After years of scuttled attempts and setbacks, the latest effort to redevelop the struggling Mall West End in Atlanta is starting to make progress.
Developers BRP Cos. and the Prusik Group are pursuing permits to begin work on the rundown shopping center, according to state paperwork filed Tuesday. It’s a sign of life for the $450 million redevelopment called One West End that aims to turn the 12-acre space into a mixed-use affordable housing and commercial hub.
“Things are moving along on our end,” a spokesperson for BRP Cos. said in an email. “The overall direction of the project remains consistent.”
Credit: Courtesy of The Prusik Group
Credit: Courtesy of The Prusik Group
The project is backed by financial assistance from the city of Atlanta. The redevelopment’s specifics and designs haven’t been finalized, but this week’s filing sets some parameters.
A request for a Development of Regional Impact analysis, a required state infrastructure survey for large projects, shows the redevelopment could include up to 1,000 residential units, an 150-room hotel and 120,000 square feet of retail space.
Located about a mile west of Center Parc Stadium (formerly Turner Field), the 52-year-old shopping center has been seen as an untapped redevelopment gem for years. This only accelerated in recent years as the West End and surrounding neighborhoods experienced a wave of real estate speculation, powered in part by the Beltline, which has stoked fears of gentrification among longtime residents.
But transitioning a redevelopment vision from paper to practice has proven challenging.
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Developers’ attempts to replace the mall with mixed-use destinations stalled out like clockwork between 2019 and 2023. Three efforts — the last involving BRP Cos. and Prusik Group — all failed to get off the ground.
City leadership, however, stepped in last year to revive the companies’ vision. Organizations affiliated with the city chipped in $10 million to help the two developers acquire the mall property in October for $29 million.
“This is a long-awaited new era for the West End,” Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said in a statement at the time. “This is not just a redevelopment of the Mall West End — this is fulfilling a commitment to a community.”
Dickens’ office did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday on the DRI filing.
The DRI for One West End includes tearing down the existing mall structures and transforming the site into a four-block grid to encourage pedestrian activity.
Credit: Courtesy of The Prusik Group
Credit: Courtesy of The Prusik Group
The project is expected to have a large affordability component, preserving nearly a third of its residential units at below market-rate rents. Roughly a third of units could also be reserved as student housing. The site is near the Atlanta University Center Consortium’s roster of historically Black colleges and universities.
The city last fall said the goal was to hold 20% of the project’s residential units for those earning 50% of the area median income ($48,200 for a family of four) alongside 10% of units for people earning up to 80% of the area median income ($77,120 for a family of four).
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
In January, BRP Cos. and the Prusik Group said four longtime mall tenants would be temporarily relocated to allow them to continue operating through the redevelopment process. Those businesses include apparel store The Burning Sands, Dendera Cosmetics, True Hair and American Deli.
BRP Cos. said demolition and construction timelines are still being finalized, but the DRI estimates the project’s first phase is expected to be delivered by March 2029.
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