As of last week, the first tenants have started moving into a Reynoldstown project that developers hope will provide an example of how outdated properties around Atlanta could spring back to life as supportive, affordable housing, helping the city’s less fortunate residents get back on track. 

It's called the Ralph David House. 

As illustrated in photography provided to Urbanize Atlanta, Stryant Construction converted the former Atlanta Motel property into 56 affordable housing apartments with some of the lowest rent caps for tenants—30 percent of the area median income—for new construction across the city. 

Situated where Moreland Avenue meets Interstate 20, the Ralph David House hosted a formal grand opening ceremony in December led by Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens. The adaptive-reuse conversion project had begun construction a year earlier. 

Motel interiors were taken down to the studs and redone, per development officials. Photos courtesy of Stryant Construction

The low-slung 1960s property at 277 Moreland Ave. had devolved into a magnet for unflattering reviews during its waning days as a motel. Guests complained that $50-per-night rooms were unkempt and infested with bed bugs—or worse.

Each Ralph David House apartment will be reserved for people who’ve been unhoused and are making less than 30 percent AMI. Rents and utility costs combined will be capped at 30 percent of each renter’s income, Stryant officials have said.

Photos courtesy of Stryant Construction

Ralph David House will also offer wraparound services for formerly unhoused residents like three “rapid housing” initiatives around the city both open and in progress: The Melody downtown, the new 729 Bonaventure building in Old Fourth Ward, and a modular project in the pipeline near Atlantic Station. 

Those services will be provided in onsite offices, while elsewhere the property features a lounge for socializing, city officials have said. 

According to Terminus Design Group, the project’s architect of record, the old motel’s exterior received a facelift—fresh paint, windows, doors, amenity areas, and more—with a goal of improving its visibility from both Moreland Avenue and I-20.

Interiors have been renovated to the bones and outfitted with modern, multifamily finishes consistent with market-rate deals in the area, per the architecture firm.

A social worker’s office was installed onsite, and a half-dozen units were configured to be ADA compliant, with the rest designed to meet Fair Housing Guidelines, development officials have said. 

Stryant will remain onboard to handle all aspects of the property for the next 30 years, including management, according to Sugarman. 

Photos courtesy of Stryant Construction

Other partners on the motel conversion include Atlanta Housing, Invest Atlanta, Tandem Bank, Partners for Home, and Atlanta Affordable Housing Fund. 

City and Beltline officials, Reynoldstown neighborhood leadership, and three different Neighborhood Planning Units voiced support for the project in pre-development phases. 

In the gallery above, have a thorough look at how the Ralph David House project turned out—both inside and out. 

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