Plans for the sweeping redevelopment of a section of a former U.S. Army base in Southwest Atlanta have taken a key step forward, with project officials eyeing a groundbreaking early in the new year.

The Fort Mac Local Redevelopment Authority on Tuesday unanimously approved the lease of the final 94 acres of developable land at Fort McPherson to a firm led by Bishop T.D. Jakes, founder and pastor of The Potter’s House Church in Dallas who also produces movies, according to the AJC.

T.D. Jakes Real Estate Ventures’ plans call for a variety of new and repurposed buildings near the northeast corner of the old Army base, located off Lee Street about five miles south of downtown, according to plans filed with the City of Atlanta Office of Zoning and Development earlier this year. The Army post closed back in 2011.

The acreage in question will be leased to The Fort Mac Village, a subset of Jakes’ real estate firm. LRA officials are calling the project the second largest in Southwest Atlanta—behind the airport’s expansion—and the lease approval paves the way for construction to begin. Fort Mac LRA board chairman Cassius Butts told the AJC a ribbon-cutting and groundbreaking ceremony are expected to take place at the site within the next two months, as Jakes’ team gets to work renovating a historic former Army building in the meantime.  

The section of Fort McPherson targeted for redevelopment. The former Army base spans nearly 500 acres overall, with Tyler Perry Studios situated to the south. Google Maps

Overview of the 96-acre masterplan at 1601 Lee Street. T.D. Jakes Real Estate Ventures; designs, Perkins Eastman

Jakes has been involved with Fort Mac’s redevelopment since 2021. He’s previously said workforce and affordable housing—designed to meet a nation need—will be a primary focus on land not controlled by Tyler Perry’s massive movie studio complex.

More details pertaining to Jakes’ plans are expected to be released early next year.

Paperwork filed by Jakes’ firm with the city in March indicates the project’s scope could rival almost any mixed-use proposal in metro Atlanta. On the residential side, site plans call for more than 900 multifamily dwellings, 200 townhomes, 181 standalone houses, a senior living facility, and a 207-room hotel with rental units.

Elsewhere, 105,000 square feet of commercial and retail space, a charter school, 84,000 square feet of offices, and 36,000 square feet of restaurant and food-service space is in the mix, according to earlier filings.

Renderings by New York-based architecture firm Perkins Eastman indicate larger new buildings at Fort McPherson would lean into a modern esthetic, while single-family houses would be more traditional. One standalone retail building specifies that it could be a grocery store.  

Examples of facades planned around the new district. T.D. Jakes Real Estate Ventures; designs, Perkins Eastman

Where a crescent of new mixed-use construction would border historic buildings at Fort McPherson. Lee Street is depicted at bottom. T.D. Jakes Real Estate Ventures; designs, Perkins Eastman

The entire former Army post spans nearly 500 acres, and Perry controls more than 350 acres of it, having built a sprawling 40-plus-building complex considered one of the country’s largest TV and film production facilities. Sets range from a classic diner, farmhouse, and county jail to a realistic White House replica.

Find a more detailed preview of Jakes' Fort Mac redevelopment plans, according to city filings, in the gallery above. 

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