Developer: Tariffs, gas prices culprit in Atlanta construction pause

As concerned neighbors have noticed, a relatively large residential project for English Avenue has gone idle for the better part of a year, following a groundbreaking attended by Atlanta’s mayor and the beginnings of vertical construction.  

According to the frustrated, Atlanta-based developer leading the mixed-use The Proctor project, a budget shortfall triggered by changes at the federal level is to blame, rendering his project part of a growing national trend.

The Proctor, a 137-unit mixed-income building, has claimed formerly vacant land at 698 Oliver St. roughly a block south of the Westside Beltline Connector trail, a link (and hot real estate selling point) between the main Beltline loop and downtown Atlanta. 

Pitched as a needed dose of Westside investment, the $55.6-million Proctor wound through planning stages for several years before landing a low-interest loan with Atlanta Housing, which has called the project a “visionary [and] monumental step forward” in the creation of attainable housing intown. Mayor Andre Dickens helped lead a ceremonial groundbreaking for The Proctor in December 2024, and by late summer last year, a towering crane had been erected and vertical development was peeking over protective fencing. 

And then, in January, all activity at the site stopped—apart from routine maintenance. 

Rod Mullice, managing member for developer Windsor Stevens Holdings, tells Urbanize Atlanta the issue stems from a budget shortfall of $5 million, as private capital needed to complete the project has ballooned from $40 million to $45 million. 

That additional funding, according to Mullice, is required for covering the spiking cost of fuel (diesel in the U.S. is averaging almost $6.40 per gallon now) and a yearly inflation rate of roughly 3.5 percent. 

Tariffs on virtually all materials needed for a building of such scale—lumber, concrete, aluminum, and steel—have also taken a toll, according to Mullice. 

“I’m confident I’m not the only builder-developer facing these challenges,” Mullice told Urbanize Atlanta this week. 

Last week, a National Multifamily Housing Council survey of 60 leading development and multifamily construction firms found that 29 percent were reporting fewer construction starts versus three months ago—and more than half had seen deals repriced. About one in four of the companies surveyed said labor costs have also risen since the second quarter of 2026, but half reported that material costs hadn’t changed. 

In English Avenue, Mullice says his team was able to complete about 20 percent of overall construction before halting progress, leaving concrete columns standing with nothing to support. 

The scope of the eight-story project remains unchanged: 137 apartments served by a three-story parking deck, with roughly 11 for-sale retail units totaling 10,000 square feet at street level. 

But Mullice says an affordability component at The Proctor could be bumped up to now include 41 units capped for residents earning 50 percent of the Area Median Income at most, and another 55 capped at 80 percent AMI. 

The remaining 46 apartments would go for market-rate, per Mullice. 

On the bright side, according to Mullice, he’s agreed on terms to fill the funding gap with lenders, which he expects to be approved by government partners in mid-November. The goal, he says, is to restart construction in January. 

“I think that because the economic environment has changed, the business plans have to change,” said Mullice. “We have made an adjustment to our business plan to acknowledge the current economic environment. Our partners also acknowledge the economic environment, and we’re bringing more private capital to the table.” 

That optimism is being echoed at the national level, too. 

According to the NMHC survey, half of respondents expect overall construction conditions to improve over the next six to 12 months (up from 46 percent in June), compared to the 12 percent expecting conditions to decline (down from 14 percent in June).

Atlanta Housing officials have said The Proctor’s rent-capped apartments will be reserved for AH Housing Choice Voucher participants, a means to guarantee their affordability for at least 30 years. Planned amenities call for a pool deck, fitness and yoga room, dog spa, and a “chill room” equipped with a full kitchen, according to permitting paperwork filed with the city’s Office of Buildings. 

The Proctor was put together through Atlanta Urban Development, a nonprofit entity that aims to develop underused public land into mixed-income housing. An LLC called WS Proctor Co. purchased the assemblage of properties for $3.75 million in March 2022.

The English Avenue site in question is tucked off Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway, immediately west of Brock Built Homes’ 30-unit Oliver Street Townhomes. 

Windsor Stevens was founded by Mullice, whose portfolio includes transit-focused projects such as The Pad on Harvard in College Park and the long-planned The Frazier in Chamblee, which has yet to break ground.  

Should it restart as planned, The Proctor would join an English Avenue growth spurt that’s seeing hundreds of residences come together in projects both large and not, due west of Midtown and Georgia Tech. 

“We are committed to the [English Avenue] project,” said Mullice. “Our partners are committed to the project. And the team’s committed to the project.” 

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• English Avenue news, discussion (Urbanize Atlanta)