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GDOT flirts with idea of Atlanta-to-Savannah intercity rail Josh Green Wed, 03/19/2025 - 08:18 Imagine boarding an intercity train at lunchtime on Friday in Atlanta, finishing out the workweek online while in transit, and spending the weekend in one of the most walkable cities in America—Savannah—before boarding the train again Sunday to swing back home. 

Or imagine using the train system to do business in either city during the week—no sitting in traffic, gas expenses, or exorbitant parking fees required. 

Seem like science fiction? Maybe not. 

Following a stakeholder kickoff meeting in late January (yes, during this presidential administration), the Georgia Department of Transportation (no, not a typo) has entered the public engagement phase of what’s called the Atlanta-Savannah Intercity Passenger Rail Project (squeal!). 

Many hurdles and question marks, of course, stand between here and actual passenger rail service from Georgia’s state capital to The Hostess City, but for alternate transportation enthusiasts, an analysis covering many of Georgia’s largest and fastest-growing cities could be a step in the right direction. 

The project study area in question covers a wide swath of Georgia. Georgia Department of Transportation

The $10 million study—funded with $8 million from the Federal Rail Administration awarded in 2023, plus a $2 million match from GDOT—aims to produce what’s called a Service Development Plan for passenger rail between Georgia’s growing population centers and increasing demand for travel between them. 

The broader goal is to develop a program that helps guide the creation of an intercity rail network around the country, starting with rail projects deemed ready for implementation. 

According to GDOT, Amtrak is just one of the “successful private operators” that will be vetted for cost and feasibility for operating the rail line in Georgia. (Amtrak has praised intown Atlanta as a strategic intercity rail hub location and last year requested nearly $30 million in federal funding to secure a development site at an undisclosed location here.)

As a first step, GDOT is asking for your 2 cents with a quick and engaging survey to gauge interest in and take suggestions for potential Atlanta-to-Savannah rail. Our test-run took less than three minutes.

Expected to span several years, the Atlanta-Savannah Intercity Passenger Rail Project will evaluate benefits and costs of the passenger rail line, weigh financial feasibility, and whittle down the range of service alternatives. 

Nothing resembling a construction timeline has been compiled because no funding for final design and building the rail line has been identified, per GDOT. 

Georgia Department of Transportation

More optimistically, GDOT says a cost-benefit analysis and the hunt for potential funding sources will come next year. 

GDOT’s goal is to complete the corridor’s Service Development Plan and then finish an Environmental Impact Statement by early 2028. 

Choo choo? 

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The project study area in question covers a wide swath of Georgia. Georgia Department of Transportation

Subtitle Survey asks: Would you use it, ATL?

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Images: Growing The Works ATL district adds $18M parking deck Josh Green Tue, 03/18/2025 - 16:54 Four and a 1/2 years after it started rolling out office, retail, and food-and-beverage spaces, big things are afoot at The Works ATL, a growing adaptive-reuse district in Underwood Hills. 

Officials with Selig Enterprises, the property’s developer, tell Urbanize Atlanta another parking deck with modern-style screening is scheduled to open in coming weeks on Logan Circle, just north of The Works’ main working and dining hub. 

The $18-million public parking deck will add 550 spaces to the district, according to Selig reps. 

It joins another Smith Dalia Architects-designed parking garage (dare we say, an eye-catching structure) that opened as part of The Works’ 27-acre first phase in 2021. 

Eventually, The Works is expected to span some 80 acres in what’s been coined Atlanta’s “Upper Westside,” about three miles northwest of Midtown.  

Exterior of the $18-million parking deck, as seen earlier this month. Chad Buxton/Dakota Contractors; via The Works ATL FB

Location of the district's second parking structure (starred) in relation to entries. Google Maps

Selig officials also relay that The Works’ first phase of offices—totaling 125,000 square feet of space—is now fully leased, despite a historically challenging office market across Atlanta and other cities. 

Alongside Google Fiber, recently signed office tenants at The Works include branded content production company Narrative Content Group; leading Southeast communications and PR firm Babbit Bodner; office furniture retailer and interior design studio Interior Environments; and the City of Atlanta, which has leased space for a division of Atlanta Police Department’s public safety team at The Works. 

Mindy Selig, the developer’s senior vice president, called the recent office signings “a testament to The Works’ creative and innovative environment that continues to draw in top-tier companies even while the larger office market experiences headwinds” in an announcement. 

Formerly rundown warehouses, the adaptive-reuse district has tallied numerous awards— including the Metro Atlanta Redevelopment Summit’s 2024 Project of the Year—as it’s grown into a mixed-use destination. 

Parking garage entry and screening. Chad Buxton/Dakota Contractors; via The Works ATL FB

Fenced-off roadway to the new parking deck near Google Fiber offices and Scofflaw brewing today. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Other office tenants include local food media company Atlanta Eats, radio conglomerate iHeart Media, creative editorial shop Uppercut, and photopolymer plate manufacturer MacDermid Graphic Solutions. 

Those companies join more than 50 retail tenants at The Works’ first phase, including the 31-stall food hall Chattahoochee Food Works, Fetch Park, Your 3rd Spot, Fox Bros Bar-B-Q, Dr. Scofflaw’s brewery, Ballard Designs, and Adelina Social Goods. 

