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For ‘The Frazier’ project, revised look and potential start date emerge Josh Green Tue, 07/29/2025 - 08:44

More than five years in the making, a mixed-use infill project in Chamblee’s burgeoning downtown has a targeted start date and revised designs, according to developers. 

Atlanta-based Windsor Stevens Holdings this week unveiled plans for The Frazier, which began life as a smaller condo concept under a different name but is now moving forward as a “transformative” mix of apartments and retail, per project officials. 

One tweak of note: The building is now expected to stand an additional story for a total of eight floors, making it the tallest in the city and “signaling a new era of thoughtful urban growth,” per Windsor Stevens.  

alt Revised designs for the 315-unit The Frazier building released this week. Cooper Carry; courtesy of Windsor Stevens

Plans call for the Class A development at 3553 Chamblee Dunwoody Road to include 315 apartments and cost roughly $115 million, replacing a vacant former auto facility. (Windsor Stevens also purchased the .4-acre property next door in 2023 that included a 1980s auto repair building to increase The Frazier’s size.) 

Beyond the rentals, The Frazier calls for about 10,000 square feet of retail at street level, along with a three-story parking deck with 338 spaces. 

The commercial component will see 6,000 square feet of “culturally rich restaurant space, offering an immersive taste of the city’s global flavor,” in hopes of creating a landmark destination, per a Monday announcement. 

Plans call for The Frazier to be a certified EarthCraft project with an emphasis on green infrastructure, plus elements such as EV charging stations and bike parking. Some units will be specifically marketed toward teachers and first-responders, per developers. 

alt As seen in early 2023, the 3535 Chamblee Dunwoody Road auto property added to The Frazier's scope. Google Maps

Developer Rod Mullice of Windsor Stevens tells Urbanize Atlanta the project’s architects plan to start the permitting process in September, with a goal of breaking ground in the first quarter of 2026. The team includes Cooper Carry architects, Eberly & Associates landscape architects, and CBG Building Company. 

Windsor Stevens has been working with Chamblee officials behind the scenes to ensure the project aligns with the city’s vision for livability in coming decades, according to the developer. 

“By transforming parcels that currently yield limited value into a thriving, walkable community hub, we’re creating a project that will have generational impact,” said Mullice in a statement. 

alt Renderings released in 2024 showing The Frazier at Olde Towne Gordon project as previously designed with 144 units. Windsor Stevens Holdings; designs, Niles Bolton & Associates

Initial plans called for The Frazier (formerly “The Gordon”) to be for-sale condos, with construction scheduled to start in March 2020, just before COVID-19 clamped down society. According to a sales push early that year, the initial phase of 24 homes was going to be priced from the $200,000s, with condos ranging from 501 to 1,098 square feet.  

The Frazier would join a sizable, recent injection of multifamily options around Chamblee’s historic downtown. Last year, the Lumen Chamblee project debuted across the street, and another nearby multifamily development, City Heights, later followed suit. Collectively those developments have brought more than 560 apartments to the district.

Find more context and imagery for The Frazier’s plans today in the gallery above. Windsor Stevens officials say more visuals and construction updates will be released in coming weeks. 

In other recent Chamblee news, the city hopes to start constructing a new stormwater-capturing greenspace for downtown called Fish Bolt Park by the end of 2025. That 1900 Chamblee Tucker Road property is a former MARTA stormwater detention pond acquired by the city as part of its 2016 trails and parks expansion program. The two-mile Chamblee Rail Trail, a multi-use pathway, abuts the southern border of the future park today. 

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alt The Frazier project's combined 3535/3553 Chamblee Dunwoody Road location in relation to the rest of downtown and Chamblee's MARTA hub. Google Maps

alt As seen in early 2023, the 3535 Chamblee Dunwoody Road auto property added to The Frazier's scope. Google Maps

alt Earlier project designs. Windsor Stevens Holdings; designs, Niles Bolton & Associates

alt Renderings released in 2024 showing The Frazier at Olde Towne Gordon project as previously designed with 144 units. Windsor Stevens Holdings; designs, Niles Bolton & Associates

alt Revised designs for the 315-unit The Frazier building released this week. Cooper Carry; courtesy of Windsor Stevens

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Developer: Redesigned, “transformative” mixed-use venture to be tallest building in Chamblee

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Photos: Centennial Yards unveils first new tower, now seeking renters Josh Green Mon, 07/28/2025 - 15:02

The first new tower at downtown’s multi-billion-dollar Gulch replacement is ready for its closeup. 

Centennial Yards Company officials have begun pre-leasing efforts for The Mitchell, a 19-story project with 304 apartments that marks the megaproject’s first ground-up new building to start delivering. 

Rentals range from small studios to three-bedroom options the size of many older Atlanta bungalows. 

The Mitchell, which broke ground in November 2022, is being marketed as a stylish, mixed-use, luxury addition to Atlanta’s intown urban living options. It’s considered part of Centennial Yards' first phase of development. 

alt Courtesy of Centennial Yards

alt Courtesy of Centennial Yards

Here’s a pricing breakdown for The Mitchell, as provided by Centennial Yards Company reps today: 

  • Studios from $1,450 to $2,500 per month (434 to 638 square feet)
  • One-bedrooms from $1,800 to $2,460 per month (649 to 746 square feet)
  • Two-bedrooms from $2,900 to $3,635 per month (1,191 to 1,363 square feet)
  • Three-bedrooms from $5,688 to $5,753 per month (1,539 to 1,549 square feet)

Perks with some units include floor-to-ceiling windows with views of downtown and Mercedes-Benz Stadium, walk-in closets, and balconies. (According to a floorplan breakdown, move-ins will start in mid-September.) 

Building amenities call for a rooftop pool and event lawn (facing east, or toward South Downtown), a pet spa, coworking space, fitness center, and club lounge. At the street, about 16,000 square feet of retail is in the works. 

