A “Coming Soon” sign has stood on the property for well over two years, but recent site work suggests a rare development of for-sale Old Fourth Ward condos is now underway, within shouting distance of Ponce City Market.

The Leon on Ponce, a 72-unit mid-rise project, was first marketed in May 2019 as the replacement for a cleared site that has served as surface parking.

The .9-acre property sits between Mister Carwash and the recently opened Wylie Hotel, less than a block west of Ponce City Market.

Building permits indicate The Leon’s two-story parking deck is being constructed first. The top level of the deck will serve as a podium for four levels of condos, per filings.

Ponce de Leon Avenue frontage, at left, and the back of The Leon condo building, as initially proposed.Urban Eco Group; designs, Place Maker Design

Atlanta-based Urban Eco Group is leading the development, with designs by another local company, Place Maker Design. The architecture firm’s previous work includes designs at The Beacon in Grant Park, Alpharetta City Center, and Atlantic Station’s Atlantic Stacks condos.

Urban Eco Group president Dave Radlmann and other officials couldn’t be reached for comment this week, but The Leon’s website indicates that condo prices will range from the $300,000s to the $600,000s. (Earlier promotional materials forecasted the priciest condos at more than $1 million.)

A project timeline—like info on amenities, potential retail, and the size of forthcoming condos—isn’t yet clear.

An LLC called 567 Ponce de Leon Partners PL1 scooped up the property in April 2019 for $2.14 million, property records show.

With the exception of a few shipping containers, the site’s last occupant was the controversial Phoenix bar, which the city shut down in 2005.

The Leon on Ponce's site, at right, as surface parking in October 2019. Google Maps

The 75-unit building's east elevation, facing Ponce City Market, as seen in early renderings. Urban Eco Group; designs, Place Maker Design

The Leon project would join thousands of Old Fourth Ward apartments developed over the past decade but only a handful of condo offerings.

Those include Capital City Real Estate’s 29-unit Flats at the Indie condo project (priced from the mid-$300,000s). The same company started construction earlier this year on a 12-story condo project called The Indie next door.

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