Other components of the district include the first residential piece, 306-unit Westbound at The Works apartments, a linear hangout area called The Spur, and kid-friendly, 1-acre greenspace The Camp. 

The new Logan Circle parking structure in relation to existing The Works buildings (at left), as seen in January. Google Maps

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Location of the district's second parking structure (starred) in relation to entries. Google Maps

The new Logan Circle parking structure in relation to existing The Works buildings (at left), as seen in January. Google Maps

Fenced-off roadway to the new parking deck near Google Fiber offices and Scofflaw brewing today. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Exterior of the $18-million parking deck, as seen earlier this month. Chad Buxton/Dakota Contractors; via The Works ATL FB

Parking garage entry and screening. Chad Buxton/Dakota Contractors; via The Works ATL FB

Subtitle Selig-developed project has also fully leased all phase one office space, officials announce

Neighborhood Underwood Hills

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Vision emerges for vacant corner near downtown Connector Josh Green Tue, 03/18/2025 - 15:09 How a long-vacant corner in the northern blocks of downtown could be repurposed for Atlanta visitors is coming into clearer focus. 

Officials with Atlanta-based BCA Studios Architects have recently shared renderings depicting how a dual-branded hotel project could look and function at 524 West Peachtree St., between a major hospital and the Connector freeway. 

Hotel uses have been pitched for the relatively tight, .46-acre corner site—where the 1920s Rosser Building was demolished more than six years ago—for a decade. 

According to BCA Studios, the project will include Georgia’s first Motto by Hilton hotel adjacent to a TownPlace Suites by Marriott, both of them operating independently. Plans call for 381 rooms total, plus a rooftop restaurant and coffee shop at street level. 

Looking north across the two-brand proposal into Midtown. BCA Studios Architects

The 524 West Peachtree St. site where a 1920s building was razed six years ago. Google Maps

The architecture firm counts offices in Atlanta and Gainesville, and its portfolio includes numerous hotel projects around the Sunbelt, including multi-brand high-rise hospitality developments.

The site is situated between the Connector and Emory University Hospital Midtown, directly south of a 3,000-space parking garage that city planners once hailed as being “beautiful” before it debuted in 2021. 

Next door to the west is historic Baltimore Block, a row of 1880s landmark buildings considered Atlanta’s first apartments.  

We’ve inquired with developer Horizon Hospitality for a construction outlook this week, and we’ll update this story with any additional details that come. Building permit filings show no activity since September, when the project initially came to light. 

A Special Administrative permit filing from last year indicates the hotel project would include just 19 onsite parking spaces total, when 384 are allowed. (Parking decks are located next door and across the street to both the east and south.) Per the filing, 45 bicycle parking spaces would also be in the mix. 

Property records indicate the site sold for $8.4 million to an Alpharetta-based LLC called Atlanta Hotel Development in 2023. 

How the West Peachtree Street hotel project would stack up next to a newer, large parking garage just to the north. BCA Studios Architects

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The West Peachtree Street site was formerly home to the Rosser Building, named for an architecture firm based there for decades, until it was demolished in 2018 to make way for a 12-story, dual-branded Marriott hotel that didn’t move forward. Ditto for another hotel proposal that had been put together a couple of years earlier.

The site's former structure was designed by prominent Atlanta architect A. Ten Eyck Brown for an automobile distributor, and it was once considered part of the city’s “Automobile Row,” a chain of distributors and dealerships. Following its automobile uses, the building served as the headquarters for Eastern Airlines. In the 1980s, Rosser architects moved into the building, occupying it until 2012. Abandoned and in desperate need of repair, the building was sold in 2015.

Since before the COVID-19 pandemic, the Motto by Hilton brand has been trying to crack into the Atlanta market as part of the Waldo’s development in Old Fourth Ward, which remains delayed more than three years after initial phases of construction launched.

Looking south across the site today toward Centennial Olympic Park. Google Maps

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The 524 West Peachtree St. site where a 1920s building was razed six years ago. Google Maps

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Looking north across the two-brand proposal into Midtown. BCA Studios Architects

How the West Peachtree Street hotel project would stack up next to a newer, large parking garage just to the north. BCA Studios Architects

Looking south across the site today toward Centennial Olympic Park. Google Maps

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Subtitle Dual-branded hotel concept calls for nearly 400 more rooms on West Peachtree Street

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BREAKING: Midtown announces permanent park for failed mega-project site Josh Green Tue, 03/18/2025 - 13:42 Atlanta greenspace lovers, rejoice! 

A large, vacant site in the heart of Midtown where one of the most ambitious high-rise proposals in city history, No2 Opus Place, was pitched for several years, tweaked, and ultimately fell apart will become a permanent public park, the subdistrict’s leadership announced today. 

The Midtown Improvement District’s Board of Directors revealed today that the agency is under contract on a 4-acre site at 98 14th St. that couldn’t be much more high-profile, surrounded by Atlanta arts institutions, landmark office buildings, and notable high-rise hotels and residential towers. 

