Any Atlantan with even a passing interest has noticed the tidal wave of new for-rent apartment communities and for-sale townhomes that continues to sweep over the city, in many cases transforming neighborhoods.
But what about a combination of the two—new townhomes that aren’t available for purchase, only for rent?
That approach has happened incrementally, as with portions of multifamily rental communities such as Inman Quarter that offer townhome living. But that’s changing.
From Southwest Atlanta to the amorphous eastside, residential developers are making substantial bets on what’s marketed as being the best of both worlds for renters: Units large enough to offer “the privacy and comfort of owning a home” but with “all the flexibility and convenience of leasing,” as one development’s website puts it.
Here’s a rundown of three such projects in various states of development now, expected to collectively offer more than 300 rental townhomes when finished:
EDGEWOOD
Two years after breaking ground, construction continues on the first phase of a 102-unit rental townhome community called LaFrance Square, where the Edgewood neighborhood meets Kirkwood.
The LaFrance Square site in December. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta
LaFrance Square's four-story street frontage today. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta
Replacing a warehouse in the former industrial district, The Ardent Companies venture has been gradually coming together between the Edgewood-Candler Park MARTA Station and the Pratt Pullman District.
James Baker, a director with Ardent, wrote to Urbanize Atlanta in an email that a management team is finalizing timeline and pricing details on the project and that more details should be available in coming weeks.
Marketing materials indicate LaFrance Square will offer townhome floorplans between 1,986 square feet (two-bedroom plans) and 2,008 square feet (three bedrooms). All homes are expected to have “personal” rooftop terraces.
Community overview of the lot where Arizona Avenue meets LaFrance Street in Edgewood. LaFrance Square/The Ardent Companies
PEOPLESTOWN
Meanwhile, in Peoplestown, developer RangeWater Real Estate has closed on property along the BeltLine’s Southside Trail corridor to build 110 rental townhomes, next door to D.H. Stanton Park.
Maverick's 72 Milton Avenue SE property bordering the Southside Trail, with Grant Park's The Beacon at right. Google Maps
Those units—expected to deliver as early as this fall, per RangeWater officials—will be part of a larger community called Maverick, where a new 325-unit apartment complex is aiming to start move-ins this summer.
RangeWater’s townhomes, ranging from one to three bedrooms, will be 16 to 20 feet wide with garages incorporated into each floorplan. The target demographic? “[Renters] of all life stages, from graduate students and young professionals to families and empty nesters,” per a press release this week.
The unpaved BeltLine’s “gritty personality” is being called a selling point.
“Our townhomes will bring a new concept to the BeltLine for renters looking for flexible living while still being in a vibrant neighborhood,” noted Brian Oates, RangeWater’s executive managing director of development.
Pricing details on RangeWater’s venture won’t be available for a couple of weeks, and renderings and other images are still being finalized, according to a project rep.
PITTSBURGH
Finally, in the Southwest Atlanta neighborhood of Pittsburgh, prolific residential builder Empire Communities recently broke ground on roughly 100 townhome rentals.
At the southeast corner of Metropolitan and Shelton Avenue, the site is about midway between downtown and the BeltLine’s Westside Trail.
The 4.3 acres where roughly 100 rental townhomes are being constructed along Metropolitan Parkway.Google Maps
The location is also kitty-corner from The Met, the 1.1-million-square-foot historic warehouse complex where developer Carter has recently poured millions into renovations.
Those residences are expected to start coming out of the ground by mid- to late summer. Prices, like renderings, haven’t been finalized, as it’s still early in the process, a rep recently told Urbanize Atlanta.
• 100 new townhomes are moving forward in Southwest Atlanta (Urbanize)
