West of Midtown, plans are percolating for a residential project that would replace an industrial-zoned junkyard that’s walkable to perks including the Atlanta Beltline and the city’s largest greenspace.
Two rows of townhomes will take shape on the 1/2-acre site at 685 Law St. in Bankhead, most recently home to Alpha Used Auto Parts, according to plans submitted to the city.
The site counts the newest Westside Trail segments practically in its backyard, with MARTA’s Bankhead transit station and Shirley Clarke Franklin Park around the corner.
Site plans call for 12 townhomes with a central drive rising from the Law Street property. Each would stand three stories.
The 685 Law St. site in relation to Shirley Clarke Franklin Park and Georgia Tech. Google Maps
Site plan for 12 three-story units proposed on Law Street. Flippo Civil Design
One building would have seven townhomes and the other five, according to plans submitted to the Atlanta City Council’s Zoning Committee this week.
We reached out early this morning to applicants for more information on the (unnamed) developer, the size of proposed townhomes, and a construction timeline. This story will be updated with any additional details that come. Whether the units will be for sale or rent isn’t specified. [UPDATE: 7:02 p.m., Jan. 14: We're told the project is being developed by Grind Capital Group and that units will be around 1,530 square feet each; no ETA is available.]
The development team is asking for the property to be rezoned from heavy industrial uses to a multifamily residential designation in the Beltline Overlay District. Any rental properties within those zones in Atlanta are required to include a portion of housing designated affordable.
The Law Street auto parts scrapyard business in question in 2023. Google Maps
Overview of the 685 Law St. property in relation to the Westside Trail corridor as its construction began. Google Maps
The site is just west of the Ten29 West townhomes by Brock Built Homes that set price records for the area in post-pandemic years. More recently, that project underwent discounts as Microsoft decided to slam the brakes on a planned 90-acre Westside campus.
In November, Microsoft announced it was gifting a significant portion of that property—more than 22 acres—to the city for development that includes affordable housing.
In other encouraging news for the area, plans to beef up MARTA’s Bankhead station with multiple towers of mixed-use development were recently put back into motion. According to Invest Atlanta, schedules call for the initial phase of that project—now called “Hollowell Innovation District”—to be under construction next year.
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