The idle, partially excavated 14th Street site—situated between Peachtree and West Peachtree streets—is considered one of the final developable sites of its size left in Midtown. According to Midtown Alliance, more than 44,500 residents, students, workers, and visitors are located within a seven-minute walk of the parcel on any given day. 

For context, the 4-acre site is about 2 acres smaller than Woodruff Park, a centerpiece downtown greenspace. 

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

Courtesy of Midtown Alliance

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—to the chagrin of development observers and neighborhood boosters—until the site ultimately tumbled into foreclosure in fall 2023. 

Now, MID officials are aiming to close on the 14th Street site in mid-May at what agency leadership calls a pivotal time for Midtown, which has been the epicenter of Atlanta’s high-rise real estate boom for more than a dozen years. The pending land acquisition was announced today at the 2025 Midtown Alliance Annual Meeting at the Fox Theatre, which was attended by more than 1,000 civic and business leaders. 

Design and fundraising phases would follow the land acquisition. The goal is to create a “premier attraction” that’s a hub for cultural and arts experience people won’t find anywhere but Atlanta, officials said in today’s announcement. Malloy Peterson, an MID board member and Selig Enterprises senior vice president of development, said the “pioneering move” marks the first time a Community Improvement District in Georgia has acted to acquire land to create a signature public space.

Kevin Green, Midtown Alliance president and MID secretary, told Urbanize Atlanta the seller is an entity of Benmark Atlanta Lender LLC that foreclosed on the property in November 2023, but he said the purchase price won’t be disclosed until the transaction is finalized. 

“Once the property is closed, we will embark on a public design process to create something spectacular,” Green wrote via email. “Midtown Alliance will then lead a philanthropic capital campaign to fund and construct these enhancements. Timing on construction is to be determined.”

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

An early rendering shows No2 Opus Place when it was designed to be taller—a 730-foot glass statement piece to rival the condo towers of Manhattan and Tokyo. Plans were later scaled back. Perkins+Will/No2 Opus Place

Constituting Midtown’s central high-rise and business core, the MID spans 770 acres but counts just 1.1 acres of permanent open public space today. The one-square-mile district, founded 25 years ago, has seen 55 major development projects delivered since 2018 with a value of more than $10.6 billion, per MID officials. 

“This is a seminal moment to secure open space designed for community gathering, and ensuring its availability forever,” said Mary Pat Matheson, Midtown Alliance Board Chair and Atlanta Botanical Garden president and CEO. 

Long before No2 Opus Place plans, a sweeping symphony hall by Spanish starchitect Santiago Calatrava also failed to take flight on the 14th Street site, a victim of the Great Recession. 

“Our leadership viewed this as a generational opportunity to preserve land forever and create a signature amenity for Midtown and our city,” added Kurt Hartman, MID board chair and Hines’ retired senior managing director. “Given the rapid rate Midtown has been developing, this was seen as now or never.” 

Find more site context and imagery in the gallery above.

The shabby, vacant site from ground level today.Courtesy of Midtown Alliance

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

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

Courtesy of Midtown Alliance

Courtesy of Midtown Alliance

The shabby, vacant site from ground level today.Courtesy of Midtown Alliance

Courtesy of Midtown Alliance

Subtitle Midtown Improvement District targets 4 acres in heart of district where No2 Opus Place didn’t happen

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Next phase of West Highlands redevelopment breaks ground Josh Green Mon, 03/17/2025 - 16:22 A mixed-income housing venture with dozens of units has officially entered the pipeline northwest of Midtown. 

Atlanta Housing and its development partners, Perry Homes Redevelopment and Brock Built Homes, held a groundbreaking ceremony Friday to kick off construction of the next phase of redevelopment at the expansive West Highlands project. 

The 2000 Perry Boulevard NW site is situated between Midtown’s northern reaches and Interstate 285, adjacent to Norfolk Southern’s massive Inman Yard railroad hub. 

The property formerly housed the Perry Homes housing projects, built in the 1950s and fully demolished in 1999 as efforts to clear public housing in the city ramped up. 

The next phase of West Highlands—already one of the largest master-planned communities in the City of Atlanta—calls for 65 for-sale townhomes and detached single-family houses. 

Overview of the latest West Highlands section to break ground, with communal greenspaces included. Courtesy of Atlanta Housing

Context of the 2000 Perry Boulevard site, situated northwest of Midtown. Google Maps

According to Atlanta Housing officials, 25 units (or 38 percent of the next phase) will be priced at rates deemed affordable, while the rest will be market-rate. 

That means 25 townhome units will ask $252,000 when finished. Elsewhere, the 40 units of market-rate housing will be priced between $385,000 and $490,000. 

The West Highlands homes will range from 1,400 to 2,500 square feet, according to officials.

The next phase is considered a public-private partnership led by both Atlanta Housing and Brock Built, which has been building a range of communities in the area for years. 

Atlanta Housing is providing $562,500 as a development cost subsidy, in addition to land-value subsidies for affordable units, per agency officials. 

Terri Lee, Atlanta Housing president and CEO, called the project “another step forward in [the agency’s] mission to create inclusive communities where families of all income levels can thrive” in an announcement. 