Last winter, Thai tapas concept Khao from the 26 Thai team was announced as one tenant for The Mitchell’s ground-floor retail space. 

alt The 19-story The Mitchell tower today, looking west along Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, with Mercedes-Benz Stadium across the street. Courtesy of Centennial Yards

alt The Mitchell's west facade today, with the 292-key Hotel Phoenix shown at left. Courtesy of Centennial Yards

Elsewhere at Centennial Yards, another 19-story tower, the 292-key Hotel Phoenix, is on pace to open sometime this fall, marking the district’s first hotel. 

At the under-construction entertainment district, Centennial Yards Company officials announced in May they’ve signed a long-term lease with entertainment giant Live Nation to bring live music and events to a new 5,300-person capacity venue, slated to open sometime in 2027. 

That music venue will neighbor the third Cosm venue in the U.S., a three-story immersive entertainment concept that started going vertical in May. 

Centennial Yards facets that have already opened include adaptive-reuse projects Centennial Yards South, Wild Leap Brewery, and the pedestrians-only Steele Bridge. 

Centennial Yards Company—a partnership between an affiliate of CIM Group and another group led by Atlanta Hawks owner Tony Ressler—is serving as the project’s master developer. Centennial Yards is expected to ultimately cost $5 billion and span some 8 million square feet of mixed uses, described by its financial backers as one of the largest public-private partnerships in the U.S. right now. It's backed by a nearly $2-billion tax-incentive package, a record for Atlanta. 

Ultimately, the 50-acre downtown venture is expected to bring more than 2,000 residential units (at least 200 of them deemed affordable), more than 2,000 hotel rooms, and roughly 1 million square feet of retail across a decade of development. Overall, 8 million square feet of residential and commercial construction are planned. 

Have closer look at Centennial Yards' first (nearly) finished high-rise component in the gallery above. (Note: No photos of amenities and common areas were provided today.) 

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alt The 19-story The Mitchell tower today, looking west along Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, with Mercedes-Benz Stadium across the street. Courtesy of Centennial Yards

alt The Mitchell's west facade today, with the 292-key Hotel Phoenix shown at left. Courtesy of Centennial Yards

alt Courtesy of Centennial Yards

alt Courtesy of Centennial Yards

alt Courtesy of Centennial Yards

alt Courtesy of Centennial Yards

alt Courtesy of Centennial Yards

alt Courtesy of Centennial Yards

alt Expected look of activated patios at The Mitchell building, with Mercedes-Benz Stadium across the street. Courtesy of Centennial Yards; images by Apex Visualization

alt Courtesy of Centennial Yards; images by Apex Visualization

alt Courtesy of Centennial Yards; images by Apex Visualization

alt Courtesy of Centennial Yards; images by Apex Visualization

alt How Centennial Yards' first two towers (The Mitchell apartments, in foreground, and the new hotel behind it) will stand in relation to the football and soccer arena. Courtesy of Centennial Yards Company

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304-unit luxury venture The Mitchell stands near Mercedes-Benz Stadium, State Farm Arena

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Downtown

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'Major' sections of Beltline's Northwest Trail near bidding phase Josh Green Mon, 07/28/2025 - 13:21

Atlanta Beltline Inc. expects to take steps toward eliminating significant gaps in the 22-mile multipurpose loop soon. 

Beltline leaders have scheduled information sessions and a walking tour next month for builders interested in bidding on three sections of the Northwest Trail described this month as “major” and previously as uniquely complex. 

All segments have been broken down into smaller sections for construction. Unlike most of the Beltline, none of them are in a former railroad corridor. 

They are Northwest Trail Segments 2A and 2C in Buckhead, and Segment 4B in Berkeley Park near Atlanta Waterworks reservoirs. 

alt Atlanta Beltline Inc.

Specifically, the Beltline is seeking to hire small and medium-sized construction firms in an effort to increase inclusivity and diversity.  

Two virtual sessions (each with the same information) will be presented for potential bidders on the afternoons of Aug. 6 and 7. That will be followed by a guided site walk on Aug. 8. 

alt Atlanta Beltline Inc.

Construction of the Northwest Trail was broken down into smaller components in an effort to open the door to “firms of varying sizes and capabilities to take part in building the 22-mile Beltline loop—one of the largest redevelopment efforts in Atlanta’s history,” per ABI leadership. 

The two segments in Buckhead near the Shepherd Center are collectively .4 miles long. Ditto for the segment in question in Berkeley Park. 

The Beltline's timeline calls for breaking ground on Segment 4 in September and opening it in April 2027. No groundbreaking timeline for Segment 2 in Buckhead has been set, though all real estate and easements work is expected to wrap early next year. 

The full Northwest Trail will span 4.3 miles. The corridor spans from the northern end of the Westside Trail (near Huff Road) and arches around through neighborhoods such as Blandtown and Buckhead before connecting with the Northeast Trail (near Lindbergh MARTA station and Armour Yards). 

alt Planned look of the suspension bridge over Peachtree Creek as part of Northwest Trail Segment 1.PATH Foundation/Atlanta Beltline Inc.

Other sections of the Northwest Trail—the eastern and western tips, if you will—are very much under construction. 

To the west, the .7-mile section in Blandtown (Segment 5) is on pace to open this fall. And in Buckhead, the .8-mile Segment 1 is scheduled to deliver in June, replete with a suspension bridge high over Peachtree Creek. 

A short piece of Segment 4 near Northside Drive is also unofficially open now, with a new brewery pitstop set to debut alongside it in August. 

To date, 12.6 miles of the mainline Beltline loop have been completed, with several segments now under construction, per project leaders. More than 10 miles of connector trails are also finished. 

The Beltline’s goal is to finish 18 miles of trail (most of it contiguous) before FIFA World Cup matches begin next June. 

The full loop is projected to be in place by 2030. 

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alt Atlanta Beltline Inc.

alt Atlanta Beltline Inc.

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Meetings with potential builders for Buckhead, Berkeley Park segments scheduled next month

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Images: Large new shelter near Georgia Aquarium rounds into shape Josh Green Mon, 07/28/2025 - 08:11

A downtown project scheduled to open before Atlanta’s 2026 FIFA World Cup—but without the fanfare of splashier, larger projects—is rounding into shape on a former parking lot. 

