A surge of new housing and other large-scale investment at the doorstep of Atlanta’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities continues.

Leaders with Morehouse College, Spelman College, Develop Fulton, the City of Atlanta, and development firms formally broke ground Monday on a $147-million, campus-adjacent West End project described as “transformative” for the area. 

Now titled “The Den at Eight50 West” for its address, the student-housing venture calls for 305 units with a total of 793 beds for both Morehouse and Spelman students, according to Philadelphia-based developer Radnor Property Group, which is partnering with Madrone Community Development Foundation on the project. 

The vacant 850 West End Ave. site in question is immediately south of Morehouse’s B.T. Harvey Stadium, which hosts football and track and field events. Spelman’s new architecturally striking “front porch,” the Mary Schmidt Campbell Center for Innovation and the Arts, is just to the east. 

Construction on The Den at Eight50 West kicked off in July, with a goal of providing modernized, high-quality housing for hundreds of Atlanta University Center students. It’s scheduled to open in time for the fall 2028 semester.

How a central courtyard is expected to look and function at The Den at Eight50 West. theden850w.com

The site's proximity to Interstate 20, Morehouse College's football stadium, and other landmarks is illustrated here. Google Maps

Tim Gigliotti, Radnor’s managing director of development, called the groundbreaking a “historic milestone” for the “first-of-its-kind joint housing partnership” for both HBCU institutions. 

Amenities at the building call for a lobby staffed 24/7, outdoor rec space, communal lounges, a fitness room, bike storage, study rooms, and a dog run. 

Develop Fulton, the county’s economic development authority, approved up to $144.5 million in bond funding in January to help The Den at Eight50 West project move forward. It’s expected to generate 350 construction jobs and 14 permanent ones, per Develop Fulton. 

The development team also includes: Clark Construction and CD Moody Construction (joint venture as construction manager); Moody Nolan (architect); Pape-Dawson (civil engineer); and Radnor Campus Management (joint venture between Radnor Property Group and COCM as property manager).  

Full plans for the new campus-adjacent student housing building at 850 West End Ave. theden850w.com

The acreage in question, at right, as seen along West End Avenue in early 2025. Google Maps

The AUC groundbreaking follows the opening of another large residential venture in nearby blocks: the second phase of mixed-income Ashley Scholars Landing. 

Elsewhere, a new 700-bed Spelman College residence hall is bound for the heart of campus, near popular greenspace The Oval. That’s also scheduled to open in 2028.

North of there, Invest Atlanta has selected a team to redevelop roughly 8 acres in Vine City along Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, just north of Clark Atlanta University’s CAU Panther Stadium. Redevelopment plans call for new housing, a hotel, and a conference center and classroom building for Morris Brown College. 

A scene from this week's formal The Den at Eight50 West groundbreaking with elected, university, and development officials. Courtesy of Radnor Property Group

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