Totality of the West Highlands project, with the under-construction new section shown at far left. Courtesy of Atlanta Housing

Today, the West Highlands redevelopment includes 700 mixed-income rentals and 513 for-sale homes, 144 of those capped for families earning at or below 80 percent of the area median income. Another 114 homes are currently in the pipeline. 

Other components of the project—described by Atlanta Housing as “a model for mixed-income, community-driven revitalization”—include a community center, a park, and playground.

Breakdown of affordable housing units at West Highlands (red) and market-rate housing.Courtesy of Atlanta Housing

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Context of the 2000 Perry Boulevard site, situated northwest of Midtown. Google Maps

Breakdown of affordable housing units at West Highlands (red) and market-rate housing.Courtesy of Atlanta Housing

Overview of the latest West Highlands section to break ground, with communal greenspaces included. Courtesy of Atlanta Housing

Totality of the West Highlands project, with the under-construction new section shown at far left. Courtesy of Atlanta Housing

Subtitle Where townhome prices will start in the $250Ks, per officials

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Wedge-shaped project tops out near Beltline, MARTA station Josh Green Mon, 03/17/2025 - 14:13 Another three dozen housing units are quickly taking shape in West End on a lot that had been vacant for well over a decade near the Atlanta Beltline and a MARTA station. 

The wedge-shaped infill project stands in the shadow of elevated MARTA tracks at 889 Lee St. SW, less than a block north of the mixed-use Lee + White warehouse district, and the Beltline’s Westside Trail beyond that.

A Chevron gas station borders one edge of the site, and a street called Rose Circle the other. MARTA’s West End station is about two blocks farther north.

Filings with Atlanta’s Department of City Planning indicate the project will include 36 apartments and 39 parking spaces on what had been a grassy, empty lot. 

Duluth-based United Family Homes is developing the project, according to building permit filings. Inquiries to that company for construction updates and details on forthcoming rentals have not been returned. 

“Lee Street in [Southwest] Atlanta represents a tremendous challenge to area residents—and an opportunity for a safe connection for people outside of cars,” reads a description of the project on the company’s website.  

How the topped-out, three-story project meets Lee Street between West End's MARTA station and the Lee + White district today. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Projected look of facades in the 800 block of Lee Street.Gamble + Gamble Architects

Site plans indicate the project was designed by seasoned Atlanta firm Gamble + Gamble Architects, whose work includes the Hotel Clermont renovation and more recently the Lyric Lofts building in Castleberry Hill and Walker Place Townhomes in Edgewood. 

The vacant .85 acres in question last traded for $676,000 in 2019, according to Fulton County property records. An Alpharetta-based LLC called United Apartments at Lee Street is listed as the owner today. Land development at the site started more than two years ago. 

Southernmost flank of the 36-unit project today. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

The .85-acre construction site in relation to MARTA's Gold and Red lines, Lee + White, and the Beltline. Google Maps

As reported on these pages last week, another West End housing development—23 townhomes in two phases—is also underway on the opposite side of the Lee + White district along White Street. 

Find more photos and context in the gallery above. 

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The .85-acre construction site in relation to MARTA's Gold and Red lines, Lee + White, and the Beltline. Google Maps

How the topped-out, three-story project meets Lee Street between West End's MARTA station and the Lee + White district today. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

How 36 units are being wedged into an oddly shaped site at 889 Lee St. Gamble + Gamble Architects

Projected look of facades in the 800 block of Lee Street.Gamble + Gamble Architects

Southernmost flank of the 36-unit project today. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Entry to the community's parking area off Lee Street. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

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Subtitle Another three dozen housing units on tap for West End

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Census: Atlanta drops two spots on biggest metros list Josh Green Mon, 03/17/2025 - 12:50 Tough news for ATL zealots: We’re not No. 6 anymore. 

The metro areas of both Miami and Washington D.C. have leapfrogged metro Atlanta in terms of overall population, bumping Georgia’s capital city back to No. 8 on the list of largest metros in the country, according to Vintage 2024 estimates of population totals and components of change recently published by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Last year, the 2022-2023 version of the same report showed metro Atlanta had surpassed both Miami and Washington D.C.—after having overtaken metro Philadelphia the year prior—to become the sixth largest U.S. metro, and the biggest in the Southeast. That marked an impressing jump for Atlanta from being the ninth largest metro at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic—but alas, it was short-lived, per the new Census tabulations.   

Those estimates put Greater Miami as the sixth largest U.S. metro, after it notched more than 123,000 new residents over the year ending July 1. Washington D.C. brought in another 90,600 people, good for No. 7, per the Census findings. 

Metro Atlanta’s 29-county region hardly stagnated, however, adding more than 75,000 people, or a 1.19 percent population bump. 

Big picture, Census officials found that even metros where populations had dipped during the pandemic were on the rebound between July 2023 and a year later; all 387 metro areas in the country saw positive net international migration, accounting for nearly 2.7 million people. 

“While births continue to contribute to overall growth, rising net international migration is offsetting the ongoing net domestic outmigration we see in many of these [metro] areas,” noted Kristie Wilder, a Census demographer, in the report released Thursday. 

