Photos: New town (more or less) is sprouting on Atlanta's southside

South of downtown, one of the largest redevelopment projects across the City of Atlanta right now continues to come out of the ground, as its eventual scope comes into clearer focus.

Spread across 34 formerly acres along Boulevard in Chosewood Park, Empire Zephyr began work in earnest in 2021, banking on Atlanta BeltLine proximity and cheaper land prices in a relatively under-the-radar area that’s now witnessing a wave of development.

Officials with developer Empire Communities tell Urbanize Atlanta the Zephyr project has been “wildly successful” with “rapid sales,” following price adjustments, and is building or about to break ground on 100 more townhomes in its latest phase, all scheduled to deliver in the third and fourth quarters of this year.

The hilly, 1335 Boulevard site—which counts views in places to downtown and Midtown—is located roughly a mile due south of Zoo Atlanta. A couple of blocks north is the under-construction BeltLine Southside Trail that’s expected to fully open in early 2026. 

Empire officials are now forecasting that Zephyr will eventually see 1,000 units of for-sale townhomes and multifamily dwellings built. Those will join pocket parks and what’s planned as a boutique retail village tucked in amongst the housing.   

With Zephyr, Empire expanded its operations as a means to quickly create more inventory and meet high intown demand for housing—and to reset the current price range for two and three-bedroom townhomes to start the high $300,000s.

“By offering a range of floorplans at varying price points,” reads a company statement sent via email this week, “Zephyr ensures that everyone, from first-time homebuyers (two bedrooms) to families looking for more space (four-plus bedrooms), can find a home that suits their needs and budget.”

In terms of sheer scope on Atlanta’s southside, the Zephyr project is rivaled only by the 40-acre Sawtell proposal (crickets there) and mixed-use plans for Fort McPherson’s remaining 96 acres.

Zephyr marks another substantial bet for Canada-based Empire on both the southside (see: the Swift townhome community in neighboring Boulevard Heights) and along various sections of the BeltLine. The growing Empire Stein Steel on the Eastside Trail and Empire Longreen off the Westside and future Northwest trails are two examples.  

As of now, a dozen Zephyr three-story townhomes are on the market, priced from $397,000 to $485,000, with two or three bedrooms and square footages ranging between 1,100 and 1,500.

Amenities are set to include seven community pocket parks with open lawns, formal gathering spaces for events, outdoor seating including arbor swings, and a “hammock park,” developers tell Urbanize Atlanta. A modern-style clubhouse and pool, walking paths, and wide sidewalks are also in the works.

The project is situated near Chosewood Park's eponymous greenspace (where a ribbon-cutting for a new community playground was recently held) and just south of the BeltLine’s Boulevard Crossing Park, which is planned to eventually be expanded next door. (BeltLine officials completed land purchases needed to build that park in 2020, but it remains in planning stages.)  

Swing up to the gallery for a drone tour of Zephyr today (literally, this morning) and fresh glimpses of what’s to come.

[CORRECTION: 12:12 a.m., June 20: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated the acreage in question had been vacant prior to construction beginning, but shuttered low-rise housing still stood.]

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• Chosewood Park news, discussion (Urbanize Atlanta)