Update: Filings shed light on Amsterdam Walk redevelopment plans

By all indications, including a recent business closure and notices to vacate, Atlanta developer Portman Holdings is gearing up to move forward with redevelopment of 19th century former industrial district Amsterdam Walk soon. Exactly what that could look like is coming into clearer focus.

A site plan recently filed by Portman officials with Atlanta’s Department of City Planning shows how phase one of Amsterdam Walk’s replacement would aim to maximize its proximity to the Atlanta Beltline and take shape away from most existing homes in the immediate area.

Plans indicate phase one will replace a majority if not all of the buildings currently operating at Amsterdam Walk, a hub of local businesses such as Red Light Café since the 1990s. (The Sean’s Harvest Market at Amsterdam Walk recently closed, as one example, though it plans to reopen in January, according to Yelp.)

Overview of Portman's phase one Amsterdam Walk plans, between Monroe Drive (at right) and the Beltline's Northeast Trail. Portman Holdings; via Atlanta Department of City Planning

Plans for the initial phase of Amsterdam Walk development show 11 different pedestrian connections to the Beltline’s Northeast Trail, with the current gravel Beltline interim trail option left open in between.

Beyond that would be eight freestanding new buildings in a variety of sizes and shapes. Two of those would wrap new parking garages.

No shortage of inventive landscaping and plaza areas—and more than 100 spaces for locked bicycle parking—will also be included, per the site plans.

The filing lends no indication exactly how large each building would be, or how tall it would stand. Portman representatives haven’t responded to an inquiry regarding phase one updates at Amsterdam Walk.

Closer look at building arrangements and Beltline connections for the north end of Portman's phase one. Portman Holdings; via Atlanta Department of City Planning

The second phase of Amsterdam Walk development, according to site plans, would abut homes along the Highland Park Lane cul-de-sac, situated east of the Beltline. That section is left blank in Portman’s recent filings.

Portman filed Special Administrative Permit paperwork Thursday as a first step toward remaking the former warehouse district wedged between Piedmont Park and some of the eastside’s most upscale neighborhoods.

According to those filings, the nearly 11-acre Amsterdam Walk project will be broken down into two phases total.

The southern end of Amsterdam Walk's phase one proposal, closest to the main sections of Piedmont Park. Portman Holdings; via Atlanta Department of City Planning

The project scope for the first phase calls for 666 multifamily units—or more than half of the total number of apartments approved by Atlanta City Council for the site last year. Also included in the initial phase will be 96,452 square feet of commercial space, according to Portman’s filings.

The property is already zoned PD-MU, or Planned Development-Mixed Use, a designation that allows for mixes of commercial and residential development and other uses, per Portman.

Portman’s scaled-back Amsterdam Walk plans scored Atlanta City Council eight-to-six approval in April. That came despite a naysaying campaign, an online petition, Neighborhood Planning Unit F’s rejection, and a last-ditch neighborhood board letter decrying the project. Naysayers argued the lone artery in and out of Amsterdam Walk, Monroe Drive, is already unsafe and impassable with consistent traffic jams at certain times of day, among other complaints.

The finalized plans put together by Portman call for up to 1,100 apartments total. Also included in the 1.2-million-square-foot development will be public plazas and about 150,000 square feet of commercial space across both phases.

Where the second phase would take shape along a new Amsterdam Avenue, tucked away from the Beltline. Portman Holdings; via Atlanta Department of City Planning

Somewhere between 220 and 240 of the apartments will be reserved as rentals below market rate, while about 19,000 square feet of retail will see a 30-percent discount for tenants at ground level, developers have said.

Invest Atlanta approved $2 million in Beltline TAD increment financing in September for the phase-one multifamily component at Amsterdam Walk. That housing piece would see 135 units reserved for tenants earning between 50 to 80 percent of the Area Median Income or less, according to Invest Atlanta, the city’s economic development arm.

Below is an overview of the current Amsterdam Walk layout and businesses still operating there, starting from the north end:

Google Maps