Controversial developer is interested in Memorial Drive momentum.
According to a rezoning permit filed with City of Atlanta earlier this month, Jeff Fuqua is moving forward with his plans to develop 905 Memorial Drive Southeast in Reynoldstown.
The property includes an industrial building of over 300,000 square feet and the surrounding area and spans 17 acres. It is the largest single piece of land along the Memorial Drive corridor as well as the last piece of available, develop-able land on the Beltline’s Eastside Trail.
Manufacturing company Leggett & Platt is expected to collect $25 million to more than $30 million from the sale of the property.
According to the permit filed January fifth of this year, plans include “rezoning for mixed-use purposes”, and increasing the floor area ratio from .696 to 7.2.
Proposals for development of the property were due at the end of October 2015. In anticipation, the board of the Reynoldstown Civic Improvement League sent a letter to developers advising that the Leggat & Platt site be divided up from its current “superblock” state. The letter made clear the neighborhood’s desire for a small network of streets in a grid fashion.
“As with most in-town neighborhoods, we’ve conducted numerous meetings to envision and plan for this eventual growth period and have ratified numbers of master plans. A common theme, from all the way back to 1999, is that they all emphasized people places, not car places, where all modes of transportation are seriously considered in design. This underlying idea of a healthy, efficient, mobile, inclusive urban form is paramount — we are fixated upon it.”
Fuqua, however, is known for large-scale developments featuring big box retailers and sizeable parking lots. This is not the first time his plans have clashed with the vision of Southeast Atlanta neighborhoods.
Memorial Drive is having a moment, sparked by the forthcoming southward expansion of the Eastside Trail. Increasing in popularity, the corridor has the potential to become a major hot spot for the surrounding area. Paces Properties, the development company behind Krog Street Market, is behind Larkin on Memorial and Atlanta Dairies, both developing on Memorial Drive.
The rezoning permit application indicates that there will be a hearing date on March third.
Are you optimistic about how Fuqua would develop the property? Tell us below…
2 Responses
No! Show me one in-town development Fuqua has completed where people look at it and say, “wow, this is unique!” His architectural aesthestic, lack of interest in any type of historic preservation, and his typical unwillingness to listen to the concerns of established residents near his developments is disgusting. Case in point…800 Glenwood!
I don’t see why they label this guy and his developments controversial. After visiting his website, he builds a lot of shopping centers in the metro area that are always full of people and brands people like. What’s the big deal. If there was another developer who had the funds to build something unique they would. And if the local cities wanted something that fits the aesthetics of their community (which they have every right too) they should for an alliance/ organization and make more strict building codes, regulations etc…. Until then, looks like this guy is building up Atl.