In Reynoldstown, scraggly motel’s rebirth as affordable housing is finished

In its waning days as a motel, the low-slung 1960s property at 277 Moreland Ave. was a magnet for unflattering reviews, with guests complaining that $50-per-night rooms were unkempt and infested with bed bugs—or worse.

As of today, those days are officially in the rearview.

Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens and development partners are scheduled to host a grand opening ceremony this afternoon for an adaptive-reuse project now called Ralph David House, formerly the Atlanta Motel.

Project leaders say the conversion provides a needed injection of supportive, eastside affordable housing, while continuing a residential rebirth along Moreland Avenue.

Like three “rapid housing” initiatives around the city both opened and in progress—The Melody downtown, the new 729 Bonaventure building in Old Fourth Ward, and a modular project set to break ground soon near Atlantic Station—Ralph David House will offer wraparound services for formerly unhoused residents. Those services will be provided in onsite offices, while elsewhere the property features a lounge for socializing, per the city.

Stryant Construction converted the property into 56 affordable housing apartments with some of the lowest rent caps for tenants—30 percent of the area median income—for new construction across the city in recent memory. It’s located where Moreland Avenue meets Interstate 20.

Dickens also hosted the project’s formal groundbreaking in December last year.

Stryant will remain onboard to handle all aspects of the property for the next 30 years, including management, according to Stan Sugarman, Stryant managing partner.

Each of the Ralph David House apartments will be reserved people who’ve been unhoused and are making less than 30 percent AMI. Rents and utility costs combined will be capped at 30 percent of each renter’s income, Stryant officials have said.

The exterior of the motel building received a facelift—fresh paint, windows, doors, amenity areas, and more—with a goal of improving its visibility from both Moreland Avenue and I-20, according to Terminus Design Group, the project’s architect of record.  

Interiors have been renovated to the bones and outfitted with modern, multifamily finishes consistent with market-rate deals in the area, per the architecture firm.

Blueprints called for installing a social worker’s office onsite and configuring at least six of the units to be ADA compliant, with the rest designed to meet Fair Housing Guidelines.

Other partners on the motel conversion include Atlanta Housing, Invest Atlanta, Tandem Bank, Partners for Home, and Atlanta Affordable Housing Fund. Prior to Stryant’s involvement, city records indicate the .75-acre property last sold in 1997 for $1.06 million.

City and Beltline officials, Reynoldstown neighborhood leadership, and three different Neighborhood Planning Units voiced support for the project in pre-development phases. 

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• Reynoldstown news, discussion (Urbanize Atlanta)