Historic downtown Atlanta church targeted for housing conversion

Major changes are in store for a downtown Atlanta property that’s served as a cornerstone church for more than a century.

Gorman and Company, a Wisconsin-based developer with expertise in building affordable housing, plans to restore and convert Trinity United Methodist Church at 265 Washington St. into a denser campus of residential units and flexible space for events. The corner property is located across the street from Atlanta City Hall.

Between the sanctuary and new construction behind it, the $29.4 million project would see 54 units of senior housing created, with 48 of those reserved for tenants earning between 30 and 80 percent of the area median income.

Gorman plans to remake the sanctuary into a roughly 4,000-square-foot, rentable event space where the inclusive Methodist church would continue to host worship services, according to Invest Atlanta, which has approved $2 million in Eastside Tax Allocation District funding to support the adaptive-reuse venture.

Plans call for replacing the fellowship hall and classrooms situated behind the church with a denser residential development where the bulk of new residences (48 total) would be located above 16 garage parking spaces. Today’s church building would house another six apartments.

Amenities around the complex would include a fitness center, clubhouse, business center, and picnic pavilion.

According to the church, the Gothic structure where Trinity Avenue meets Washington Street was designed by prominent architect Walter T. Downing and opened in 1912. Its sanctuary still includes a towering Austin Organ that, according to church leadership, is the oldest remaining pipe organ in the city.

According to Invest Atlanta, rents at the church project would start at $495 monthly for one-bedroom apartments with 570 square feet capped at 30 percent AMI. (The market-rate price for that floorplan will be $1,700).

Meanwhile, the highest rents for units deemed affordable will be two-bedroom options with 850 square feet, asking $1,752 monthly at 80 percent AMI.

Construction is expected to take 18 months, with completion scheduled for 2027.

Elsewhere in Atlanta, Gorman and Company has recently completed a 60-unit project at the doorstep of Westview Cemetery. Company leaders also expect to break ground this summer on a two-phase development with an affordable housing component in Sweet Auburn.  

Meanwhile, at a vacant site immediately east of the church, a 10-story project called Trinity Central Flats is still in the works that would deliver 218 units, both affordable and market-rate, at a corner property directly across from City Hall. Officials with Invest Atlanta, a partner in that development, told Urbanize Atlanta in October the 104 Trinity Ave. project will also take 18 months to build, with delivery schedule for 2025.  

The Trinity United Methodist Church news comes as part of an announcement that Invest Atlanta’s Board of Directors approved funding at its May meetings to help build or preserve 444 affordable housing units downtown and on the city’s south and west sides.

Beyond the church conversion, projects to receive funding include Lewis Crossing in Castleberry Hill, Metropolitan Place in the Perkerson neighborhood, and City of Refuge’s planned Transformation Center. 

According to Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens’ office, Invest Atlanta has closed on financing to help develop or preserve 3,314 affordable housing units, or $1.05 billion in total investments, since the mayor’s administration began. Dickens’ stated goal is to create or retain 20,000 affordable housing units across the city by 2030.  

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