Plans to turn vacant lots into hundreds of new homes and commercial space along Atlanta’s growing Marietta Boulevard corridor have scored a boost from Fulton County’s economic development authority.  

The Develop Fulton Board of Directors this week approved a bond inducement resolution as a means of supporting mixed-use project GuildHouse (formerly “GuildHouse at Upper Westside”), a $107.6-million proposal that’s been in planning and funding stages for more than three years. 

The board’s vote is a first step toward formalizing an incentive package for the project by Atlanta-based developer Vida Companies, and no dollar amount was specified. 

According to Develop Fulton officials, GuildHouse would boost the area in question by providing affordable housing, remediating contaminated property, creating roughly 623 construction and permanent jobs, and spurring about $419 million in overall economic impact. 

More than $12 million would be directly invested into the community, per the authority’s calculations, in the form of infrastructure upgrades, environmental cleanup, public art, and a $1-million pocket park, among other work. 

“This investment brings new housing choices, workforce housing, jobs, and commercial activity while returning a long-underutilized property to productive use,” said Kwanza Hall, Develop Fulton chairman, in an announcement.  

Fresh rendering depicting GuildHouse's planned commercial space, townhomes, and apartments between 2051 and 2095 Marietta Boulevard. Vida; via Develop Fulton

The sites in question in 2025, along the eastern side of Marietta Boulevard. Google Maps

Current GuildHouse plans call for 7,200 square feet of retail and coworking space, 39 rental townhomes, and roughly 310 new apartments (a reduction of more than 40 units from earlier estimates). According to Develop Fulton, 15 percent of all residences will be designated as workforce housing for households earning up to 80 percent of the Area Median Income. 

Vida’s current timeline calls for closing on financing for GuildHouse in the fourth quarter of this year to move toward construction, per Develop Fulton. Earlier construction timelines, however, have been delayed. The project first came to light in summer 2023; city officials had started the process of land-use zoning changes for the three formerly industrial parcels—2051, 2085, and 2095 Marietta Boulevard—a year prior to that. 

Construction requiring roughly 600 workers is expected to take about two years. 

GuildHouse would rise across a 6.68-acre assemblage in the Bolton neighborhood, replacing lots formerly used for bus and truck storage, a café building, and a one-story NAPA Auto Parts store. The properties are situated across the street from Crest Lawn Memorial Park and around the corner from popular Mexican restaurant Nuevo Laredo Cantina on Chattahoochee Avenue.

Other attractions in the area include Selig’s The Works adaptive-reuse warehouse district, where a large-scale expansion is percolating. 

Another perk of the location is the next under-construction phase of PATH Foundation’s Silver Comet Connector, which will help link the GuildHouse property to The Works and the Beltline’s new Northwest Trail section beyond that. 

How retail and apartment facades would look along Marietta Boulevard. Vida; via Develop Fulton

Planned internal functionality between townhomes, apartments, and retail. Courtesy of Proxima Residential/Vida Companies; designs, Geheber Lewis Associates/2023

The sales price for the three parcels in 2023 was $13.05 million, according to the Marcus and Millichap real estate investment firm, the deal's brokers.

According to Vida officials, the GuildHouse development team also includes Geheber Lewis Associates (architecture), Dix Hite (landscaping), Krywicki (interior design), and Kimley-Horn (civil engineering). 

Coined “Upper Westside,” the area in question—located between Atlantic Station and Interstate 285—has evolved in recent years from an industrial zone into a Beltline-connected brewery and loft-office district with a wave of new housing. 

Courtesy of Marcus & Millichap

Newer residential developments within a few blocks of the GuildHouse site include Broadstone Upper Westside, Altus at the Quarter, and a more recent mixed-use project called BRYKS Upper Westside, which has delivered 600 more apartments in two buildings. 

Along with large retail and office projects, Vida’s leadership team has developed more than 7,000 housing units worth more than $1.7 billion over the past two decades, per company officials. Across Georgia, Vida’s other current projects include Carrena at Mall of Georgia, Verona in Fairburn, and Solara in Powder Springs. 

Find more context and visuals for what’s planned along Marietta Boulevard in the gallery above. 

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