another 5 percent remaining affordable for the next 30 years at least. Culdesac hopes to cap affordability rates for residents at 60 to 80 percent of the area’s median income, with 30 percent of all retail and light industrial spaces offered at unspecified rates meant to be affordable for small businesses in Southwest Atlanta, BeltLine officials said in 2022.

According to Culdesac’s drawings, car traffic would be relegated to the fringes of all new development. And a direct connection for bicyclists would branch off the BeltLine, alongside two routes for pedestrians, per the site plans. (After all, Culdesac prides itself on building the first car-free U.S. neighborhood from the ground up in Tempe.) 

Neighbors in 2022 told Urbanize the plans had generally been met with applause, though some community members voiced concerns over the loss of historic Murphy Crossing buildings and lack of a MARTA infill station on the transit agency’s Gold Line next door.

When Culdesac was announced as a development partner, BeltLine leaders stressed the Murphy Crossing project was in early design phases and would be refined following community input. (Find a detailed breakdown of Culdesac’s vision for Murphy Crossing, as unveiled in 2022, in the gallery above.)

Despite a strategic location and the city’s ongoing housing crunch, Murphy Crossing’s redevelopment isn’t the only project in the immediate area that appears to have stalled.  

A plan to transform the century-old Cut Rate Box warehouses at Murphy Avenue and Sylvan Road into a 5-acre, mixed-use hub—now called Oakland Exchange—has yet to materialize.

Meanwhile, just south of Murphy Crossing on Woodrow Street, another concept unveiled in 2022 for 7 dormant acres has yet to move forward, and its development team has not responded to recent inquiries. At last check, that project called for a village’s worth of new housing—301 apartments and 25 townhomes—alongside roughly 20,000 square feet of commercial space in two buildings.

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• Oakland City news, discussion (Urbanize Atlanta)