Plans to swap Midtown fire station with high-rise move forward

Plans to erect nearly 300 apartments above a longstanding Midtown fire station are showing signs of life this summer. 

City development authority Invest Atlanta recently approved an $85-million, tax-exempt bond that will help fund construction of a residential tower above the 10th Street property currently occupied by Midtown’s Fire Station 15. 

The 170 10th St. proposal would greatly densify a parcel in a subdistrict where available land has become increasingly scarce amid a decade-long development boom. It first came to light in January last year, when Atlanta Urban Development Corporation and city officials released a Request for Qualifications—an initial step toward picking developers—for the .78-acre property. 

According to Midtown Alliance, the project will feature 282 multifamily units total, all stacked atop a modernized new fire station.  

Of those units, 86 apartments will be reserved as affordable housing, with the bulk of them (57 units) held for households earning at most 50 percent of the Area Median Income. 

The rest of the non-market-rate units (29 total) would go to tenants earning 80 percent AMI or less. 

Here’s a breakdown of projected rents:

The total cost for development is projected to be roughly $155 million. The schedule calls for delivering the building in 2028, per Midtown Alliance. 

A project rendering recently unveiled by Invest Atlanta shows a building with roughly 26 stories, including a half-dozen levels of parking over the fire station. An amenity deck would be placed atop the parking podium. [UPDATE: 1:51 p.m., Aug. 8: According to Midtown Alliance's Development Review Committee meeting agenda next week, the proposal has 21 stories and would feature a 19,448-square-foot fire station at its base, along with a 224-space parking deck podium. The unit count is now listed as 231 from levels eight to 21. "Access to the three-bay fire station is via 10th Street, while an easement connecting to 11th Street gives rear access to the fire station, parking podium, and back of house services," notes the agenda.]

According to the RFQ, the fire station was built in 1986 and still functions as an essential facility in the heart of Midtown. But blocks around the station have been transformed into clusters of glassy high-rise buildings during Midtown’s long current development cycle. That includes the formerly empty parcel immediately next door, to the east, where Mill Creek Residential built a 32-story luxury tower called Modera Parkside.

The RFQ described Midtown's multifamily market as the strongest in the Southeast.

Swing up to the gallery for more images and context.  

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