Images: Affordable housing build declared finished on Northside Drive

Following two years of construction, an English Avenue development with nearly 200 rentals that meet affordability standards has officially arrived just west of Georgia Tech, Midtown, and downtown, per project leaders. 

According to Birmingham-based contractor Capstone Building Corp., all construction has wrapped and move-ins are underway at $57-million Herndon Square Phase II, the largest section of a mixed-income community taking shape on former public housing land along Northside Drive. 

The six-story building spans 335,348 square feet and includes 201 apartments, ranging from one to three-bedroom floorplans, plus a parking deck. 

Onsite amenities include a dog-washing station, playground, wellness clinic, fitness center, and computer business and learning center. At the project’s core, a large interior courtyard with greenspace and a covered picnic area is intended to help residents socialize, officials have said. (Have a closer look at the project’s amenities over here.) 

Just 30 Herndon Square Phase II apartments are renting at market-rate. The other 171 are considered Low Income Housing Tax Credit units, reserved for individuals and families earning 30 to 80 percent of the Area Median Income, project officials have said. Some units require vouchers through Atlanta Housing’s HomeFlex program.

Apartment sizes start at one-bedroom, one-bathroom options in 605 square feet, with rents beginning at $1,100, per the project’s leasing materials. 

The priciest rents posted right now are asking $2,700 monthly for three bedrooms and two bathrooms in 1,100 square feet on the third floor. 

Affordable housing developer Pennrose partnered with Hunt Companies, Oakwood Development, Atlanta Housing, and city agencies on the development, with designs by Thriven Design. Invest Atlanta approved $41.5 million in tax-exempt bond financing to help develop the apartments in 2023.

According to Capstone officials, the $57-million cost also included infrastructure improvements that will support the broader master-planned community.     

Herndon Square is located next to the expanded Science Square district and a few blocks southwest of Georgia Tech’s Bobby Dodd Stadium. The Beltline’s Westside Connector Trail is about two blocks to the west.

Beyond the phase-two apartments, Herndon Square so far includes a 97-unit senior housing component that quickly leased up. 

Next door to the newest apartments, construction is also moving forward on Herndon Square's third phase, which calls for a building with 178 more rentals, ranging from one to three bedrooms. Of those, Pennrose officials say 151 will also rent for between 30 and 80 percent AMI, and that 71 units will be supported by vouchers from the HomeFlex program.

Herndon Square’s full scope calls for 379 units of multifamily residential, 32 townhomes, and a 30,000-square-foot retail space on a section fronting Northside Drive. That commercial component is expected to bring a neighborhood grocery option with fresh food access to English Avenue, though no timeline for development has been specified. 

Another broader goal for the project is to capitalize on recent and existing investments in the area, from Science Square and Echo Street West to the Signia by Hilton Hotel and Georgia World Congress Center. Those investments will collectively account for more than 5,000 permanent jobs in coming years, project officials have estimated. 

Find more context and visuals in the gallery above.

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