English Avenue development, BeltLine overhauls, MARTA's vision

ENGLISH AVENUE—In another sign that developers remain bullish on English Avenue, a mixed-use project is moving forward along Northside Drive between Georgia Tech and an extension of the Atlanta BeltLine that opened last year.

Having completed apartment communities across metro Atlanta, Mill Creek Residential is now targeting a parcel at 576 Northside Drive for a venture called Modera Westside, as Bisnow Atlanta reports. It would take a 2.4-acre site owned by Atlanta Gaslight Co., occupied by a low-rise warehouse building and surface parking where Northside Drive meets North Avenue, just southeast of Lincoln Street Company’s Echo Street West project.

Other landmarks in the area include rapper T.I.’s Trap Museum about a block away, and the 1.7-mile Westside BeltLine Connector trail that links downtown to the BeltLine’s western rim. Just east of the site, the PATH Foundation is working to replace the former Bankhead Bridge with a more functional connection into Midtown.

Earlier this month, Mill Creek filed a special administrative permit with the city to move the Modera Westside project forward. It’s unclear how many units the development would offer, or how tall it will stand, but SAP paperwork indicates commercial space, a rooftop pool, and other amenities will be in the mix.

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EASTSIDE TRAIL—Axios Atlanta relays that an overhaul is thankfully, mercifully in the works for the “dangerous and hectic” intersection near Piedmont Park where the BeltLine’s Eastside Trail, Monroe Drive, and 10th Street all converge.

Six years ago, a driver struck and killed Midtown High School student Alexia Hyneman at that intersection as she biked home from school. Every weekend the crossroads sees countless face-offs and near-misses between BeltLine users and vehicles whizzing by.

According to Atlanta City Council member Alex Wan’s office, the city plans to bid out work for the intersection’s redesign this month. That would include a raised crossing to slow cars, the removal of a 10th Street turn lane, and an extension of the 10th Street bike lane that would directly link it into the Eastside Trail. (Not included in the plans: A pricey but handy bridge over traffic lanes, the source of urbanist dreams for a decade.)

Farther south on the Eastside Trail, it appears the former Paris on Ponce building’s days are numbered, like those of beloved, six-year-old restaurant 8Arm, which is closing its current dining program in the building next door July 2. The quirky, longstanding antique retailer and event space’s building—built in 1925 and spanning 46,000 square feet—was heavily damaged by fire in 2019.

Buckhead-based developer Cartel Properties recently bought the last piece it needs to redevelop the 1.2-acre Virginia-Highland property, the Atlanta Business Chronicle reports. Its 215 feet of BeltLine frontage are 215 good reasons to maximize its appeal with more engaging uses. But exactly what Cartel plans to do with this ATL beachfront isn’t yet clear.

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CAMPBELLTON ROAD—MARTA has announced that a community development meeting will be held Tuesday evening in Southwest Atlanta to discuss the Campbellton Community Investment Corridor Project, which caused an uproar earlier this year when the transit agency revealed it was pursuing bus-rapid transit instead of a fixed light-rail system.

The six-mile corridor in question links the Greenbriar Mall area to MARTA’s Oakland City station and includes one of MARTA’s busiest bus routes today. The meeting will be “an opportunity for the project team to provide information on the land use, affordability, and design aspects of the project and for residents, business owners, and stakeholders to learn about the proposed high-capacity transit mode that will be presented to the MARTA Board of Directors for approval,” according to MARTA, which didn’t mention buses in the announcement.

It’s scheduled from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Junction 2800 on Campbellton Road.