For Beltline affordable housing build, fresh details and images emerge

A mixed-use project geared toward injecting South Buckhead with less expensive, Beltline-adjacent housing options is coming into clearer focus as construction moves forward. 

Illinois-based general contractor McShane Construction Company was recently picked by active intown developer Pennrose to build The Overlook at Garson, a six-story venture along the Beltline’s forthcoming Northeast Trail and a creek that wends through Atlanta. 

According to McShane officials, finalized plans call for the podium-style building to feature 130 apartments and 10,300 square feet of commercial space, along with a two-story parking garage with 100 spaces. (Renderings released today lend fresh perspectives on how the retail component will interact with the Beltline and overlook the waterway.) 

Other features of the 579 Garson Drive NE project will include a modern-style exterior with EIFS—a lightweight, synthetic wall-cladding system—and fiber and brick cement panel accents, per McShane reps. 

Beltline officials relayed early last month that construction on The Overlook at Garson was scheduled to begin in coming weeks, and that all 130 apartments will qualify as workforce housing, reserved for tenants earning 30 to 80 percent of the Area Median Income. 

According to McShane, apartments will range from studios to three-bedroom options, with one or two bathrooms, and perks including quartz countertops and shaker-style cabinetry. 

Elsewhere, plans call for 3,500 square feet of communal amenities, including a fitness center, conference room, offices, workspaces, and an outdoor deck with seating and grills but no pool. 

The 2.94-acre site is situated along the banks of Peachtree Creek, a couple of blocks from MARTA’s Lindbergh station and the Uptown redevelopment, just west of Piedmont Road. A short section of the Beltline’s Northeast Trail in the area has been completed, but the rest remains under construction. 

The Overlook at Garson’s development team also includes Radiant Development Partners, Smith Dalia Architects, and civil engineers Thompson Ehle Company. 

“This development is about more than housing,” said Will Eckstein, Pennrose’s regional vice president, in an announcement today. “It’s about ensuring that the growth and opportunity along the Beltline remains accessible to the broader Atlanta community, including the residents who have long called this neighborhood home.”

Construction timelines call for opening The Overlook at Garson in May 2028, per McShane officials. 

The project marks McShane’s third with Pennrose. The others, both under construction in Atlanta, are McAuley Station’s second phase and the latest addition to Herndon Square. 

The Overlook at Garson is being funded in part by a $2-million Beltline loan and more than $43 million in equity investment through 4 percent Low-Income Housing Tax Credit equity. 

Around the 22-mile loop, a pipeline of some 500 affordable units is actively in development in the Beltline Tax Allocation District, or a zone of roughly ½-mile around each mainline trail. Beltline leadership reported in April they plan to exceed their goal of locking in a total of 5,600 affordable housing units near the trail system over the next four years. 

The Beltline agency has purchased 94 acres in recent years to create more affordable housing and non-market-rate commercial spaces to help boost small businesses, per officials. 

In the gallery above, find more context and the latest visuals for the Northeast Trail mixed-use project. 

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