Mall West End sells for redevelopment. For real this time, city says

According to city leadership, the fourth time will be a charm for storied but ailing Mall West End, in terms of large-scale redevelopment plans that have popped up but ultimately burst in recent years.

The City of Atlanta has officially acquired the 12-acre Mall West End site in partnership with Atlanta Beltline Inc. and Atlanta Urban Development Corporation, a local nonprofit entity with a goal of developing underused public land into mixed-income housing.

City officials revealed today the 1970s mall’s mixed-use redevelopment will be led by both residential housing developer BRP Companies and commercial development firm The Prusik Group.

Those companies, both based in New York City, had unveiled plans in 2022 and worked with neighborhood leaders for turning the West End economic and cultural hub into a new-construction blend of hundreds of housing units and commercial spaces, possibly with a hotel in the mix.

But by October last year, those plans were declared D.O.A.

City leaders now predict Mall West End’s site will see 1.7 million square feet of development in coming years, costing to the tune of $450 million.  

Funding for the deal includes $19 million in acquisition financing provided by Merchants Capital, plus a $5 million acquisition loan from Atlanta Urban Development and another $5 million from Beltline coffers, according to the city.

City officials didn’t disclose the purchase price for the mall property in an announcement today, and public sales records aren’t yet available. We’ve asked for clarity on sales details and will update this post with any additional information that comes.

Buying the mall is considered the first step toward transforming the property into a mixed-use and mixed-income development, with a goal of creating affordable housing and spaces for legacy small businesses by way of “inclusive commercial space for a diverse business community,” per the city announcement. It’s expected to take multiple years to fully pull off.

“This is a long-awaited new era for the West End,” Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said in a statement. “This is not just a redevelopment of the Mall West End—this is fulfilling a commitment to a community.”

The sale marks "the moment the West End community—and all of District 4—have been working towards for years,” added Atlanta City Councilmember Jason Dozier, who represents District 4.

The city and its partners plan to gather input from legacy business owners, area residents, and other stakeholders before moving forward with transforming the mall property.

Key facets of the redevelopment are set to include roughly 125,000 square feet of retail with a grocery store, local boutiques, a fitness center, and food-and-beverage options. At least 10,000 square feet of commercial space that leases at affordable rates will also be in the mix for qualified local small businesses, along with 12,000 square feet of medical office space, per the city.

Other sections would see a 150-room hotel built, plus roughly 900 units of mixed-income rental housing. According to the city’s announcement, 70 percent of those rentals would be reserved as workforce housing, while 20 percent would rent at 50 percent of the area median income or less, and 10 percent at 80 percent AMI.

Elsewhere would be student housing and communal perks that include bike parking, resident lounges, and activated streetscapes, per the city.

Construction at Mall West End is slated to begin in 2025, with the first phase being delivered sometime in 2026, city officials said today.

The development team has vowed to contribute at least $500,000 to a fund that will help qualifying commercial tenants with rent credits and tenant improvement allowances, according to project officials.

Mall West End’s ownership group has been exploring options to offload the property for several years. The mall is dotted with vacancies but counts Planet Fitness, Foot Locker, Journey’s, and food-and-beverage options such as American Deli as primary attractions today.

With its location near MARTA’s West End station, the Beltline’s Westside Trail, and Atlanta University Center within a quick jaunt of downtown, the mall property has had no trouble attracting developer interest in recent years.

But each of three earlier visions fell apart.

Last fall, The Prusik Group and BRP terminated a contract for a mall redevelopment deal. Tentative plans had called for splitting the property into four blocks and creating two new streets, allowing for better access and flow to buildings with a maximum height of a few stories—unlike the glassy towers in previous proposals. With that plan, the site could have seen up to 1.5 million square feet of new construction, per the developers, with between 650 and 900 mixed-income apartments and up to 250,000 square feet of “necessity-based retail.”

Another Mall West End redevelopment deal on a much larger scale—with an estimated pre-inflation price tag of $400 million—involving Beltline visionary Ryan Gravel and venture capitalist Donray Von, a West End native, collapsed in 2021.

New York-based real estate giant Tishman Speyer also backed out of another mall contract.

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