The Salvation Army started construction last summer on the Center of Hope, a major expansion of its longstanding facilities just north of Centennial Olympic Park. Its purpose is to take in Atlanta’s most vulnerable populations from the streets and help get them on tracks to more sustainable lives.

According to Brasfield & Gorrie, the project’s general contractor, the Center of Hope topped out in March and is scheduled to open in the fourth quarter of this year.

The 46,000-square-foot Center of Hope now stands five stories where Marietta Street meets Mills Street, about a block from the Georgia Aquarium. (The brick façade remains from renderings, but other facets have been altered.) 

alt The Marietta Street site's previous functionality as a parking lot, as seen in 2020. Google Maps

alt How the Center of Hope meets Marietta Street today, just north of a row of shuttered structures. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

A Salvation Army of Metro Atlanta capital campaign, HOPE with Dignity, raised the funding to expand the organization’s Red Shield Services homeless shelter at 400 Luckie St. into a more comprehensive, modernized campus. 

The current facility is cramped and doesn’t have adequate space to separate male and female residents, which has prompted safety concerns, according to project supporters.

The expansion will double the size of the Salvation Army’s current downtown building. It will house the organization’s emergency and transitional living shelter facility, boosting the number of beds from 321 today to 437, project officials have said.

Plans call for two floors of dormitory-style housing for male residents, and another two floors of individualized living spaces. The addition will allow for Salvation Army’s current facilities to be dedicated to women and families, easing concerns caused by overcrowding.

Another component will be a Salvation Army Education and Workforce Development Center with a computer lab and six classrooms, plus study and collaboration areas. That center will offer services to residents such as housing solutions, financial education, emergency assistance programs, and other specialized programs designed to support veteran services. 

A portion of the new beds will be reserved specifically for military veterans, project leaders have said. 

alt As shown in early renderings, six-story facade plans where Marietta Street meets Mills Street downtown. Salvation Army/HOPE with Dignity; via Invest Atlanta

alt The Salvation Army Center for Hope's western face today. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Invest Atlanta’s board approved a $2 million Westside Tax Allocation District Ascension Fund Grant in 2023 to help the project get off the ground. Additional funding was sourced from Atlanta Emerging Markets ($15 million), investment firm Dudley Ventures ($9 million), and Truist Community Development Enterprises ($4 million).

The expansion is expected to create 23 full-time jobs. During the intake process, all unemployed residents at the Center of Hope will be connected with the facility’s Workforce Development Center, which will partner with local job placement agencies, according to Dudley Ventures. 

The downtown housing option will join the city’s first rapid temporary housing initiative, The Melody, another modular-housing proposal in Mechanicsville, and other recent projects meant to help quickly curtail homelessness. 

Find more images and context for the Center of Hope project in the gallery above.  

alt The 400 Luckie Street location just north of Centennial Olympic Park. Google Maps

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alt The 400 Luckie Street location just north of Centennial Olympic Park. Google Maps

alt The Salvation Army's facility at the corner of Luckie and Mills streets, prior to recent construction. Google Maps

alt The Marietta Street site's previous functionality as a parking lot, as seen in 2020. Google Maps

alt How the Center of Hope meets Marietta Street today, just north of a row of shuttered structures. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

alt Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

alt Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

alt The Salvation Army Center for Hope's western face today. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

alt As shown in early renderings, six-story facade plans where Marietta Street meets Mills Street downtown. Salvation Army/HOPE with Dignity; via Invest Atlanta

Subtitle

Salvation Army's Center of Hope to bring more beds, workforce development center, other features

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2 housing developments 'progressing steadily' in heart of downtown Josh Green Fri, 07/25/2025 - 13:11

Permitting paperwork filed this week with the city is one indication that downtown projects expected to add hundreds of new living options steps from Five Points and Underground Atlanta have hardly been shelved, officials tell Urbanize Atlanta.

The planned conversion of former office skyscraper 2 Peachtree Street into a mix of affordable housing and commercial space, and the ground-up construction of smaller, sibling building 1 Peachtree across the street, made headlines between 2022 and early 2024. 

The affordable housing initiatives have largely gone quiet, at least in public, since then.

But on Monday, representatives with the development team picked last year by Invest Atlanta, Two Peachtree Partners, filed for 1 Peachtree building permits with the Department of City Planning, signifying a step toward groundbreaking. 

Development officials have called the 1 Peachtree infill project—proposed as 65 units of senior housing, situated where Peachtree and Wall streets meet, immediately north of Underground Atlanta—the first phase of a “transformative” injection of new housing. 

Richard White, senior vice president with The Integral Group and part of the Two Peachtree Partners group, said the 1 Peachtree project is “progressing steadily” through planning, design, and permitting phases, though no outlook on groundbreaking was available. 

alt An early rendering show what facets of the 1 Peachtree property directly across the street from the 2 Peachtree complex (currently a plaza bordering a large parking garage) could become. City of Atlanta

alt Looking north up Peachtree Street, the 2 Peachtree complex is shown at left, with 1 Peachtree at right. City of Atlanta

Plans are also advancing—albeit behind the scenes—at the 2 Peachtree high-rise complex across the street, said White. 

2 Peachtree includes a 44-story, 890,000-square-foot landmark tower dating to the 1960s, which Invest Atlanta purchased from the State of Georgia last year for $41.5 million to create adaptive-reuse housing. A seven-story building occupied by Georgia State University next door has been added to the project mix, representing another 126,000 square feet of redevelopment opportunity. The tower conversion is expected to add at least 200 new housing units. 

White said his team and consultants are in active coordination with the National Park Service regarding 2 Peachtree to ensure the building’s redevelopment respects its historic character and architecture. A federal funding component through the 2025 Congressional budget has been secured to help move the project forward, White said. 

