The Whitaker Group’s upcoming mixed-use building in Old Fourth Ward is going to be anchored by A Ma Maniére and its EATS restaurant and lounge, Owner James Whitner, who also happens to be behind The Whitaker Group, confirmed Tuesday with What Now Atlanta.
A Ma Maniére is a lot more than just a fashion boutique, Whitner said, explaining how his retail concept takes pride in giving back to the Black community in general. On top of that, A Ma Maniére runs quite a few flagship programs designed to build a better community in general with “a laser-sharp focus.” Its planned home — a four-story mid-rise with restaurant, retail, residential, and a rooftop deck — is set to rise adjacent to the now-shuttered The Sound Table which will soon reopen as Edgewood Dynasty.
A brief visit to A Ma Maniére’s Instagram reveals apparel, healthy food tutorials branded “A Ma Maniére EATS” — which will be incorporated into the property as a restaurant lounge and rooftop — and posts aiming at voter education. Whitner hopes for A Ma Maniére to impact political education, financial literacy, health, and wellness, amongst many other things through its programs.
“Located in the Edgewood Corridor one block from Martin Luther King’s Home, the building is designed to be historic in nature on the Edgewood Ave side and more modern on the Boulevard Ave side, to connect to a future project,” A Ma Maniére writes of the project on its Instagram.
The A Ma Maniére owner declined to discuss an opening timeline for his flagship store popping up at 479 Edgewood Avenue SE. With locations in Washington DC, Houston, and Harlem, A Ma Maniére’s Old Fourth Ward store will have the entire retail experience while putting everything they do for the community into one flagship space. Whitner also runs several other companies like Social Status, A.P.B., Prosper, and Family Enterprises LLC.
7 Responses
This project has been rejected in current form by the O4W NPU. Adjacent neighbors (NIMBYs) on Morgan Street are not happy having views of PCM obstructed. Meanwhile, this is probably one of the oldest and least maintained properties in the O4W – frankly, I don’t know how it hasn’t been condemned yet.
I was curious about the condition of the current property. If we really want to maintain affordable housing, why aren’t projects like this updated and rented as such? I know the developers want to make money, so that will never happen, but it seems like we as a city talk a lot about affordable housing, but it doesn’t really mean that much.
The buildings were built in the early 1940s. We looked into the option of saving the buildings. Unfortunately, they would be very expensive to be saved. There is also extensive storm water problem on the site that can’t be addressed without removing the buildings. Up hill development has created a literal watershed to this site that is a real challenge. The burden of resolving that falls on the Braden Fellman Group and has significant costs. These costs need to be offset with increase in rental rates. However we are still going to provide 15% of the units at affordable (80% AMI). We would also note that BFG has been providing affordable and workforce housing options in midtown -ponce corridor for over 35 years. They own for the long term, this is demonstrated with the numerous properties they own and manage throughout the community. I would also note that the topography is very difficult for the new construction home owner’s directly behind the project. All 5 parcels directly behind this project have first floor elevations between 12 and 28 ft above the first floor of our proposed 3 story building. -Joe Alcock Principal Architect for McMillan Pazdan Smith.
$1200 for a studio (one person) doesn’t seem particularly affordable to me.
Especially since there is no mention of amenities such as a pool.
But hey, it’s Braden Fellman…
Well I was thinking that too. For the people I know who need affordable housing in this city, this seems way out of budget.
$1241 is their expected market rent for a studio. However, they are saying they are also reserving 6 units for 80% of area median income, which is the “affordable” part, below $1200 per month.
We are working to update this property and improve the neighborhood. This project will provide cost effective living option intown and 15% of the units will be affordable. The project will also have a green roof and is using environmentally friendly CLT (mass timber construction). We are also providing off street parking in a basement level garage. The current property has no off street parking.