The Fourth Ward district along the Beltline’s bustling Eastside trail already has redefined the area’s skyline, but the project’s developer envisions two more high-rises overlooking the fast-changing neighborhood.
New City Properties recently filed paperwork to build two apartment buildings at its Fourth Ward campus near Ralph McGill Boulevard. Each tower could be as tall as 20 stories and would combine for up to 780 apartments in one of Atlanta’s fastest-growing — and most expensive — residential markets.
The developer submitted the apartment tower plans to the Beltline’s Design Review Committee, an advisory board that will review the proposal during its 5 p.m. Tuesday meeting. The submission calls it the “final phase” of the larger Fourth Ward mixed-use district, which currently includes two office towers, the boutique Forth hotel and the 18-story Overline Residences.
“We are incredibly excited about this next phase of the Fourth Ward project and continuing our thesis of bringing in world-class architects to work in our hometown,” New City President Jim Irwin told the Atlanta Business Chronicle. Irwin did not immediately respond to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s requests for comment.
New City paid $34 million in 2017 to buy 12 acres from Georgia Power to establish its mixed-use district. The company, which redeveloped the Beltline’s Kroger into 725 Ponce, aspired to play a pivotal role in transforming the area into a modern walkable destination for residents, tourists and office workers.
In recent years, New City added another 4 acres to its campus, which is next to Historic Fourth Ward Park. The parcels, which are targeted for the new apartment construction, include the former Venkman’s restaurant and music venue, New City’s temporary offices, a dog park and a surface parking lot.
Credit: Douglas Friedman for New City Properties
Credit: Douglas Friedman for New City Properties
The properties are zoned for high-density residential and commercial uses, but New City is requesting several variances from the Beltline committee related to sidewalks, curb cuts and landscape buffers.
Project renderings were not available, and the phase’s final designs are preliminary. New City hired Berlin-based architecture firm Barkow Leibinger to design the buildings and surrounding landscaping.
Each apartment building would have three levels of underground parking, community spaces and retail. The developer also aims to build a new pedestrian bridge over North Angier Avenue to connect to the office buildings’ plaza.
Fourth Ward’s office buildings are anchored by Atlanta email marketing firm Mailchimp, which opened its roughly 360,000-square-foot headquarters earlier this year. A third office tower has been designed and is ready to begin construction once the first two finish leasing, Irwin previously told the AJC. He cited metro Atlanta’s lagging office demand for the wait-and-see approach.
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