The top 10 largest U.S. metros right now, per Census estimates released last week. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2024 Population Estimates.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began five years ago, the population across the City of Atlanta and metro counties has climbed by nearly 5 percent, adding more than 290,000 people, per the Census data. (Contrast that against the metro with the highest rate of increase among top 10 cities, Dallas, which has added more than 676,000 residents; or the one that’s shrunk the most, Los Angeles, where the population had dipped by 119,200 people, as of July.) 

There is a bright spot in the Census findings, as Peach State growth patterns are concerned. 

Two of the top 10 fastest growing counties in the U.S. are in Georgia, in terms percentage growth rates, and both are located in the northern exurbs. 

Situated northwest of Gwinnett County, Jackson County (No. 4) grew by 5.8 percent over the year in question. 

Meanwhile, Dawson County—where Atlanta’s sprawl meets the North Georgia Mountains, due north of the capital city—grew by 6.4 percent, which was good for No. 1 in the country among counties with at least 20,000 residents. (And who says proximity to outlet malls isn’t a selling point?)

Top 10 counties across the country in terms of percentage growth over the year ending July 1, 2024. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2024 Population Estimates.

On the flipside, Clayton County’s reduction of 1,677 residents landed it on the dubious top 10 (No. 6) of counties that saw numeric decline. According to Census findings, 297,700 people now call Clayton home. 

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Top 10 counties across the country in terms of percentage growth over the year ending July 1, 2024. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2024 Population Estimates.

The top 10 largest U.S. metros right now, per Census estimates released last week. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2024 Population Estimates.

Subtitle Wait—what?!?

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Images: Another new downtown ATL hotel nearly topped out Josh Green Mon, 03/17/2025 - 08:02 Barely six months after its site was cleared and prepped for vertical construction, another downtown hotel development has nearly reached its ultimate height, albeit shorter than originally expected.

Intown’s second Moxy by Marriott hotel continues a wave of new and proposed lodging options across downtown Atlanta—from near the Gold Dome to the former Gulch and the tourism district’s heart—with a month of FIFA 2026 World Cup matches now just 15 months away. 

As of this week, the 329 Marietta St. Moxy project has about two more stories to rise before topping out, according to renderings and building permit details.  

The 183-room lodge will stand next to Hyatt Place Atlanta hotel in a location easily walkable to Centennial Olympic Park, the Georgia Aquarium, Georgia World Congress Center, and Mercedes-Benz Stadium, among other attractions.

Progress on the Moxy by Marriott project Sunday in the 300 block of Marietta Street downtown. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Previous building on the 329 Marietta St. property, with downtown's Hyatt Place shown to the left and behind. Google Maps

The hotel’s development team of Nexera Capital and Emerge Hospitality Group has previously said they hope to finish the project as soon as possible, with downtown’s FIFA frenzy on the horizon next year. Winter Construction is building the project. 

Building permits indicate the hotel will stand 10 stories—a reduction of three stories from earlier plans with different designs, especially for base levels and the roof. (The room count, however, remains the same as before.) An updated Elevate Architecture Studio rendering shows plans for multi-story, lighted signage wrapping a corner of the building have also been subtracted.

Designs do call for a rooftop lounge, a bar at street level, a speakeasy, and several other gathering spaces around the property, according to developers. 

Marriott opened its other Atlanta Moxy hotel—a dual-branded fusion of Moxy and its European-inspired AC Hotel brand—on 14th Street in Midtown just before for another impactful event: Atlanta's 2019 Super Bowl. The hotel giant bills the Moxy concept as more “playful, affordable, and stylish” than more upscale brands under its flag. More than 125 Moxy locations operate around the world.

The hotel's stance near a retail portion of another newer lodge, Hyatt Place Atlanta, next door. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

The Moxy project as seen today, looking south from Ivan Allen Jr. Boulevard. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

The Moxy concept will join numerous hospitality ventures recently delivered or in the works near downtown’s signature park.

The Signia by Hilton project delivered almost 1,000 hotel rooms last year, marking Atlanta’s tallest new hotel in four decades. Fronting Centennial Olympic Park, the 22-story Margaritaville resort condo building by Wyndham Destinations opened in 2022 with 200 suites and two floors of retail near SkyView Atlanta. And Centennial Yards expects to finish its 229-room Anthem hotel this year, with another 230-room lodge also under construction as part of that project’s entertainment and sports district.

Meanwhile, near the northeast edge of Centennial Olympic Park, a proposed Residence Inn by Marriott would rise 14 stories. And plans came to light last year for a 260-room hotel that would include the Motto by Hilton brand at 524 West Peachtree St., where the 1920s Rosser Building was demolished several years ago.

Elsewhere in South Downtown, adaptive-reuse The Origin Hotel Atlanta, a Wyndham Hotels and Resorts property, was previously scheduled to open last fall, but that’s been delayed.

Head up to the gallery for more context and a Moxy project update in photos. Below is a comparison of current plans and the taller concept initially proposed. 

