Fresh images: Angular Eastside Trail project moves forward at last

After years of retooling and replanning, a mixed-use project that promises one of the Eastside Trail’s more notable designs in recent memory has officially taken a step toward breaking ground.

Industrial-site redevelopment plans at 930 Mauldin St. in Reynoldstown have been proposed, off and on, for more than 15 years, long before BeltLine hysteria swept over the historic eastside neighborhood.

But now the site’s longtime owner, developers Metzger & Co, have filed documentation for a Special Administrative Permit to move forward with construction, promising an eye-pleasing mix of retail and apartments in a Z-shaped structure beside the Eastside Trail.

In 2022, Metzger & Co. shared a revised, Perkins & Will-designed development vision with Reynoldstown neighbors for the vacant industrial property, which is one of the last large development sites left along Reynoldstown’s section of the BeltLine.

According to SAP filings prepared by Flippo Civil Design, preliminary plans call for 142 apartments and 2,700 square feet of retail spaces fronting the BeltLine, for 140,000 square feet of total development.

The apartment breakdown calls for 107 one-bedroom units and 37 two-bedroom options. At its tallest point, the building would stand six stories.

As required by BeltLine inclusionary zoning rules, 15 percent of the apartments, or 24 units total, are being earmarked as “affordable housing” at 80 percent of the area median income.

Those rents are expected to run between $1,532 and $1,838, according to the SAP.

Also in the mix are 167 parking spaces—for a breakdown of 1.2 spaces per unit. A total of 28 bike-parking spaces are in the plans, too, both enclosed and on the street.

Plans call for two parking levels, one accessed from Mauldin Street and the other from Kirkwood Avenue to the north.

The application notes that current plans were presented multiple times to NPU and other neighborhood groups as part of a successful rezoning process in 2022. One notable variation being requested is a reduction in the 20-foot required BeltLine landscape buffer, which would allow for outdoor trail spaces along the trail.

“The west property line along the Beltline is [53 feet] from the east edge of the BeltLine path, allowing ample space for trees, landscaping, and programmed amenity space,” notes the application.

According to LoopNet, the 1.3-acre site is home to a 31,000-square-foot industrial building now. It last sold for $2.2 million back in 2006—cheap by today’s standards for Eastside Trail-adjacent acreage.

Back in 2008, the BeltLine and Atlanta City Council approved a three-story, 108-unit building that Metzger & Co. had brought to the table, but it never went forward.

Eight years later, the developer pitched a larger project with 40 more apartments and about twice the height. City officials and neighborhood leaders vocally criticized that proposal’s lack of affordable housing, how it didn’t interface well with the BeltLine, and for what they called poor construction meant for a 20-year life cycle. A rezoning application was unanimously rejected at an NPU meeting, and the project fizzled.

Now, the reimagined project’s SAP application is scheduled to be heard by the city March 27.

The development team expects the permitting process to move forward throughout 2024.

Construction is scheduled to start in 2025, provided no hiccups come during the SAP and permitting processes, according to the SAP application. 

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• Reynoldstown news, discussion (Urbanize Atlanta)