Trailside housing development fought by neighbors moves forward

A Bolton infill housing proposal with connectivity to a growing multi-use trail system continues to move forward despite an active campaign against it on the part of some neighbors. 

The proposal by Atlanta-based Middle Housing Company calls for 38 townhomes to replace vacant parcels and two single-family houses at 1905 and 1911 La Dawn Lane, northwest of Midtown. 

The 2.6 acres in question are tucked just west of Marietta Boulevard, near the original Scofflaw Brewing Co. location, next to large single-family homes and the Clayburne Place condo complex. 

Some Bolton neighbors have organized a yard-sign campaign and online petition against the proposal, in fear it will destroy nature and viable homes, raise taxes, dilute neighborhood charm, and clog streets with vehicles. 

Developers feel the project would meet a growing need for housing in an increasingly walkable part of Atlanta, where the Silver Comet Connector—a link between the Beltline and the expansive trail system west of the city—is moving closer to completion each week. 

The townhome pitch came before Atlanta City Council’s Zoning Committee today. According to meeting minutes, the proposal was sounded at the meeting and forwarded to the full Atlanta City Council for a vote next week. 

In October, a Bolton neighborhood group voted to approve the townhome proposal, but Neighborhood Planning Unit-D later voted to deny its rezoning, according to the petition’s organizers. 

The concept by Middle Housing Company—a firm behind new duplexes in Howell Station, a 10-unit townhome project along Metropolitan Parkway, and cottages elsewhere in Bolton, among other projects—was initially unveiled in March. 

Derek Turner, Middle Housing Company’s founder and president, told Urbanize Atlanta in July his team had met with neighbors and conducted surveys with 100 respondents before drawing up townhome plans and seeking rezoning that would allow for medium-density development. Faced with neighborhood pushback, and following meetings with PATH Foundation and Department of Watershed Management officials, Turner said the original site plan was revised to include a small public park, a PATH spur-trail connection through the site to nearby retail, stormwater fixes, and enhancements along the existing trail, both aesthetic and for pedestrian safety. 

One nearby Bolton resident, Paul Swicord, told Urbanize last summer the current houses are in good condition and reflect low-density charms that make the residential enclave unique.

Naysayers fear the new buildings and paved lots would trigger stormwater problems with nearby wetlands and add 100 cars onto limited-capacity neighborhood streets, while putting elderly and fixed-income neighbors in a pinch with increased property taxes. The neighborhood has been supportive of high-density development in the past, including the BRYKS Upper Westside project with its nearly 600 apartments; the difference, Swicord said, is that those dense nodes have better access to main thoroughfares. 

The entire western border of the site is the Whetstone Creek Trail, a leafy, two-mile PATH Foundation rails-to-trails project that will become part of the Centennial Olympic Park to Silver Comet Trail connection soon. 

The site is also about two blocks from Westside Village, a newer mixed-use project that counts a Publix, Spiller Park Coffee, and a number of other eateries and retailers. 

Tentative plans call for the townhomes to start at roughly 1,800 square feet, with prices from the high $500,000s, Turner said in July. Middle Housing Company had yet to close on the La Dawn Lane properties, pending rezoning. The company aims to break ground on the proposal in the second quarter of this year, should the rezoning push pan out. 

In the gallery above, find more context and images for the Bolton proposal.  

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