Current designs for the 239 Marietta St. project. Moxy by Marriott; designs, Elevate Architecture Studio

Earlier designs for the Moxy-branded downtown hotel, with parking levels more transparent and a bolder roofline. Moxy by Marriott; designs, Elevate Architecture Studio

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Progress on the Moxy by Marriott project Sunday in the 300 block of Marietta Street downtown. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

The Moxy's facade over Marietta Street today. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

The hotel's stance near a retail portion of another newer lodge, Hyatt Place Atlanta, next door. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

The Moxy project as seen today, looking south from Ivan Allen Jr. Boulevard. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Previous building on the 329 Marietta St. property, with downtown's Hyatt Place shown to the left and behind. Google Maps

Current designs for the 239 Marietta St. project. Moxy by Marriott; designs, Elevate Architecture Studio

Earlier designs for the Moxy-branded downtown hotel, with parking levels more transparent and a bolder roofline. Moxy by Marriott; designs, Elevate Architecture Studio

Subtitle Well, that was quick

Neighborhood Downtown

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Photos: How range of dense housing transformed this Atlanta block Josh Green Fri, 03/14/2025 - 14:26 File this one under random urban observations—and potentially important templates for Atlanta’s growth. 

Where just a single house had stood during the pandemic (along with offices for manufacturer Stein Steel), more than 60 housing units have finished construction and come together in a unique way in Reynoldstown. 

The relatively dense housing node is a block from the Beltline’s Eastside Trail, bounded by Kirkwood Avenue and Gibson, Holtzclaw, and Mauldin streets. 

The majority of the homes (56 units) were built by Empire Communities as part of the expanding Stein Steel project, with prices ranging from the low $300,000s for one-bedroom condos to three-bedroom townhomes in the $600,000s. Duplexes and smaller contemporary cottages by a separate development team also helped fill the formerly barren block. 

Outline of Empire Communities' portion of development, where just one home had stood prior to construction in Reynoldstown. Courtesy of Empire/Google Maps

Demolition at the longstanding steel plant kicked off in early 2021, and construction on the block in question really took off soon after. Today, it’s deserving of a photo tour to help paint the picture. 

So come, take a quick walk around the block in the gallery above. 

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Looking southeast from near the Beltline, the block in question housed Stein Steel's former offices (in white) and parking but was mostly empty. Google Maps

Outline of Empire Communities' portion of development, where just one home had stood prior to construction in Reynoldstown. Courtesy of Empire/Google Maps

Today, where a nook of modern-style cottages is tucked between larger housing structures along Holtzclaw Street. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Cottage entries along Holtzclaw. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

At left in gray brick are Stein Steel's "stack terrace" units, which have all sold. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

In the distance is another stack terrace building coming together as part of the 6.5-acre Stein Steel infill development. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Two rows of "stack quarters" condos stand in the middle of the block as part of Stein Steel. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

A row of larger Stein Steel townhomes stands over Kirkwood Avenue. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

View toward the Beltline's Eastside Trail, with new condo units coming together on the block immediately north. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Stacked condos in brick-clad buildings (the Milltown section of Stein Steel) face Gibson Street. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

The same Reynoldstown corner in question in 2016. Google Maps

Wide sidewalks and three-sides-brick buildings on Gibson. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

A new street called Beardon Circle serves as an entry point to much of the new housing. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Rounding out the tour, we find this row of modern-style duplexes that kickstarted the block's redevelopment about four years ago. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Subtitle Could formerly barren Reynoldstown streets near Beltline be template for sites across city?

Neighborhood Reynoldstown

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City: Downtown streetcar will extend to Eastside Trail—but not in it Josh Green Fri, 03/14/2025 - 12:21 Following Thursday’s bombshell revelation that city and Beltline leadership have no intention of building light-rail transit on the popular Eastside Trail in coming years, the same officials stressed that streetcar expansions could very much be in Atlanta’s future—and to high-density places not previously included in plans.  

Those extended streetcar routes could reach the Beltline corridor near Krog Street Market as previously planned—but streetcars would stop there, and not slink up the Eastside Trail, per city officials. 

Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens in a Thursday meeting with MARTA’s Board of Directors relayed for the first time unequivocally that city leaders were shifting focus away from the Eastside Trail after years of planning for an estimated $230-million light-rail system there. MARTA’s plans for a five-stop route to Ponce City Market—unveiled two and ½ years ago—outraged some naysayers but lent hope for many Atlantans that city leaders might finally embrace new rail in walkable, densely populated places. 

Dickens told MARTA leadership a southside Beltline transit system in conjunction with MARTA would better serve the city, and that project leaders will focus on improving the current Atlanta Streetcar and branching it into Southwest Atlanta’s Beltline corridor via a connection at Murphy Crossing.  

On Thursday evening, Dickens' office issued a media release calling that strategy—and others—a “transformative plan for equitable access to transit” that would help “to build a local economy that works for all Atlantans.” The city has consistently been ranked as the country’s worst for income equality over the past decade, including again this month, city officials pointed out. 

So what could equity look like, in terms of light-rail expansion?

