What’s been described as Atlanta’s version of beachfront property is looking less like an industrial production facility by the day in Reynoldstown.
The Stein Steel plant operated along the former railroad corridor that’s now the BeltLine’s Eastside Trail for 98 years.
Before it shuttered operations and its owner retired, the company founded in 1923 had recently provided steel framing for Atlanta Dairies’ nearby music venue, the Atlanta Hawks practice facility, part of Tyler Perry Studios at Fort McPherson, and Reynoldstown’s Mattie Branch community.
But that’s making way for nearly 300 residences that could help quench Atlanta’s need for intown housing.
In recent weeks, developer Empire Communities has ramped up demolition efforts across the “trophy” 6.5 acres—with 900 feet of BeltLine frontage—that about three dozen other developers had vied to buy.
Empire’s project will be called Stein Steel in homage of the mill, where generations of Reynoldstown residents were employed.
Plans call for building 276 for-sale residential units. They’ll range from smaller one-bedroom condos to three-bedroom townhomes similar to other Empire communities, which now span from East Lake to the Westside, Summerhill, and Buckhead.
Empire officials told Urbanize Atlanta last month that prices will range roughly from the $300,000s to $600,000s. The first homes are expected to deliver in the third quarter of next year.
Lang-Carson Park next door will be expanded and linked with the new community. The lone non-residential component, in terms of new construction, will be a Square Feet Studio-designed, 9,000-square-foot restaurant space where Wylie Street meets the Eastside Trail.
Here's a quick glimpse at where the Stein Steel project stands, and how it ultimately is expected to look:
Overview of the 6.5-acre Reynoldstown site now controlled by Empire Communities, prior to demolition. The restaurant space is pictured at top. Google Maps
Demolition of the steel company's main manufacturing facilities, as seen on Sunday. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta
Where a former home and other structures serving as Stein Steel offices were recently removed along Kirkwood Avenue. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta
Zoning signage along Flat Shoals Avenue where Lang-Carson Park will be expanded and linked with the new construction. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta
Chainlink and barbed-wire fencing surround the former steel business. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta
As seen looking west toward downtown, Empire’s plans call for building 276 residential units, all for sale. Plans call for three distinct sections—the Milltown, Modern Hybrid, and Modern districts—denoted by different architecture styles referencing Reynoldstown’s character and the site’s industrial history.
Courtesy of Empire Communities
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