“It is not a schedule that we control,” said White via email, regarding his team’s work with National Park Service. “Things are not quiet because things have somehow stalled. It’s quiet because we’re doing the work.”

alt Rendering illustrating the 1 Peachtree office tower and neighboring building remade for residential uses, with housing and retail added to a standalone parking garage across the street (bottom left). City of Atlanta

The 2 Peachtree tower opened in 1966 as the Southeast’s tallest building, and it remained the tallest in Atlanta until John Portman’s cylindrical Westin Peachtree Plaza surpassed it a decade later. It had served as offices for banking and state government since its inception. Next door, 14 Marietta is significantly older, dating to 1940 as the original headquarters of First National Bank, prior to the tower’s development. It hasn’t been renovated since 2 Peachtree was completed nearly 60 years ago.

According to renderings, the slim 1 Peachtree building would rise between an existing parking garage (masking one façade from public view) and Peachtree Street. Earlier filings with the city indicate the building will see a mix of one-bedroom and studio apartments. White previously said the rentals will be reserved for residents age 62 and older earning at max 80 percent of the Area Median Income.  

Two Peachtree Partners, the development partnership, consists of Underground Atlanta owners Lalani Ventures, Integral, The Atlantic Companies, and office leasing firm T. Dallas Smith and Company. 

In September, Lalani Ventures unveiled plans for a 30-story residential tower that would bring more than 400 apartments to Underground’s doorstep. Shaneel Lalani, Lalani Ventures CEO, told Urbanize earlier this year that lining up financing for the roughly $160-million proposal has been difficult. 

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alt Looking south, the open plaza site where 1 Peachtree is planned, with Underground Atlanta in the distance. The taller 2 Peachtree tower is shown at right. Google Maps

alt The building's planned Peachtree Street facade, with an existing parking structure behind it. Courtesy of The Integral Group

alt An early rendering show what facets of the 1 Peachtree property directly across the street from the 2 Peachtree complex (currently a plaza bordering a large parking garage) could become. City of Atlanta

alt Looking north up Peachtree Street, the 2 Peachtree complex is shown at left, with 1 Peachtree at right. City of Atlanta

alt Rendering illustrating the 1 Peachtree office tower and neighboring building remade for residential uses, with housing and retail added to a standalone parking garage across the street (bottom left). City of Atlanta

alt The 2 Peachtree Street tower's east facade downtown, where hundreds of units of affordable housing are expected to be converted from underused offices. Google Maps

alt Invest Atlanta

alt Invest Atlanta

alt Invest Atlanta

alt Invest Atlanta

Subtitle

Peachtree Street renovation, new construction envisioned as "transformative" residential injection

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Photos: Crucial, long stretch of Atlanta Beltline is starting to exist Josh Green Thu, 07/24/2025 - 16:06

Two years (and change) since the Beltline’s Southside Trail Segments 4 and 5 broke ground, this key neighborhood-connecting swoop of the 22-mile loop is starting to come together in encouraging ways.  

The segments in question—now technically referred to as the Southeast Trail—stretch for 1.2 miles between Glenwood Avenue and Boulevard. In between are neighborhoods Grant Park, Ormewood Park, and Boulevard Heights.

Here’s a quick overview:

alt The 1.2-mile Southeast Trail section in question in the Beltline's most recent construction update map.Atlanta Beltline Inc.

According to Atlanta Beltline Inc., Segments 4 and 5 are still on pace to open sometime this fall, though as the below photos illustrate, much work remains to be done.

Unexpected hurdles involving underground utilities at United Avenue wiped out the Beltline’s earlier goal of opening the trail last spring, officials have said.  

On a positive note, signs of progress made by Beltline contractor Reeves Young Construction in recent weeks are obvious. Let’s have a peek.

alt Urbanize Atlanta

^^ Looking west from over the Trestletree Village Apartments, most of Segment 4 has been paved, stretching from United Avenue to Boulevard, as seen in the distance above.

alt Urbanize Atlanta

**^^**Where the United Avenue bridge has been installed, along with railings. Backfilling just to the north of the bridge is mostly complete, as Beltline officials recently reported.

alt Urbanize Atlanta

^^ Here, the finished trail pour between United Avenue and Boulevard heads off toward the southwest. Installation of light poles along this stretch is ongoing.

alt Urbanize Atlanta

^^ Just north of the United Avenue bridge, columns for a new ramp up to the trail and retaining walls are installed, per the Beltline.

alt Urbanize Atlanta

^^ There’s no paved trail yet between United Avenue and Glenwood Avenue/Glenwood Park. But the Beltline reports a ramp system just north of here, at Delmar Avenue, is now installed. Work on the Ormewood Avenue bridge continues.

alt Urbanize Atlanta

**^^**Meanwhile, on the private development front just east of the trail, the multifamily section of TPA Residential’s next Boulevard Heights project is rounding into shape, now that the site’s unsightly “trash mountain” has been removed.

Plans for the 8.2-acre site call for nearly 300 apartments and rental townhomes, with first deliveries scheduled for early 2026.

Note: A closer look at Beltline construction progress near Boulevard and elsewhere was planned here, but a drone malfunction is interfering. Those pics will be added to this post or used for a second update should they become available.

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alt The 1.2-mile Southeast Trail section in question in the Beltline's most recent construction update map.Atlanta Beltline Inc.

alt Urbanize Atlanta

alt Urbanize Atlanta

alt Urbanize Atlanta

alt Urbanize Atlanta

alt Urbanize Atlanta

alt Urbanize Atlanta

Subtitle

Spotted: Bridge progress, more Beltline pavement, columns!

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Boulevard Heights

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Plans: Timber-built project to sprout from Atlanta coffee shop Josh Green Thu, 07/24/2025 - 14:20

Plans are percolating for a unique infill project that would sprout from an existing building along a funky corridor between the Beltline’s Eastside Trail and downtown.

501 Edgewood calls for a timber-built, mixed-use expansion standing a total of four stories over a masonry and steel commercial building occupied for a decade by Chrome Yellow, an Old Fourth Ward coffeeshop and dry goods store.

Plans call for the building to be a showcase, illustrating how relatively light mass timber can meet sustainability standards, modernize existing structures, and help new buildings blend into the fabric of historic neighborhoods, according to the Georgia Mass Timber Collective.

