A Midwestern developer on a hot streak around ITP Atlanta plans to set a block-altering, transit-focused project in motion soon in East Point’s historic downtown. 

Gorman & Company, a Wisconsin-based developer with expertise in building affordable housing, expects to close on 2855 East Point St. property this fall to build a project called “The Fifty-Five,” officials tell Urbanize Atlanta. 

Gorman’s plans call for a four-story, 77,000-square-foot building with 60 apartments replacing a portion of a full residential block between Dorsey and Thompson streets. The location, as developers have stressed, is one block west of the East Point MARTA station. 

The unit breakdown calls for one to three-bedroom rentals reserved for households earning between 30 and 80 percent of the area median income. Amenities at The Fifty-Five call for outdoor gathering space, a fitness center, a computer center, and other community spaces. An unspecified amount of retail would also be in the mix. 

The 2855 East Point St. site in relation to MARTA and other downtown landmarks. Gorman & Company

Planned look of retail and building frontage along East Point Street. Courtesy of Gorman & Company

Gorman plans to design, develop, build, and then manage all aspects of the project.  

The transit-oriented development “will enhance the walkability of downtown East Point surrounding the MARTA station,” reads a Gorman project description, “and provide a critical supply of mixed-income housing in a well-connected close-in suburb, immediately accessible to the airport, downtown [Atlanta], and countless other amenities.” 

A tentative development timeline Gorman previously submitted to East Point city officials called for starting construction in October and beginning lease up at The Fifty-Five in May 2027, but that was subject to change, developers cautioned.

As shown in March, the section of East Point Street slated to be cleared for construction of The Fifty-Five project. Google Maps

The Fifty-Five's site plan and expected retail and parking arrangement. Gorman & Company

Gorman has been on a building spree at sites around Atlanta in recent years, debuting its first project in Westview and another near MARTA’s Hamilton E. Holmes station in 2024. 

Another Gorman development with an adaptive-reuse component, Sweet Auburn Grande, is fully under construction now, while another proposal near Mall West End entered the pipeline last year. 

The company is also spearheading the adaptive-reuse transformation of downtown’s long-vacant Atlanta Constitution Building into a concept called The Pitch, where the initial phase is on pace to open prior to 2026 FIFA World Cup hoopla. 

Elsewhere in downtown Atlanta, Gorman plans to break ground next spring on a 16-story affordable housing tower as part of The Sanctuary, a $41.3-million remake of Trinity United Methodist Church’s historic campus. That project will include 89 mixed-income units, shared residential spaces, and a shelter for women and children while keeping the century-old sanctuary intact, per Gorman. 

Gorman & Company

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