As urbanist math goes, perhaps this is a bit of a win, in the end: 10 homes now stand where two old Edgewood houses with wide lots and deep backyards were before.

But in terms of Atlanta’s strained affordable housing supply, it’s hardly a victory.

A year and ½ after neighborhood pushback squashed plans for a dense experiment in missing-middle housing with the slogan “Edgewood for Everyone,” the site’s replacements have fully arrived, at least in terms of exterior construction.

Getting a foot in the door here, where Whitefoord Avenue meets Finley Street, will now cost $849,900 and up, according to the first round of Keller Knapp Realty listings. 

How the six-unit Alley of Edgewood project fronts Whitefoord Avenue today.Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

The 10 duplex units that have taken shape include a six-home, modern-style project along Whitefoord Avenue called The Alley of Edgewood. Current prices there are $889,000 for the two options listed to date, Units A and B, at the same size: four bedrooms and three and ½ bathrooms in 2,062 square feet, for a breakdown of $431 per square foot.

As high as the latter price points may seem, they’re $50,000 cheaper than Alley units were listed for this past summer while under construction.

Developer SLR Investments built the duplexes on a corner property just east of the Edgewood Retail District and south of a MARTA station that’s been transformed into a hub of housing and commercial spaces, including popular sandwich shop Bona Fide Deluxe.

All Alley options stand three stories, with a flex space on the top floor, plus two-car garages fronting a wide driveway in back.

Coan Park, Candler Park, downtown Kirkwood, and the newish Eastside Trolley Trail have all been cited as nearby perks.  

Entryway toward garages behind the six units on Finley Avenue. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

The two more traditional duplexes behind the Alley also being sold by Keller Knapp Realty. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

The 1-acre site was the source of a heated squabble last year over SLR’s relatively dense housing proposal in the middle of residential Edgewood.

Initial plans for 90/98 Whitefoord had called for creating four dozen missing-middle rental options, some reserved at prices people earning less than $36,000 annually could afford. Rents for studios would have been as low as $453 monthly, developers told Urbanize Atlanta. The unit count was later rolled back to 36, with a one-to-one parking ratio, in an effort to gain approval.

Following continued neighborhood pushback, however, SLR killed those plans in May 2022 and moved forward with larger duplexes.

SLR had hoped to rezone the property from single-family or duplex uses to a missing-middle housing designation, or MR-MU, to capitalize on walkability. The site is roughly four blocks from the Edgewood/Candler Park MARTA station, and a MARTA bus stop is located across the street.

The initial missing-middle site plan along Whitefoord Avenue in Edgewood. SLR Investments/The Parliament

Opponents and some neighborhood leaders contended the site wasn’t right for so much new housing in one place, especially when considering more relatively dense projects popping up nearby. Lack of dedicated parking and traffic were concerns, as was a disagreement that the project didn't align with the broader Edgewood Redevelopment Plan.

Some residents did applaud the project’s scale and non-subsidized affordability goals and offered suggestions on other Edgewood locations where it might be more appropriate.

The missing middle concept refers to housing that fills the gap between apartment complexes and single-family homes—the difference, in some cases, between subsidized housing and more expensive, market-rate living options. 

A rendering depicting the three building facades along Whitefoord Avenue that were ultimately scrapped. SLR Investments

Today, the duplexes border an infill rental project, Finley Street Cottages, in the middle of Edgewood that managed to gain approval and finish construction earlier this year. A key difference is that the Finley Street project renovated two 1920s Craftsman bungalows and placed additional units in large yards behind them, rather than erecting ADUs behind new buildings that front the sidewalk.

On the bright side, the Alley duplexes aren’t the priciest options on the Edgewood market at the moment.

That title still belongs to a single-family home built from shipping containers off Memorial Drive.

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