Designs by New York-based NO Architecture call for 16,000 square feet total. The developer is listed as Welborn Henson, an Atlanta-based millwork manufacturer that plans to build some of the 501 Edgewood project’s timber components, according to the collective.

alt The 501 Edgewood Ave. coffeeshop space along Daniel Street, as seen in March. Google Maps

alt Three stories of planned infill development at 501 Edgewood Ave., with the existing Chrome Yellow coffeeshop building at the base. NO Architecture/Welborn Henson; via Georgia Mass Timber Collective

A Special Administrative Permit for 501 Edgewood was approved by the Beltline Design Review Committee earlier this year, according to Atlanta’s Department of City Planning.

NO Architecture’s previous work in Atlanta includes the Hosea + 2nd project in East Lake and the Terminal South food and retail hub gearing up to start opening next month in Peoplestown.  

The project was also one of three chosen in October by The Georgia Forestry Foundation, in partnership with the USDA Forest Service and the Softwood Lumber Board, as part of a program called the Georgia Mass Timber Accelerator. 

The three projects—Roswell’sChattahoochee Nature Center and a four-story residential building in Savannah were the others—will split a $75,000 grant. 

“This overbuild showcases how mass timber can be used to modernize existing structures while meeting modern sustainability standards,” wrote the foundation of the Old Fourth Ward proposal. 

Exactly what uses the 501 Edgewood project will include isn’t yet clear. 

alt NO Architecture/Welborn Henson; via Georgia Mass Timber Collective

alt NO Architecture/Welborn Henson; via Georgia Mass Timber Collective

We’ve reached out to officials with Welborn Henson and NO Architecture today for information on a development time, what the full project will include, and how the coffeeshop will be impacted by construction, if at all. This story will be updated with any additional details that come.

The approved SAP application does note “there are no additions to or changes of the existing site in the scope of work” for the 501 Edgewood project. Equilibrium Consulting has been hired as the project’s structural engineer.

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alt The 501 Edgewood Ave. coffeeshop space along Daniel Street, as seen in March. Google Maps

alt Three stories of planned infill development at 501 Edgewood Ave., with the existing Chrome Yellow coffeeshop building at the base. NO Architecture/Welborn Henson; via Georgia Mass Timber Collective

alt NO Architecture/Welborn Henson; via Georgia Mass Timber Collective

alt NO Architecture/Welborn Henson; via Georgia Mass Timber Collective

alt NO Architecture/Welborn Henson; via Georgia Mass Timber Collective

alt NO Architecture/Welborn Henson; via Georgia Mass Timber Collective

alt NO Architecture/Welborn Henson; via Georgia Mass Timber Collective

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Midtown moves forward with park among skyscrapers. Any big ideas? Josh Green Thu, 07/24/2025 - 11:14

The formal process for turning one of the final multi-acre blank slates in central Midtown into a noteworthy greenspace has officially begun. 

Midtown Alliance has issued a Request for Qualifications seeking ideas from design teams capable of turning a vacant, 4-acre site on 14th Street into a “compelling… essential place” set among posh high-rise hotels and iconic office skyscrapers. 

The request calls for multidisciplinary designers to come forward with a “bold conceptual design” and preliminary cost estimates for what it might take to pull the vision off. 

alt Context of the site between the Connector expressway (left) and Colony Square (right). Google Maps

The Midtown Improvement District leadership group also revealed this week that short-term plans call for cleaning up the 98 14th St. site, regrading it, and allowing the public to use it as a more rudimentary lawn and hangout space in the short-term, while designs take shape and fundraising efforts proceed. 

According to Midtown Alliance, site cleanup has started, and grading of the land is expected to begin later this year, pending permit approval at the city level. 

alt Early plans for an interim, public-accessible 4-acre park space at the 14th Street site. Midtown Alliance

District leadership describes the 14th Street site—where ultra-luxe condo tower No2 Opus Place went bust and tumbled into foreclosure after years of breathless, hollow hype—as a “rare and transformative civic opportunity to shape a landmark destination.” 

The RFQ includes a slideshow of images from parks around the world that could lend a sense of what Midtown Alliance has in mind, in terms of functionality, distinctive public art, and special features. 

Situated just west of Peachtree Street, the acreage—“one of the last undeveloped parcels of its size in Midtown”—is set among the largest concentration of cultural and arts attractions in the Southeast, with nearly 45,000 residents, visitors, workers, and students within a seven-minute walk at any given time, per Midtown Alliance. (For context, the 4-acre site is about 2 acres smaller than Woodruff Park, a downtown centerpiece greenspace.) 

The deadline to reply to the RFQ is August 22. 

alt Courtesy of Midtown Alliance

alt The 4-acre site's 14th Street frontage, as seen last summer. Google Maps

Midtown Alliance announced plans for the centralized park in March. But the site has been a subject of fascination for Atlanta urbanists for nearly a decade. 

Pitched as one of the grandest, most amenitized skyscrapers Atlanta’s ever seen, No2 Opus Place first came to light in 2016 as a 74-story, $300-million statement condo building with amenities that called for two pools, an IMAX screening room, and a 40th-floor golf simulator. Despite staging a dynamite-fueled “groundbreaking” in 2018, the project was scaled back and consistently delayed until it fell into foreclosure in fall 2023. 

Now, the broad goal is to create a premier attraction, social hub, and magnet for cultural and arts experiences that people won’t find anywhere but Atlanta, officials have said. The Midtown Improvement District bought the site in May for roughly $46 million. No timeline has been specified for design and fundraising phases.  