The stop nearest to the Beltline corridor in Old Fourth Ward, as shown in 2022 visuals. Kimley-Horn/MARTA 2040; via Vimeo

According to the mayor’s office, plans call for public engagement in coming months as city and Beltline leaders move forward in different (or revised) directions. In the words of city officials, a beefed-up downtown streetcar system would look like this: 

• “Finally connecting downtown to the Beltline via the Streetcar East Extension... at grade at Irwin Street NE in Phase I of streetcar/light rail construction; 

• Advancing the Streetcar West Extension to connect downtown to [Atlanta University Center] and/or Georgia Tech in Phase II;

• Utilizing dedicated [right-of-way] on the Southside Trail to connect Southwest and Southeast Atlanta with world-class streetcar/light-rail service—accelerating the construction of [four previously] announced infill stations” for MARTA’s heavy-rail lines. 

Last night we asked city officials for clarity on a couple of points—for example, would the Streetcar East Extension be a looping route, or would streetcars essentially reach the Beltline via Irwin Street and turn back on the same rail line?—but have yet to hear back. 

We’ve also inquired about ballpark construction timelines for any of the streetcar extension initiatives outlined by the city late Thursday. 

Where the Atlanta Streetcar would branch off its current loop along Edgewood Avenue, per plans revealed in 2022. Kimley-Horn/MARTA 2040; via Vimeo

Broader goals for the revised approach to light-right expansion would be to reduce poverty, boost graduation rates, increase MARTA ridership, and improve access to affordable housing for a larger swath of Atlanta’s population, per the city.  

Below are statements provided by key players in the light-rail expansion plans, lightly edited for length: 

Mayor Dickens:

“A thriving transit system is more than just buses and trains—it is about creating walkable, connected communities where people can live, work, and play near high-quality transit. MARTA has a substantial amount of high-value real estate holdings that can be leveraged to accomplish this… We need to ensure that our stations serve as hubs of economic activity, housing, and retail that benefit all Atlantans—particularly in historically underserved neighborhoods.”

Jennifer Ide, MARTA Board chair:

“I was excited to hear the mayor's plan to create equitable transit solutions throughout the city. By building transit-oriented communities, we can connect our neighbors across the city and secure MARTA's future as a world-class transit agency.”

Courtney English, the mayor’s chief policy officer and senior advisor:

“Just last week, Atlanta was once again ranked dead last for income equality. Sustained inequity is bad for people, bad for business, and jeopardizes the future health of the city. By bringing rail to Atlanta's Southside Trail, we connect transit-dependent riders to the necessary amenities they need to live choice-filled lives.”

Clyde Higgs, Atlanta Beltline president and CEO:

“Without frequent, accessible, and affordable transit, [underserved] communities face significant barriers to economic mobility and daily necessities… Investing in transit on the Southside section of the Beltline also helps address broader regional challenges, including traffic congestion, air quality, and workforce accessibility.  A more connected Atlanta strengthens the entire city, creating a more inclusive and resilient transportation network that benefits all Atlantans.” 

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The stop nearest to the Beltline corridor in Old Fourth Ward, as shown in 2022 visuals. Kimley-Horn/MARTA 2040; via Vimeo

Where the Atlanta Streetcar would branch off its current loop along Edgewood Avenue, per plans revealed in 2022. Kimley-Horn/MARTA 2040; via Vimeo

The 2022 route shown with Portman Holdings' mixed-use development The Junction on Krog over the Beltline.Kimley-Horn/MARTA 2040; via Vimeo

Closer look at the legend outlining proposed extension components, as revealed by MARTA in 2022. MARTA 2040

Current plans for the in-street portion of the Atlanta Streetcar extension (with alternate bike lane plans in dotted green and track alignment in yellow). MARTA 2040

Subtitle Westward extension could also link to Georgia Tech, Atlanta University Center, per project leaders

Neighborhood Old Fourth Ward

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BREAKING: Atlanta mayor yanks support for eastside Beltline streetcar Josh Green Thu, 03/13/2025 - 15:22 In a surprising turn of events, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens today indicated the city is shifting priorities from building out a light-rail system on the most popular Beltline section to instead focus on transit in other parts of town. 

Dickens told MARTA’s Board of Directors during a transit meeting today that a southside Beltline transit system in conjunction with MARTA would better serve the city than downtown’s current streetcar branching to the Eastside Trail, and then on to Ponce City Market, according to WSB-TV. 

Another focus would be improving the current streetcar system and extending it into Southwest Atlanta, with a connection at the Beltline’s planned Murphy Crossing development. 

Courtney English, chief policy officer and senior advisor to the mayor, told the AJC the city remains committed to building rail in the Beltline corridor but not with the eastside strategy that’s been planned—and hotly debated—for several years. 

MARTA officials had estimated the streetcar extension project along the Eastside Trail to Ponce City Market would cost roughly $230 million. The transit agency’s forecasts called for breaking ground late this year and beginning fare service sometime in 2028. 

Transit-rich future for the Beltline's Southside Trail? Atlanta BeltLine Inc.

Early reactions

Walter Brown, president of Better Atlanta Transit, which has lobbied against rail-based transit in the Eastside Trail corridor, provided the following statement in the wake of Dickens’ comments to MARTA officials: 

“Congratulations to Mayor Dickens for making the wise and courageous decision to defund the expensive, unnecessary, and inequitable Streetcar Extension East. It’s clear that the $3 billion Beltline rail loop would do nothing to address Atlanta’s actual transit needs and that it would detract from the enormous success of the Beltline. 

