A delayed residential project in downtown Chamblee once expected to break ground the very month that COVID-19 lockdowns started in Atlanta is hardly D.O.A., its developer says.

In fact, the project—now titled “The Frazier at Old Towne Gordon”—will be beefing up its scope before moving forward, given the strength of current market conditions in Chamblee, according to developer Rod Mullice of Windsor Stevens Holdings.

Previous renderings showed the brick-clad 3553 Chamblee Dunwoody Road project with four stories; updated visuals depict the building standing twice that height.  

Mullice tells Urbanize Atlanta his firm purchased the property next door last fall to increase The Frazier’s size. He intends to start the redesign process with Niles Bolton Associates architects in the first quarter of next year, with all details pending until then.

“The goal will be to increase the unit count but maintain the design standards,” said Mullice.

The additional .4-acre property in question includes a 1980s auto repair building and sold for $1.1 million in October, records show.

Renderings released in June showing The Frazier at Olde Towne Gordon project as previously designed with 144 units. Windsor Stevens Holdings; designs, Niles Bolton & Associates

The Frazier project's combined 3535/3553 Chamblee Dunwoody Road location in relation to the rest of downtown and Chamblee's MARTA hub. Google Maps

As is, The Frazier calls for 144 luxury apartments at an average of 735 square feet per unit, and the project is “fully entitled with land disturbance permit in-hand,” per Windsor Holdings’ website.

Nonresidential aspects of the project, as currently designed, call for 7,400 square feet of retail space, a 1,900-square-foot “covered porch” for retail, and about 6,000 square feet of amenities for renters.

Other perks of the project—described as a Transit-Oriented Development, with the Chamblee MARTA station just 1/4 mile away—will include Google Technology in the building, a pool deck, EV chargers, and immediate access to Chamblee’s planned Rail Trail expansion route, per the developer.  

Chamblee has been "a beneficiary of explosive population growth within Atlanta, drawing new residents due to its proximity to the primary employment hubs in Buckhead and Midtown,” notes The Frazier marketing materials. “[The project] is embedded in an area with strong income statistics, population growth, and educational attainment, and will support competitive rents and consistent rent growth.”

As seen in early 2023, the 3535 Chamblee Dunwoody Road auto property added to The Frazier's scope. Google Maps

Earlier project designs. Windsor Stevens Holdings; designs, Niles Bolton & Associates

Initial plans called for The Frazier (formerly “The Gordon”) to be for-sale condos, with construction scheduled to start in March 2020.

According to the sales push in February that year, the initial phase of 24 homes was going to be priced from the $200,000s, with condos ranging from 501 to 1,098 square feet. But then, a global pandemic. 

Should it move forward as expected, The Frazier would join the new Lumen Chamblee project across the street, and another nearby multifamily development, City Heights, that's finishing construction now. 

...

Follow us on social media: 

Twitter / Facebook/and now: Instagram  

• Chamblee news, discussion (Urbanize Atlanta)