Which all begs the question, dear armchair designers and developers of Atlanta: What should go here, in a Midtown park space potentially like no other? 

alt The shabby, vacant site from ground level, shown prior to cleanup efforts. Courtesy of Midtown Alliance

alt Updated map of development activity in central Midtown over the past decade. Midtown Alliance

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alt Early plans for an interim, public-accessible 4-acre park space at the 14th Street site. Midtown Alliance

alt The shabby, vacant site from ground level, shown prior to cleanup efforts. Courtesy of Midtown Alliance

alt Context of the site between the Connector expressway (left) and Colony Square (right). Google Maps

alt Courtesy of Midtown Alliance

alt Courtesy of Midtown Alliance

alt The 4-acre site's 14th Street frontage, as seen last summer. Google Maps

alt Courtesy of Midtown Alliance

alt Updated map of development activity in central Midtown over the past decade. Midtown Alliance

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Opinion: Rejection of Va-Hi swimming pool will set Atlanta kids back Josh Green Wed, 07/23/2025 - 15:33

In the following Letter to the Editor,Hugh Malkin, Midtown Neighbors’ Association Infrastructure Chairperson and an Atlanta tech entrepreneur, details the true cost of the city’s lack of public swimming facilities. He also posits that a recent setback in Virginia-Highland is emblematic of broader problems and offers potential steps toward solutions.

His suggested title: “Drowning in Disparity: How Atlanta's Aquatic Deficit Threatens Our Children.”

...

Dear Editor:

Drowning remains a leading cause of death for children, a stark tragic reality underscoring a critical issue in Atlanta's severe “aquatic deficit.”

This deficit refers to a glaring absence of accessible swim facilities and water safety education in the city. It also contrasts sharply with Atlanta’s vibrant suburbs, where summer swim teams dot nearly every neighborhood.

Yet within Atlanta's dense Beltline corridor, 45 neighborhoods share only one public summer swim team. That’s right—one.

This disparity isn’t just about missing out on fun. It’s a serious safety crisis. As a parent and lifelong swimmer, I’ve experienced this shortage firsthand.

Quick History: Atlanta's Disappearing Pools

To understand Atlanta’s current aquatic shortfall, we need to examine its past. Hannah Palmer, in her book and art installation Ghost Pools: A brief history of swimming in Atlanta and across America, uncovered a forgotten legacy. Atlanta was once known as “the swimmingest city in the country,” boasting numerous public pools that were thoroughly enjoyed by residents.

However, this legacy unraveled starting in the 1950s. Palmer's research reveals that as pools began to desegregate, many white swimmers abandoned them. This led to a decline in city commitment, drying up funding, and the eventual closure or disrepair of public pools, creating “aquatic deserts.” That is, communities with little to no access to swimming facilities.

This history has a measurable impact today on swimming proficiency, especially among different racial groups.

National studies show significant disparities: 64 percent of Black children, 45 percent of Hispanic/Latino children, and 40 percent of White children have low to no swimming skills. Such statistics highlight a critical safety concern, placing these groups at a much higher risk of drowning.

Current Landscape, Proposed Solution

This historical shadow continues to affect Atlanta today. Atlanta Public Schools and City of Atlanta officials are falling short in meeting the community’s aquatic needs. Opportunities for water safety education and team swimming are notably absent in many of Atlanta’s dense urban areas.

alt A map of metro Atlanta swim team locations today. Contributed

An ideal solution involves the city’s Department of Parks and Recreation collaborating with APS to establish a summer swim team league. Both organizations share a commitment to equity and community wellbeing: DPR's “Activate ATL” plan focuses on addressing disparities in “historically underserved parks,” and APS Athletics emphasizes equity and inclusivity. This shared vision provides a strong foundation for collaboration.

An important note: For a neighborhood swim team, an eight-lane, 25-yard pool is the optimal facility, serving as the official standard for competitions. Eight lanes ensure efficient competitions and effective practice management. Safety requires a minimum depth of four feet at the starting end, though six to seven feet is highly recommended for modern facilities. An “L-shape” design with a shallow area maximizes utility for both competitive training and lessons.

While most Atlanta high schools have access to a district pool for a swim team, Midtown High School is a notable exception. It currently lacks a city pool large enough for a swim team.

alt City pools capable of hosting a summer swim team showing none in the Midtown High School district.Contributed

Recent Setback: Va-Hi Pool Project

Recognizing this void, parents from Virginia-Highland Elementary formed the Virginia-Highland Pool Association in hopes of building a year-round community pool on an underutilized APS field. [Editor’s note: The APS-owned site considered perfect by neighbors is a grassy property at the southeast corner of Virginia Avenue and Ponce de Leon Place, diagonal from Virginia-Highland Elementary School. It’s colloquially called “The Field of Dreams.”]   

alt Va-Hi's so-called "Field of Dreams," at right, as seen along Virginia Avenue in winter 2023. Google Maps

This project aimed to teach life-saving swimming skills to APS students and host a much-needed neighborhood summer swim team. Placing the pool on APS property offered a unique opportunity for community benefit and integrating water safety education.

After extensive discussions, VHPA and APS drafted a pre-development agreement. This was intended as the foundational first step for VHPA’s multi-year fundraising and design.

alt Proposed but shelved Virginia-Highland pool site plan. Courtesy of Virginia-Highland Pool Association

However, the Virginia-Highland Civic Association, a volunteer-run neighborhood organization, viewed this as their final formal opportunity for critical community input. At a town hall in April, residents voiced opposition, primarily citing street parking concerns. This mirrors urban planning professor Donald Shoup’s warning that debates over “free” parking often derail higher-value public projects by prioritizing individual convenience over collective benefit.

While parking concerns were prominent, the VHCA's unanimous non-support for this version of the agreement was rooted in a commitment to fair procedure and thorough project vetting.

The community pool project has since been shelved, with APS formally ending the proposal on May 28. APS’s decision was influenced by neighbor concerns, VHCA’s stance, and APS’s other possible uses for their land.

The project ultimately fell into a procedural “chicken-or-the-egg” trap. VHCA, a volunteer group, expected detailed plans upfront, which VHPA could only produce after an initial agreement allowed fundraising.

As Ezra Klein argues in his book Abundance, legal and procedural hurdles often obstruct necessary infrastructure. This vision succumbed to the combined impact of a vocal minority and procedural complexities, leaving Virginia-Highland and the wider Midtown High School community still without public pools capable of hosting swim teams.

2 Cents: Recommendations for Future Projects

If Atlanta is to build essential public amenities, the approval process itself must be reformed through a collaborative approach.