The Streetcar Extension would have gobbled up hundreds of millions of precious More MARTA dollars for a rail stub serving primarily wealthy eastside neighborhoods. That money will be better spent on transit TO the Beltline, such as the mayor’s proposed infill stations, and on transit that serves ridership demand in less well-healed neighborhoods, such as the Hollowell Parkway-North Avenue Bus-Rapid Transit line. 

We urge Atlanta Beltline Inc. to use this opportunity to leverage the Beltline’s success as an Emerald Necklace of trails and parks that has already connected neighborhoods and spurred economic growth. The Beltline trail is a wildly successful micromobility corridor. ABI must do more to nurture this asset. One place to start would be to examine the possibility of building a separate path for pedestrians along the most crowded stretches of the trail.”

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Regarding the matter of Beltline transit and the mayor’s opinion, Matthew Rao, Beltline Rail Now chair, provided Urbanize Atlanta with the following transcript of his statement to MARTA’s board: 

“Today you heard from Mayor Dickens and Courtney English about the administration’s changed priorities for building rail on the Beltline, nearly a year after pausing this project in final design with a $13-million contract approved unanimously by this board. 

We heard a brilliant presentation by English characterizing one of the principal pillars upon which Beltline rail as a cornerstone of the Beltline project is based—and that is equity. But that presentation for all its luster leaves much to the imagination and ignores certain realities. 

English drew a line from Northwest to Southeast and suggested that statistics show that the income divide is along that line. He is right to do so. The entire Beltline project and its transit component are based on equity. And while income inequality is represented by that line, so is the prosperity divide. The opportunity that exists on one side of that line does not exist on the other today, and delaying connection to the Eastside Trail with a thought of one day connecting the southwest side will not help move the equity needle, not in the short term nor in the long-term. The Peachtree Center MARTA station that exists now can get you to the Beltline at Ponce City Market in 15 to 20 minutes, if we adopt reasonable fixes to the downtown streetcar. We have the density and precursors for ridership success there. 

The fact is, you stand ready to deliver a project in revenue service in three years that crosses that equity divide. That’s a fact. You will be blamed for a failure to show progress if you delay —not the mayor. He will be long gone when those projects happen. What are you going to do now? 

We have met with your staff and are confident that they want to deliver a world-class project and that they can, if given the chance. Our impression is that MARTA is eager. It is City Hall that wants to take your eyes off the ball and then let you take the fall. 

To start over yet again would waste your progress and millions of dollars. And we would not get rail transit in three years but more like seven to 10. That not only represents a delay, but also a fabulous waste of money—and a delay in the point when people can access the thousands of jobs, the recreational, and health and shopping opportunities that already exist, and are only growing more rapidly in that corridor. 

It also puts pressure on developers to continue to increase the problem English identified, which is the city of cars choking on traffic based on large amounts of parking in every development to make them economically viable. 

The antidote was always planned—and that is Beltline rail. 

And by starting later somewhere else and one day, hopefully coming back around to where we already are, we will not deliver on that promise. And it will have been too late. We urge you to continue with [a streetcar extension eastward] on the Beltline and to move forward and enact the program that English proposed for Southside rail in due time when it is ready and it can be paid for. 

You have collected nearly $700 million in taxes and spent nearly eight years doing it. It’s time to show progress today and not someday, halfway into the 40-year program. With your leadership, collaboration and cooperation with this and future mayors, there must be away forward from where we are now that does not mean sidelining Beltline rail yet again.”

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Subtitle City feels southside is more logical option for transit alternative

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Fresh map puts $5.2B downtown development boom in perspective Josh Green Thu, 03/13/2025 - 11:11 Does the scope of downtown Atlanta development—both proposed and ongoing—make your head spin? Central Atlanta Progress has an app for that. 

Actually, it’s more of a webpage, but the agency’s updated edition of the Downtown Atlanta Investment Map recently went live online and is also available in print. 

Like a development wonk’s dream, the tool succinctly summarizes projects ranging from towering high-rises to low-slung renovations of old buildings across six districts, spanning from South Downtown to Science Square, the Stitch, and beyond. 

Not every project is solidly in what most Atlantans consider downtown—see: Bank of America Plaza renovations; the stalled Waldo’s; and the four-story, A Ma Maniere condo-retail combo at 479 Edgewood Ave.—but most are. 

The map features 71 projects total, each color-coded as complete, under construction, or planned.  

According to CAP’s tabulations, the finished and proposed developments across downtown total $5.2 billion in investments. 

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

Of that, 1,800 units of housing have popped up in the past two years, at projects such as Broadstone 2Thirty on Memorial Drive, Centennial Yards’ The Mitchell, and The Grace Residences. 

But that could pale in comparison to what CAP says is coming in the next five years: more than 5,000 housing units in some form of planning or development right now. 

That’s in addition to 1,000 new hotel rooms and what map creators call “vital bike, sidewalk, and park infrastructure projects that connect the private and public realm.”

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Subtitle Where 5,000 housing units (or more) is expected to materialize in coming years

Neighborhood Downtown

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