DOWNTOWN—There’s good news afoot this week for Atlantans who believe the solution to downtown’s ills begins with the addition of more people living there.

Underground Atlanta owner Lalani Ventures is partnering with Exact Capital, a New York City-based real estate firm, on plans to build a 30-story mixed-use tower that would lord over the plazas where Atlanta’s famed Peach Drop is traditionally held.

As Bisnow Atlanta reports, Lalani Ventures is asking the city’s economic development arm, Invest Atlanta, for a $40-million incentive to help develop 405 apartments that would climb 30 stories from street level at 76 Wall St., where a one-story retail building stands today. Those residences would include a mix of housing types—student, market-rate, and income-restricted—while other facets of the tower project would see retail, public spaces, and art incubators.

Invest Atlanta

Planned location of the 30-story Underground Atlanta residential tower, next to main plazas and fountains. Google Maps

Lalani Ventures CEO Shaneel Lalani told the website the transit-connected project would cost $160 million total, with 163 apartments reserved for renters earning 60 percent of the area median income or less (those rents: $971 for a studio, up to $1,225 for two-bedroom units), equaling a win-win for all involved. Nearby, Lalani is also planning to convert two-thirds of the One Park Tower he owns at 34 Peachtree St. into housing.  

The 30-story building would mark Lalani’s first ground-up new development since purchasing Underground for $31.6 million four years ago. Invest Atlanta’s Urban Residential Finance Authority is scheduled to hear Lalani’s proposal Thursday, and Lalani told Bisnow the search for construction financing will commence once the incentive is approved.

Early timelines call for a two-year construction phase with delivery in 2027.

As seen in July, the 76 Wall St. building where the residential tower is planned at Underground Atlanta's northern edge. Google Maps

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CITYWIDE—Heads up, ATL transit buffs: Atlanta Beltline officials have scheduled a Citywide Conversation next week to shed light on the ongoing Beltline Transit Study, an analysis of plans for nearly 14 miles of mobility possibilities that kicked off a year ago.   

An announcement for the virtual meeting includes a thought-provoking new rendering of a light-rail vehicle on a grassy lawn track along the Southside Trail near Pittsburgh Yards—or what Beltline rail proponents might call transit porn, and opponents a gross distortion of the truth.

Transit-rich future for the Beltline's Southside Trail? Atlanta BeltLine Inc.

The meeting is planned from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Sept. 26, with project leaders promising the latest updates on possible transit station locations, preferred routes, equitable transportation solutions, and more.

“Your engagement is essential to the success of the study and delivering on its goals and objectives of connectivity, sustainability, equity and inclusion, and future implementation and operations,” reads a meeting announcement.

Register for the 90-minute meeting right here.

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CITYWIDE—In relevant government news, the Development Authority of Fulton County—aka, Develop Fulton—has appointed a familiar name to a top leadership position.

Former U.S. Congressman Kwanza Hall, also a longtime Atlanta City Council member, was unanimously elected Develop Fulton’s new chairman at a specially called meeting Thursday. Hall previously served as the agency’s vice chairman and will replace outgoing Chairman Georgia Sen. Brandon Beach in the lead role, according to an announcement today.

Hall, a Southwest Atlanta native who attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has been “a driving force behind initiatives in economic inclusion, workforce development, urban design, and the arts,” according to Develop Fulton officials. He previously served as the U.S. representative for Georgia’s 5th Congressional District. 

“Expanding Fulton County’s diverse, resilient, and thriving business community is at the heart of our mission,” said Hall, who will be sworn in as chairman next week, in a prepared statement. “We’re focused on job creation and expanding our tax base with quality development emerging from leading growth industries including logistics, clean tech, biomedical, manufacturing, fintech, and more.”

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