6 months later, 'missing middle' housing replacements still on market

Six months after construction wrapped, sellers are getting creative in an effort to sell upscale duplexes in Edgewood that took shape where a controversial proposal for missing-middle housing was cancelled in the face of neighborhood ire.

The 10 duplex units include a six-home, modern-style flank along Whitefoord Avenue called The Alley of Edgewood. 

When those duplexes were first listed while under construction last summer, prices ranged between $949,900 and $979,900—each of them gunning to be the most expensive sales in neighborhood history, apart from a 4,200-square-foot modern home that had traded for $1 million in May last year.  

Today, it’s a different story.

Unit A was discounted on Tuesday by another $50,000 to $749,900. Its sibling unit remains on the market but went under contract a couple of weeks ago, according to Keller Knapp Realty listings.

The two remaining duplexes are both now on the market as combo packages. They’re asking $1.69 million each for two four-bedroom, three and ½ bathroom dwellings attached to each other, each side with a two-car garage and sizable rooftop deck.

“[There] may not be a better investment opportunity in ATL right now,” the listings exclaim. “[It’s an] unbelievable opportunity.”  

Developer SLR Investments built the duplexes on a corner property just east of the Edgewood Retail District and south of a MARTA station that’s been transformed into a hub of housing and commercial spaces. 

Two more traditional-style duplex units on the Finley Avenue side of the project sold in January and March, both for $849,900. Another has also sold on that side of the project as well, according to listing agent Jonathan Rich.

The 1-acre corner site was the source of a heated debate in 2022 stemming from SLR’s relatively dense housing proposal in the middle of residential Edgewood.

Initial plans for 90/98 Whitefoord had called for creating four dozen missing-middle rental options, some reserved at prices people earning less than $36,000 annually could afford. Rents for studios would have been as low as $453 monthly. The unit count was later rolled back to 36, with a one-to-one parking ratio, in an effort to gain approval. The project carried the slogan “Edgewood for Everyone.”

SLR had hoped to rezone the property from single-family or duplex uses to a missing-middle housing designation, or MR-MU, to capitalize on walkability. The site is roughly four blocks from the Edgewood/Candler Park MARTA station, and a MARTA bus stop is located across the street. Following continued neighborhood pushback, however, SLR killed those plans in 2022 and moved forward with larger duplexes.

Opponents and some neighborhood leaders contended the site wasn’t right for so much new housing in one place. Lack of dedicated parking and traffic were concerns, as was a disagreement that the project didn't align with the broader Edgewood Redevelopment Plan. Some residents did applaud the project’s scale and non-subsidized affordability goals and offered suggestions on other Edgewood locations where it might be more appropriate.

The missing middle concept refers to housing that fills the gap between apartment complexes and single-family homes—the difference, in some cases, between subsidized housing and more expensive, market-rate living options. 

Today, the duplexes border a more affordable infill rental project, Finley Street Cottages, that managed to gain approval and finish construction last year. A key difference is that the Finley Street project renovated two 1920s Craftsman bungalows and placed additional units in large yards behind them, rather than erecting ADUs behind new buildings that front the sidewalk.

Find a closer look at The Alley of Edgewood, both inside and out, in the gallery above.  

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