Last month, RWS Development LLC submitted plans to the City of Atlanta to develop a mix of single-family and townhome types on five properties located at and around 3537 Roxboro Road NE, known as Eulalia Park. The current zoning designation of the properties is R-3. A rezoning to MR-3 is necessary to convert a combined 2.32-acre parcel into a higher-density residential development.
Neighborhood Planning Unit B will be reviewing the request during their March 1, 2022, meeting. According to that meeting’s agenda, the Zoning Review Board will review the request on either March 3 or 10, 2022.
According to application documents, the existing properties currently contain five single-family homes with an average value of $460,000 each, which would be demolished upon approval. As proposed, eighteen market-rate dwelling units are proposed. Six units will be single-family homes containing five bedrooms and 4.5 bathrooms with an expected sales price between $1.4 and $1.6 million each. The remaining units would be townhomes containing five bedrooms and 4.5 bathrooms with an expected sales price between $1.3 and $1.5 million.
The letter of intent states that the townhome buildings are internally separated by a 35-foot courtyard, dog park, and preservation of the hardwoods. The applicant also states that the proposed zoning is compatible with the Comprehensive Development Plan, which designates the property as medium-density residential. Additionally, the NPU’s policy provides that the property should be allowed up to eight units per acre.
3 Responses
Last year I sat through a big presentation from the city planning office about how the move away from single-family zoning was necessary to provide more affordable missing middle housing and I totally bought it…yet every rezoning request I have seen seems to be replacing single-family housing with high-density luxury units listed for millions of dollars. My neighborhood just fought off one of these false pretense rezoning requests. I encourage everyone to take a close look at every rezoning request impacting their neighborhood and fight off these cash grabs. And shame on the city for trying to sell us a false narrative. This is about lining pockets, not helping people. I was supportive of mixed use zoning and integrating missing middle into our SFH neighborhoods, but the reality is there is no intention of providing affordable missing middle housing – these new builds will just ensure property taxes skyrocket and those of us in single-family housing will be priced right out of our neighborhoods.
Looks like a thoughtful project that increases density and preserves some greenspace, so I would say this is a win. 18 units instead of 5 units regardless of cost or level of luxury is a win as increasing the total amount of supply is better than doing nothing.
Some will argue that if the housing is at a higher price point, building it is a bad thing. The number of high-income people in the market to buy housing does not change, so these buyers will simply bid up the cost of other housing more affordable regardless. (See Old Fourth Ward and other neighborhoods). At the end of the day, more housing to meet overall supply creates housing for everyone. The most restrictive cities (to development) end up being the most expensive — see San Fran, New York, Boston, LA… On the flip side places like Houston and Dallas remain more affordable because they build a crazy amount of housing. Whether developers get rich doing it, shouldn’t matter. It’s a job with lots of risks — a lot of projects fail, and developers go bankrupt. They put their personal capital at risk. They are the ones building the housing that all of us are living in. If there was more supply, there would be less opportunity for developers to increase supply based on scarcity.
I’ll be moving to Atlanta this spring and I’m gonna be looking for up and coming new construction that’s affordable for all!!