Public meeting on fate of Murphy Crossing happens this evening

Two months after Atlanta Beltline Inc. publicly pulled the plug on Murphy Crossing’s closely watched and highly anticipated redevelopment, a step in a new direction is happening today, per the agency. 

Beltline officials have scheduled a hybrid public meeting from 6:30 to 8 p.m. to discuss next steps for what may become of Murphy Crossing, a 20-acre former industrial site the Beltline owns in Oakland City adjacent to the Westside Trail. 

Registration for attending this evening’s meeting virtually is here. It’ll be held at the Plywood Place events venue at the Lee + White district (933 Lee St. SW), and the registration link to attend in-person is here. 

In January, Beltline officials shocked many Atlanta development observers by terminating Murphy Crossing negotiations and a contract with Culdesac Inc.—an Arizona-based firm known for innovative approaches to infill development—that had been ongoing since September 2022. 

The Beltline’s work with Culdesac and its Atlanta-based partner Urban Oasis Development had lent hope the barren expanse of land and unused buildings might be injected with new life, in the form of commercial space and affordable housing. 

Beltline leaders pointed to slashed residential unit counts, unexplained costs, “ballooned” timelines, and other factors as reasons why the relationship with Culdesac soured.  

In a statement provided to Urbanize Atlanta last month, Culdesac reps said they didn’t wish to engage in a public exchange with the Beltline regarding what went wrong, but they contented that all negotiations were within the scope of a contract signed between the two parties in March last year. The statement also pointed to a land matter involving Georgia Department of Transportation property bordering the site. A follow-up inquiry to Culdesac wasn’t returned. 

“Many of these ‘negotiations’ were to address the issues caused by [Atlanta Beltline Inc.’s] failure to disclose the easements that had been granted to the GDOT unbeknownst to Culdesac,” the statement read, in part. “While ABI has attempted to minimize the physical impact of those easements on the project, which are significant, ABI also fails to recognize the financial and legal implications of those easements. Culdesac continues to reserve and does not waive any of its rights in this matter.”

[UPDATE: 12:32 a.m., March 12: Dennis Richards Jr., Atlanta Beltline Inc.'s vice president of housing policy and development, responds to Culdesac's statement with the following: 

“The permanent and temporary portions of the GDOT easement affect less than 0.5 percent of the Murphy Crossing site, a fact which clearly illustrates the extremely minor impact of the easement on the development project. Once the property was under contract, the Beltline responded to Culdesac’s concerns by working with GDOT to limit the term of the construction work on Murphy Crossing to 2025. Given Culdesac’s lack of progress, GDOT’s rights to perform construction work would have expired before Culdesac ever broke ground on the site. Finally, if the GDOT easement was as impactful as alleged, Culdesac had the ability to immediately terminate its Purchase and Sale Agreement with the Beltline.” ]

Beltline leaders said in February that Murphy Crossing remains “one of the largest and most impactful” sites for redevelopment on the 22-mile multi-use trail loop, and a prime location for car-free living. 

By the fourth quarter of 2025, Beltline officials plan to fully entitle the Murphy Crossing site, a process that would include a Development of Regional Impact review at the state level. Planning efforts will continue between now and then, per officials. 

Beyond that, the Beltline’s goal calls for breaking ground on Murphy Crossing’s first phase sometime in 2026. 

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