After a decade of redevelopment along a single Atlanta corridor, the last residential section of City Lights is fully underway now, transforming an Old Fourth Ward corner between downtown and the Beltline. 

City Lights South marks developer Wingate Capital Associates’ sixth and final phase of City Lights, the master-planned redevelopment of Bedford Pines, a cluster of Department of Housing and Urban Development Section 8 housing along and near Boulevard.

The final piece calls for replacing several low-rise residential structures (now razed) at 404 Boulevard NE, near hundreds of other senior and affordable-housing units Wingate has delivered in earlier phases over the past nine years—with more on the way nearby. 

City Lights South plans call for 159 additional multifamily units overall. 

Looking west toward Midtown, heavy equipment is seen at Wingate's City Lights South site this week. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Full extent of facades planned for City Lights South in the 400 block of Boulevard. Invest Atlanta; designs, Geheber Lewis Associates

The cleared property in question is situated at the northwest corner of Wabash Avenue and Boulevard, about a block north of Atlanta Medical Center, where demolition for eventual redevelopment is nearing completion. 

All apartments will be reserved for tenants earning 60 percent of the Area Median Income or less, according to an Invest Atlanta overview. 

Projected rents will range from $1,325 monthly for a studio (512 square feet), up to $2,650 monthly for one of two three-bedroom options (1,218 square feet) in the building, per Invest Atlanta.  

The largest share of apartments—83 units total—is expected to be two-bedroom options (933 square feet). 

The project will be supported by a HUD Housing Assistance Payment Contract, meaning that residents will not be required to pay more than 30 percent of their income, according to Invest Atlanta. 

A two-year construction schedule for City Lights South calls for opening the building in 2028.  

Construction at the northwest corner of the Boulevard and Wabash Avenue intersection this week. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Row of properties where 159 multifamily units are planned along Boulevard. Google Maps/UA

Amenities at City Lights South call for a computer lab, fitness center, community room, children’s activity center, laundry facilities, and an outdoor communal area on the top parking podium level. 

The project’s previously approved total budget was $59 million, and the amended total is now $72.7 million. 

Invest Atlanta last year approved a $73-million lease purchase bond as a funding tool for the final City Lights phase. Financiers include the Urban Residential Finance Authority, PGIM Real Estate, Churchill Stateside Group, and US Bank, with Georgia Department of Community Affairs tax credits also being used. 

In the gallery above, find more context and imagery for the sixth phase of City Lights. 

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