AAI Partners LLC, a Georgia-based company, submitted plans requiring a zoning change to the City of Atlanta. The requested rezoning would allow for more density than what is currently allowed on the property paving the way for the construction of a 44-unit multifamily residential building on the .44-acre parcel located on the south side of North Avenue near the intersection of North Avenue and North Boulevard.
Neighborhood Planning Unit-M will be reviewing the request to rezone 495 North Avenue NE property from R-5 Beltline (Two-Family Residential) to MRC-3/Beltline (Mixed Residential and Commercial) during their November 22nd Meeting. Also for consideration is a request to amend the Comprehensive Development Plan designation from Mixed-Use Medium Density to Mixed Use High Density. According to the NPU’s agenda, the Zoning Review Board will review the land use request on December 2 or 9, 2021.
According to the application, the property is located between a gas station and the Norvel O4W Apartment development and contains an existing single-family structure that would be removed and replaced with a six-story, 46,124 square foot residential complex.
The submitted impact analysis detailed the rationale for the approval. According to the Old Fourth Ward Master Plan, the property should be redeveloped with a mixed development between five and nine stories and there is a limited amount of redevelopment properties appropriately zoned for this kind of development. Further, the zoning amendment would make the property more compatible with the current high density and mixed-use development in the area, including the six-story Novel O4W Apartments and proposed Wingate Development.
The building will contain thirteen studio units, twenty-five 1-bedroom units, and six 2-bedroom units. The application notes that the decision to make the units rental or owner-occupied has not been determined. If the units are sold, they would be offered at $357,000 to $715,100. Rates are estimated between $1,208 and $3,813 per month if there is a determination to create rental housing, with seven of the forty-four units deemed affordable.
If approved, the project would be complete by the Spring of 2024.
13 Responses
Talk about unimaginative. I guess their plan to design cutting edge buildings fell through.
This is completely generic and doesn’t take the neighborhood and future of Memorial into account whatsoever. Zero interaction with the street level apart from a looming lobby, zero retail, zero thought to the pedestrian experience. I encourage TDC to join the Reynoldstown Neighborhood Facebook page and also talk with our Zoning Committee (which to my knowledge they have not yet done), because the neighborhood is NOT happy about these plans at all and you can do better.
Thank you for your comment, Katarina.
Thanks for commenting. Do you plan to take any action speaking with the Reynoldstown neighborhood?
Not until our plans are more developed.
It seems like it would be helpful to consult with the neighborhood sooner rather than later. The neighborhood can’t absorb a bland large structure like this. Our streets can’t handle it, and it’s important to consider the future of the memorial corridor.
Our streets can and will handle this, but I agree that an improved design would be beneficial. The ground-level pedestrian experience needs extra special care, IMO.
@Mark Toro -You may need to update you company’s website. This bland proposal has no ‘Third Place Effect’ and is anything but vibrant and mixed use. It is clear you know what good looks like, so do better with this prime location. “We acquire underperforming assets and transform them into vibrant mixed-use environments that achieve coveted “third place” status – inspired places where people come to feel connected and engaged, something the world needs now more than ever. Third places also produce a quantifiable value premium on rents and valuations. At Toro Development Company, we call this value creation the Third Place Effect.
Thank you.
ugh, this feels run-of-the-mill and super thoughtless. another standard box to store humans in. I am so sad it has no retail. This is about as boring and bland as it comes. Zero thought into how it interacts with the environment and the future of Memorial as more of a pedestrian-friendly zone. This feels like a huge miss and TORO can do better.
How will the ground-floor units be designed to engage the street-level? Does that mean street-facing retail/restaurants? Please clarify.
If not, this rendering looks exactly like the Gibson Reynoldstown multifamily apartments next door that had zero thought with engaging pedestrians on the street level…other than paving a new sidewalk. I encourage Mark Toro and the TDC to engage with the neighborhood by attending a Reynoldstown Community Meeting (virtually held on zoom) and speaking with the Zoning Committee. Don’t create another giant box apartment building next door to the Gibson. Consider making it a mixed-use apartment community! https://www.reynoldstown.net/attend-a-meeting
We don’t need another apartment box along Memorial Drive in Reynoldstown (I’ve been referring to it as Apartment Valley), what we need is something that engages with the community more and provides housing at the same time. We have plenty of apartment boxes along Memorial already, and this is a chance to build something thoughtful and beneficial on a historic property. Townhomes at the back with a renovated retail space in the old Reid’s building? Something more like Metalworks? I dunno, but I feel like this is just dialed-in—an afterthought. We do need density but please make it interesting. Thank you.
How soon will units be available to apply ? And where do you go to apply , I’m highly intrested ! I think this is an amazing idea !