Critical vote approaches for apartment-heavy Amsterdam Walk project

The proposal has sparked controversy among neighborhood groups, urbanists and Atlanta residents who are divided by the project’s density, height and potential for worsening traffic. The project will need a majority vote from the council to progress.

“This vote represents the culmination of years of engagement with the community and a sincere effort to find common ground,” said Mike Greene, Portman’s vice president of development. “We believe the final proposal reflects a thoughtful balance — preserving neighborhood character while providing urgently needed affordable housing, and retail opportunities. It’s a chance to deliver something truly meaningful for the broader Atlanta community.”

Credit: Courtesy Portman Holdings, SOM Architects

Credit: Courtesy Portman Holdings, SOM Architects

Project opponents in the Morningside-Lenox Park and Virginia Highland neighborhoods have coalesced with a grassroots group called A Better Amsterdam Walk, creating a petition that has amassed more than 2,000 signatures.

Charlie Kaften, a resident leading the pushback, wrote on Facebook, “Our message has been clear from the beginning: The community supports sensible, feasible development.” He argues the project could clog nearby roads and is too dense.

The Virginia-Highland Civic Association and Morningside-Lenox Park Association both endorsed the project, but the latter later retracted its support. In a recent letter to council members, MLPA president Marla Johnson said, “The current proposal for Amsterdam Walk under review is not the project we negotiated with Portman Holdings nor the plans that we approved.”

Credit: Zachary Hansen

Credit: Zachary Hansen

“In our view, approval by the City Council of Portman Holdings’ plan would set a dangerous precedent for the city that will forever change how developers operate going forward,” the letter continued. The plan has undergone multiple tweaks since 2023, including lowering the tallest building heights from 17 stories to nine.

Neighborhood Planning Unit F, which includes both neighborhoods, voted 77% against endorsing the proposal last year. The project also either received a recommendation to deny or no recommendation from other city boards intended to advise the council ahead of rezoning votes.

Council members Alex Wan, Matt Westmoreland and Mary Norwood have publicly said they will vote against the project, according to Rough Draft Atlanta.

Project supporters say the residential density will inject much-needed affordable housing into an expensive part of the city, a goal of both Mayor Andre Dickens and Beltline leadership. Between 220 and 240 apartments will be reserved at rates below market rate. Roughly 19,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space will also be reserved at a 30% discount for tenants.

The site’s current zoning allows for roughly the same density, but vastly more commercial space (about 750,000 square feet) and 330 apartments. It also allows for 2,650 parking spaces, which Portman’s plan reduces to 1,435.

“The property is already zoned for high-density commercial use, so we weren’t asking for more,” Greene said. “We were asking for something different.”

Credit: NATRICE MILLER

Credit: NATRICE MILLER

He lamented the controversy the project plan has generated, saying it has spurred a lot of misinformation about the project’s details, which are on a website the developer created.

If the council rejects the proposal, Greene said the next most likely step will be for Halpern Enterprises to explore development options within the land’s current zoning.

The existing zoning entitlements “have real value,” Green said. He added that some of the project’s neighbors “held expectations for a dramatically lower-density outcome that, while well-intentioned, didn’t reflect the site’s legal reality.”

When is the vote?

The Atlanta City Council will consider Portman Holdings’ proposal to rezone Amsterdam Walk for its development plan during its April 21 meeting, which begins at 1 p.m.

The meeting will take place in-person at Atlanta City Hall and will be streamed both on Channel 26 and the city’s YouTube channel.