Developers are hoping to continue a Blandtown building boom that’s packed on hundreds of apartments, townhomes, and standalone houses alongside new entertainment and dining options in recent years, according to paperwork filed with the city.

Atlanta-based Columbia Ventures recently submitted plans to the City of Atlanta Zoning Committee for turning 8.9 acres of tucked-away industrial land into 845 apartments on Huber Street.

The 1521 Huber St. site is adjacent to active railroad lines, just east of Topgolf Atlanta, Ellsworth Industrial Boulevard, and businesses such as Scope Fine Art and Steady Hand Beer Co.

A new segment of the Atlanta Beltline's 22-mile mainline loop is actively under construction roughly a block south of the site.

As ATL development wonks may recall, Smyrna Ready-Mix fought for several years for approval to turn the acreage into a concrete mixing plant—plans that rankled neighbors and area homebuilders, who feared an increase in heavy truck traffic and pollution, and were ultimately denied by the city. [CORRECTION: 3:31 p.m., Dec. 12: Property records indicate the site for proposed apartments is actually next to the former concrete plant proposal's acreage.] 

Now Columbia Ventures is asking the zoning committee to rezone the site from a heavy industrial designation (I-2) to one that would allow mixed residential and commercial uses (MRC-3).

General scope of the 9-acre site today. Google Maps

Blandtown proposal site in the context of neighborhoods west of Midtown and Buckhead. Google Maps

Plans compiled by Dynamik Design architects call for two separate buildings to rise across two phases, each standing up to seven stories. No retail is included in plans, but 845 parking spaces (one per unit) are. One hundred total bike-storage spaces would also be provided in parking decks.  

When finished, the complex would include 245 units reserved as affordable housing, at rates between 50 and 80 percent of the area median income. The average size of apartments overall would be 745 square feet, according to plans filed with the zoning committee. [CLARIFICATION: City paperwork pertaining to the project's affordability component is incorrect. Columbia Ventures reps clarify the proposal would include 85 affordable units, at 60 percent AMI.]

How the two-phase residential project would be slotted on nearly 9 acres. Columbia Ventures/Dynamik Design; via City of Atlanta Zoning Committee

Notable intown projects in Columbia Ventures’ recent portfolio include the Citizen apartment building that lords over the Eastside Trail in Old Fourth Ward, and the mixed-use transformation of formerly underused MARTA parking lots in Edgewood, where more than 350 apartments now stand.

The Blandtown area in question could be officially Beltline-connected in less than a year.

Huber Street site in relation to the Beltline's under-construction Northwest Trail–Segment 5. Atlanta BeltLine Inc.

According to Atlanta Beltline Inc.’s most recent construction update, Northwest Trail—Segment 5 has encountered unexpected utility infrastructure but remains on pace to be open sometime next fall.

That .7-mile section, which begins where the Westside Trail ends at Marietta Boulevard and Huff Road, broke ground in May. Once completed, the Northwest Trail will be a snaking, off-street connection that stretches between Blandtown, residential Buckhead, and the Lindbergh area.  

Another multi-use trail project in the area, PATH Foundation’s Silver Comet Connector, broke ground early this year just west of Topgolf and Ellsworth Industrial Boulevard.

Proximity to active rail, Topgolf, and Chattahoochee Avenue. Google Maps

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