DPR and APS Athletics are well-positioned for this, given their overlapping missions focused on equity, youth development, and community safety.

Based on this experience, here's a framework, in my opinion:

  • Establish a “Public Benefit” Fast Track: The City of Atlanta should create a streamlined approval process for non-profit, public-benefit projects, differentiating them from commercial developments.
  • Solve the “Chicken-or-the-Egg” Problem: APS must establish a predefined process for partnerships with nonprofits, potentially offering seed grants or technical assistance to help groups create preliminary plans. This breaks the stalemate where money can't be raised without an agreement, and an agreement can’t be reached without costly plans.
  • Set Clear Decision-Making Criteria: Approving bodies should use a clear, publicly stated rubric for successful proposals to shift debates from subjective complaints to objective questions. This prevents solvable issues like parking from derailing life-saving projects.
  • Develop “Off-the-Shelf” Plans: DPR should create pre-designed, pre-vetted plans for community pools. This lowers the barrier for volunteer groups, who could propose implementing a city-approved version. DPR, MARTA, and APS should identify pre-approved sites for city-wide swim teams.
  • Create a Public Project Accelerator: A city agency should act as a partner and guide for volunteer groups, providing coordinated legal, architectural, and fundraising expertise, treating nonprofits as partners in building public abundance. This accelerator would foster vital public amenities and lead to a more resilient Atlanta.

The failure of the Virginia-Highland pool project highlights a critical issue: Atlanta's severe aquatic deficit and our city’s difficulty in providing essential public resources.

Drowning remains a real concern, and the glaring absence of accessible swim facilities, especially near the dense Beltline corridor, is a significant safety crisis that demands immediate action. We’ve seen how bureaucratic obstacles and vocal opposition can hinder progress, but we also recognize a clear path forward.

It’s time for DPR and APS to act on their shared commitment to equity and community well-being. We specifically call on them to collaborate immediately to establish a public summer swim league comparable to those in the suburbs. Furthermore, they must identify a suitable site within the Midtown High School district and construct a suitable pool, as outlined above.

This crucial investment will provide a life-saving outlet for our children ages 5 to 18, benefiting them today and for generations to come. This isn't merely about recreation; it's about public safety and fostering a more resilient and equitable Atlanta.

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Georgia Tech's first new residence hall in decades starts topping out Josh Green Wed, 07/23/2025 - 13:46

The first traditional residence hall to be built on Georgia Tech’s campus in almost 50 years has reached its max height—at least partly.

One section the two-building Curran Street Residence Hall, the south tower, has topped out on the western fringes of campus, according to a Georgia Tech Infrastructure and Sustainability photo update this week.

The project’s north tower has largely topped out, too, apart from a middle section. A formal groundbreaking was held in March, though construction had launched last year.  

The dorm project continues a building spree for Georgia Tech that includes the expanded Science Square district, a football stadium expansion, and the topped-out Technology Square Phase 3 in Midtown, in addition to smaller projects.

The Curran Street Residence Hall calls for 862 beds spread across eight residential floors for first-year students. Building features—previously described as state-of-the-art—will include a 24-hour automated market, study rooms, e-gaming spaces, and a fitness center, Georgia Tech officials have said.

alt Looking southeast to downtown, recent construction progress on the two-building Curran Street Residence Hall project. Georgia Tech Infrastructure and Sustainability

alt Georgia Tech Infrastructure and Sustainability

The project has risen from a site along Northside Drive, between Eighth and Ninth streets. It marks the first housing of any sort added on campus since 2005, when the 153-bed Tenth and Home complex opened along 10th Street to accommodate growing family-student and graduate enrollment.

Formerly the property in question—situated just south of The Interlock project’s second phase and new Stella at Star Metals luxury high-rise—was home to surface parking and little else.

Officials consider the new residential facility an important cog in goals put forward in Georgia Tech’s emerging Comprehensive Campus Plan, which could continue to transform multiple areas of the campus grounds. The project was estimated to cost $117 million in 2023, when it was approved by the University System of Georgia Board of Regents.

alt How the Curran Street Residence Hall project will meet Northside Drive. Georgia Institute of Technology

alt The project's footprint between Eighth and Ninth streets on the western edge of campus. Georgia Institute of Technology

The residence hall will be geared toward accommodating Georgia Tech’s first-year enrollment growth over the next decade, while also housing students relocated during planned renovations to existing on-campus residential buildings.

All rooms in the 191,000-square-foot building will be made for double-occupancy, with group kitchens, community lounges, and collaborative learning spaces featured elsewhere, according to the school.

The construction schedule calls for opening the new dorms in August 2026 for fall semester.

The student living options will join a multitude of new off-campus housing in highly amenitized buildings that have sprouted across Midtown and downtown over the past decade.

Swing up to the gallery for more context and visuals.

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alt The site in question on Georgia Tech campus' western edge, just south of The Interlock project's second phase. Google Maps

alt Looking southeast to downtown, recent construction progress on the two-building Curran Street Residence Hall project. Georgia Tech Infrastructure and Sustainability

alt Georgia Tech Infrastructure and Sustainability

alt Georgia Tech Infrastructure and Sustainability

alt Looking north at the Northside Drive site, at right, as seen in January 2023.Google Maps

alt How the Curran Street Residence Hall project will meet Northside Drive. Georgia Institute of Technology

alt The project's footprint between Eighth and Ninth streets on the western edge of campus. Georgia Institute of Technology

alt Alternate interior angle of the project, as released in 2023. Lord Aeck Sargent; via Georgia Tech

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Is Atlanta’s hot streak ending—or are red flags overblown? Josh Green Wed, 07/23/2025 - 10:44

If you’re starting to notice a negative trend around here, you’re not alone.

This past weekend, the Wall Street Journal published a population-analysis, urban trends piece that’s garnered a lot of buzz and reactionary media attention (not to mention schadenfreude from afar, if texts from friends in other cities are any indication). The article’s hair-raising headline: “Atlanta’s Growth Streak Has Come to an End.”   

Gasp! We’re screwed! Right? Let's proceed.

