Block-filling Old Fourth Ward development moves forward on idle site

Three years after it was initially proposed, an Old Fourth Ward infill project of considerable scale appears to be moving toward construction east of downtown. 

Paperwork filed this week with Atlanta’s Department of City Planning seeks building permits for an apartment complex anchored by retail that was initially put forward in 2022 by Fuqua Development and its Charlotte-based partners, Northwood Ravin.

The vacant Old Fourth Ward block in question, situated along Boulevard between Highland Avenue and John Lewis Freedom Parkway, would see 273 units take shape across three buildings, costing a total of $78 million, according to filings made by Atlanta-based architecture firm Cooper Carry. 

The apartment buildings would stand up to seven stories and, in addition to retail, will include an unspecified amount of office space and 12 townhomes, per filings. 

Inquiries to Fuqua Development and Northwood Ravin officials for a construction update haven’t been returned.  

Northwood Ravin’s website identifies the project only as “Highland” and lists it as “coming soon.” A Special Administrative Permit for the overall project was approved by the city in early 2023. 

The collection of parcels is situated just east of downtown, where Highland Avenue meets Boulevard, next to the popular Freedom Barkway Dog Park. Just north of the site, demolition work has recently begun for a planned massive redevelopment of Atlanta Medical Center’s 22 acres, where hundreds of new residences, plus commercial, retail, medical, and greenspace uses are proposed.  

The recent filings for 505 Highland Ave. indicate the overall unit count has been modified slightly from the 285 homes previously planned. The Atlanta Business Chronicle reported in summer 2023 the development team had closed on the 3.3-acre site, paying $4 million per acre.

Earlier filings indicated the project will include 56,000 square feet of retail space with a grocery store—reportedly a Publix, as of 2023—in the mix, and that 15 percent of the apartments would be reserved for renters earning 80 percent of the area median income or less. 

The property in question is largely vacant now, apart from a standalone house and the former Desperate Housewares Atlanta furniture store—both now shuttered. 

Two buildings in a low-rise brick apartment complex immediately to the east would not be impacted, and neither would the dog park, plans indicate.  

Other aspects of the Highland Avenue development call for roughly 12,400 square feet for restaurants and retail, plus a garage with 400 parking spaces that would serve retail guests, residents, and visitors headed to the dog park, according to plans presented by developers in 2023. 

Also in 2023, the project succeeded in scoring a $5.7 million tax break despite Old Fourth Ward’s status as one of metro Atlanta’s hottest redevelopment zones. Fuqua and co-developers told Development Authority of Fulton County members the abatement would determine whether the project is viable for development or remains an underused lot. 

Northwood Ravin’s work in Atlanta includes a mixed-use venture called Halo East Decatur that’s bringing nearly 400 apartments to the doorstep of MARTA’s Avondale station. That project is undergoing vertical construction now.

In addition to suburban mixed-use ventures at The Battery and in places like Buford, Fuqua’s controversial Atlanta-based development company is known for projects with a heavy emphasis on parking such as Midtown Place and Edgewood Retail District, and a suburban-style node with a towering self-storage facility near Atlantic Station. Fuqua’s more recent work includes Madison Yards in Reynoldstown.

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