Following several years of delays, a Doraville project that aims to revitalize and enliven a section of Buford Highway while creating a new northside destination is on track to move forward next year, developers tell Urbanize Atlanta.  

Eti Lazarian, general operations director for real estate investment firm Insignia, says initial phases of the proposed Lotus Grove district are on pace to see vertical construction in summer 2025, with an expected total cost north of $300 million.

The 5597 Buford Highway site in question, situated just outside the Interstate 285 loop, once operated as a Kmart, which has been demolished.

Alongside low-rise retail and restaurants (fresh renderings provided this week show a food hall in the works), Lotus Grove’s initial phase calls for a 12-story building—the tallest in Doraville, per project officials—that would include 456 apartments and perks such as a pool and fitness center.  

Lazarian said construction schedules call for delivering Lotus Grove’s retail and residential components by sometime in 2027. 

“We’re proud of the underlying community sensibility and HERO aspects of the project,” Lazarian wrote via email. “When finished, the project will bring a more ‘city center’-type feel to the area, a vibrant place for people to congregate.

“With it being the tallest building in the area,” Lazarian added, “it will also serve as a visible landmark to draw people in.”

Updated look at a courtyard and food hall plans for Doraville's Lotus Grove. Courtesy of Insignia

The latest plans for low-rise retail facades in the 5500 block of Buford Highway. Courtesy of Insignia

Miami-based developer Resia, the company behind a five-building residential project on Memorial Drive and another in Douglasville, is gearing up to build the first phase of residential, called Resia Lotus Grove, per company officials.

Gus Cabrera, Resia’s director of business development, recently told Urbanize infrastructure work on the residential tower has begun, and full development is on pace to start next year, though no project renderings are available.

A Kmart Big K operated on the 13-acre Doraville property until 2010, and the shopping center’s remains were fully cleared two years ago. That appeared to set the stage for Lotus Grove—and the continuation of development trends in nearby cities such as Chamblee and Dunwoody that are leaning into urban-style, mixed-use nodes. 

According to Insignia’s website, Lotus Grove will eventually see two 12-story residential towers (with 780 units total) as part of roughly 1 million square feet of new construction. Other facets would include a national hotel and a public park designed to be activated for events.

Lazarian said this week the project’s full scope has not changed. The company didn’t comment when asked about development challenges that have delayed Lotus Grove.

Courtesy of Insignia

Insignia’s project description for Lotus Grove predicts it will bring urbanization to Buford Highway and help revitalize the popular foodie destination.

Three years ago, Doraville’s Downtown Development Authority issued roughly $120 million worth of revenue bonds that Insignia will have to pay back, plus a tax abatement in the ballpark of $40 million.

Elsewhere in the city, plans are percolating for a made-from-scratch downtown district that would help lend Doraville identity, while an infill residential project called Camino is under construction on a previously vacant lot.

The Lotus Grove site is less than a mile from the initial phase of Doraville’s Assembly Atlanta TV and film studio and greenspace complex, which has risen from the ashes of a razed General Motors plant.

Find more context and the latest available imagery in the gallery above.

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