Another residential tower near Centennial Olympic Park is moving forward and slated to climb taller than previously expected but with fewer apartments, according to recent filings with the City of Atlanta’s Office of Buildings.

New Jersey-based RBH Group is moving forward with a 33-story high-rise called Teachers Village Atlanta at a 1/3-acre site bounded by Cone Street, Ted Turner Drive, and Walton Street downtown, a block from Centennial Olympic Park in the Fairlie-Poplar Historic District. Earlier plans called for a slightly shorter tower of 31 stories.

That’s according to a Special Administrative Permit application filed with the city in late April that paints a clearer picture of what Teachers Village may look like—and what future renters can expect to pay.

A revised look at the Teachers Village project's planned retail space where Ted Turner Drive, at left, meets Walton Street. RBH Group; designs, S9 Architecture

Developers have described the 375-foot-tall downtown proposal as a first of its kind in Georgia, in that the 427 units (as opposed to 438 in previous plans) would be marketed to teachers, other school employees, and seniors in Atlanta as relatively affordable living options. The goal is to fill a void of workforce housing downtown and create “a model for shared, intergenerational living where residents share social responsibility and live purposeful lives,” per RBH Group’s marketing materials.

The 98 Cone Street site in question is currently a parking lot between two multistory parking decks. Plans call for renovating the nearest deck on the same block and creating 381 parking spaces total for Teachers Village tenants.

Elsewhere, fronting Walton Street, roughly 23,000 square feet of retail is in the works across two stories, which could add vibrancy to the district with restaurants and shops.

According to the SAP filing, the higher floors would be reserved for 231 apartments geared toward teachers, while lower floors would see 196 senior independent living units. The rentals would be accessed through separate lobbies at ground level. 

The breakdown calls for 91 studios, 270 one-bedrooms, and 66 two-bedroom rentals.  

Overview of the 33-story, 434,126-square-foot tower proposal. RBH Group

Seventy of the apartments—none of them studios—are expected to be reserved as affordable housing for residents earning 80 percent of the area median income or less. Those rents would range between $784 and $990, according to the SAP paperwork.

Expected rents for the market-rate units weren’t specified.

Plans call for topping the building with a rooftop swimming pool and sun deck, while other outdoor amenities would include landscaped terraces above a new parking podium. The minimum 43 bike parking spaces required would be included in eight racks, per the filings.

RBH Group reps haven’t responded to inquiries this week about when they hope to begin construction on the $176-million project designed by S9 Architecture.

The project will pursue a National Green Building Standard rating with Bronze certification, per filings earlier this year. RBH Group

In early 2021, Invest Atlanta approved a $4-million Tax Allocation District grant and $26 million in tax-exempt bond financing to specifically support construction of the portion of the project meant for teachers.

At the time, they pointed to RBH Group’s success in developing other Teachers Village projects in Newark and Hartford, Connecticut that addressed a need for workforce housing.

Overview of the 98 Cone Street/0 Walton Street site and its proximity to Centennial Olympic Park. Google Maps

Teachers Village would join a groundswell of residential high-rises claiming former parking lots and low-rise structures across downtown, from the Gulch to blocks near the Connector.

The Teachers Village site is located roughly a block from a 32-story student housing tower project by Landmark Properties and AECOM-Canyon Partners that’s rising now.

Also within a block, the 22-story Margaritaville resort condo building by Wyndham Destinations is finishing construction of 200 suites and two floors of retail.

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