The WSJ cites U.S. Census Bureau data that indicates metro Atlanta saw a dip in domestic migrants over the 12 months ending in mid-2024, enough that the region lost more people to moving away than those who moved in. The decline wasn’t severe—1,330 former residents, equivalent to basically one larger apartment complex—but it did mark the first instance of this happening in metro Atlanta in three decades, since the Census started keeping such records.

Anecdotal evidence of the region’s decline peppered throughout the WSJ piece includes Microsoft’s indefinite pause of its economy-changing Westside campus, a foreclosed apartment building in Buckhead, the metro’s scourge of office vacancies, cripplingly low housing inventory, local employer hiring called “weak,” and younger folks fed up with traffic and high rents who’ve bolted to places like Chattanooga, Greenville, and Huntsville. The metro, in summation, “is finally cooling off,” the authors assert.

Make no mistake: According to the 2024 data, metro Atlanta is still growing, with births outnumbering deaths and international migration on the uptick (at least until recently); and by all indications, the City of Atlanta itself remains on a growth hot streak, now with its highest population in history. In so many places the city certainly feels more alive, more populated and vibrant, than even five years ago. 

But the WSJ’s take isn’t alone in pointing out something foul afoot around here.

alt Many of the Midtown high-rise rentals shown here in December 2022 delivered last year, continuing a multifamily boom. Urbanize Atlanta

Back in March, Census estimates showed that metro Atlanta was being stripped of what many urbanists considered a point of pride: being the sixth largest metro in the U.S.

According to those 2024 estimates, the metro areas of both Miami and Washington D.C. leapfrogged Atlanta’s in terms of overall population, bumping Georgia’s capital city back to No. 8 on the list of largest metros in the country. (A year prior, a similar report showed metro Atlanta had surpassed both Miami and Washington D.C.—after having overtaken metro Philadelphia—to become the sixth largest U.S. metro and the biggest in the Southeast. But that party was short-lived, per the data.)

More recently, findings from a leading real estate marketplace show an abnormal pricing dip around Atlanta.

In fact, bottom-of-the-barrel abnormal—and unfamiliar territory for a Sunbelt boomtown, traditionally speaking.

alt Homes.com

According to Homes.com, the metro’s median home prices dropped by 3 percent in June compared to last year, marking the most significant year-over-year decrease in home prices across the nation. It also marked metro Atlanta’s biggest dip since the tail end of the Great Recession in July 2012. Metro Atlanta condos (down 6.1 percent) and townhomes (6.5 percent) took the biggest price hit.

Per Homes.com’s analysis, metro Atlanta’s median home price is $407,500, down about $12,500 from last June, which is leaning in favor of homebuyers though interest rates remain relatively high.

alt Homes.com

What’s more, active home listings around Atlanta ballooned by 40 percent over the year ending in June, signaling a slowdown but helping to give buyers leverage.

Another recent report by analytics firm Cotality (formerly CoreLogic) found Atlanta to be the country’s No. 2 market at “very high risk of price decline.”

alt Cotality

That trend “is thought to be due to buyers being unable to afford home prices as they currently stand …, rising home inventory in Atlanta putting pressure on sellers to reduce prices to stay competitive, and rapid rising prices of homes since the COVID-19 pandemic,” reads a summary.

Could all the above be proof of the dreaded “B” word (rhymes with “rubble”) in Atlanta? Are we doomed? Or are the alarm bells overblown? Will the city and metro quickly course-correct as we’ve done, by and large, for a century and a half? Is it too late now?

Certainly food for thought. Gulp.

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Chamblee plows forward to build downtown park with pond centerpiece Josh Green Tue, 07/22/2025 - 12:24

Burgeoning downtown Chamblee is gearing up to become a bit greener soon. 

Fish Bolt Park, a greenspace and stormwater initiative in the works for nearly a decade, has recently begun the bidding process for contractors in hopes of breaking ground in coming months. City officials held a pre-bid conference today. 

Tucked between Peachtree Boulevard and the city’s MARTA station, the 1900 Chamblee Tucker Road property in question is a former MARTA stormwater detention pond acquired by the City of Chamblee as part of its 2016 trails and parks expansion program.

The site is surrounded by infill development including hundreds of new multifamily units in nearby blocks downtown, with more in the pipeline. The two-mile Chamblee Rail Trail, a multi-use pathway, abuts the southern border of the future park. 

alt Location of Fish Bolt Park along the Chamblee Rail Trail, in relation to the city's MARTA hub (bottom) and downtown restaurants. Google Maps

alt Overview of plans for the constructed wetlands, seating areas, and multi-use pathways at Fish Bolt Park. Kimley-Horn, via City of Chamblee

According to project engineers Kimley-Horn, Fish Bolt Park will be considered a “constructed wetland,” or a shallow marsh system that controls runoff and treats urban stormwater, removing pollutants by way of marsh vegetation. 

Fish Bolt Park’s scope will also include an elevated observation deck, ADA-accessible pathways, a mural wall, additional decks with seating, lighting, landscaping, and other features meant to control erosion. 

alt Kimley-Horn, via City of Chamblee

alt Kimley-Horn, via City of Chamblee

Construction on Fish Bolt Park is scheduled to start before the end of 2025. No targeted opening date has been specified. 

In the gallery above, find more visuals and context. 

alt Overview of the 1900 Chamblee Tucker Road site, now surrounded by residential development. Kimley-Horn, via City of Chamblee

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alt Location of Fish Bolt Park along the Chamblee Rail Trail, in relation to the city's MARTA hub (bottom) and downtown restaurants. Google Maps

alt Overview of plans for the constructed wetlands, seating areas, and multi-use pathways at Fish Bolt Park. Kimley-Horn, via City of Chamblee

alt Overview of the 1900 Chamblee Tucker Road site, now surrounded by residential development. Kimley-Horn, via City of Chamblee

alt Kimley-Horn, via City of Chamblee

alt Kimley-Horn, via City of Chamblee

alt Kimley-Horn, via City of Chamblee

alt Kimley-Horn, via City of Chamblee

alt Kimley-Horn, via City of Chamblee

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