As passersby may have noticed in recent weeks, a supportive housing initiative near Atlantic Station and a new Atlanta Beltline section is living up to its “rapid” name. 

Three months after vertical construction kicked off, exterior work is entering the home stretch on the topped-out, modular-style Waterworks Rapid Housing Project in Berkeley Park, with a goal of helping Atlantans experiencing chronic homelessness.  

The Waterworks project is being built with former shipping containers on city-owned land where Green Street meets Reservoir Drive. That’s due west of Midtown, near the intersection of 17th Street and Northside Drive and the city’s Waterworks Reservoir Number Two. 

The project marks the latest effort by the City of Atlanta and its partners to deliver affordable housing more quickly than traditional construction allows. 

How the south building's facade over Atlanta’s Waterworks Reservoir Number Two has taken shape. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Entry to 4 and 1/2-acre Atlanta Waterworks Park, just south of the housing initiative. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Plans call for two buildings with 100 studio units total, both standing three stories, situated just north of Atlanta Waterworks Park. 

According to city officials, all units will be reserved for residents earning less than 30 percent of the Area Median Income, and four onsite offices will offer long-term services including case management and mental health support. Perks of the location include bus transit and Beltline access, along with walkability to Atlantic Station, per project leaders. 

City partners on the project include Atlantica Properties, Partners for HOME, and Invest Atlanta. 

Officials said during a ceremonial groundbreaking in late 2024 each Waterworks unit will include a washer and dryer and other amenities, and that designs call for each building to look traditional, with the modular construction method undetectable. 

An earlier presentation indicated the apartments will range between 192 and 254 square feet.   

Facades of the northernmost building off Green Street, just west of Northside Drive. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Looking east toward Midtown, with 17th Street at right, the general location of the new Waterworks rapid-housing initiative, as shown prior to groundbreaking. Google Maps

The city has completed three projects so far as part of its rapid-housing push: downtown’s The Melody, a village of former shipping containers; a building rehab in Old Fourth Ward called 729 Bonaventure; and Reynoldstown motel conversion Ralph David House. 

The goal is to open 500 new rapid-housing units total—including the Waterworks initiative—by the end of this year, city officials said in August. 

Another project at 405 Cooper St. in Mechanicsville broke ground on its first phase in June. The approach there will be different, in that it’s mixed-income, with 100 modular-built units of supportive housing alongside 70 townhomes priced at market-rate, project leaders have said. 

Head up to the gallery for more Waterworks Rapid Housing Project context and images. 

Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

How the finished modular-style construction is expected to look in Berkeley Park. Atlantica Properties/Partners for Homes/City of Atlanta; designs, Niles Bolton Associates

...

Follow us on social media: 

Twitter / Facebook/and now: Instagram  

• Berkeley Park news, discussion (Urbanize Atlanta)