Construction starts on green building in SE Atlanta
Work in progress at 880 Glenwood Ave.
The five-acre plot of land at 880 Glenwood Ave. in Southeast Atlanta is now just a huge mound of dirt.
But by the end of next year, those five acres (see photo at left) will have morphed into a 325-unit luxury apartment complex that will also include retail (sound familiar?).
WSB Radio reported on this green development back in January. (The AJC also reported on it then).
Site preparation, including demolition of an existing low-slung 50s-era building, however, just began recently. The long narrow sliver of land actually runs behind the Shed At Glenwood restaurant in the Glenwood Park planned community off of I-20. The project abuts the Beltline, and fronts two streets, Glenwood and Bill Kennedy Way, also known as the Glenwood-Memorial Connector. The developer is Capital 33, which is working in conjunction with the Trust for Public Land.
What’s notable about the mixed-use development, in addition to the (expected) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification, is density.
325 units? That will give a nice boost to density in that little corner of Atlanta. The complex will essentially blend into the Glenwood Park community, which already features retail, apartments, townhomes, single-family houses and greenspace.
People often worry about increased traffic when new developments are put on the table. And I’m sure 325+ new residents will increase the number of cars on Glenwood and surrounding streets.
But more people to me means the possibility of more retail shops and other businesses because there will be more people to support them. And if done correctly, that only enhances a neighborhood, in my opinion.
Density has consistently been an issue for Atlanta. According to studies by the Atlanta Regional Commission and other groups, Atlanta ranks as one of the least dense big cities in the U.S. And we all know now that lack of density pushes more people to drive, which increases traffic and diminishes a sense of community.
The section of southeast Atlanta where the new building is going up is already a study in mixed uses, though not in the way we now use the phrase.
The new apartment building will have a cement plant as a neighbor on its west side. There are several other small industrial companies on Glenwood, and a clutch of old freight trains stand vigil on land that will become the Beltline. And there’s also Maynard Jackson High School across the street! As I said, a jumble of buildings and purposes. The developers sought and received a zoning change last year from heavy industrial to mixed residential commercial.
The building won’t be completed until the end of 2010. What the market will be for apartments and retail space at that point, well, that’s anyone’s guess.
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Comments
5 Comments on Construction starts on green building in SE Atlanta
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Ben K on
Thu, 11th Jun 2009 3:22 pm
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jeannebonner on
Thu, 11th Jun 2009 4:03 pm
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People listen to me! | Atlanta Unsheltered on
Fri, 19th Jun 2009 12:54 pm
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Nolan on
Fri, 19th Jun 2009 1:18 pm
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Jeanne Bonner on
Fri, 19th Jun 2009 4:58 pm
I like your take on the increased density for that area. It should probably help the retail at Glenwood Park, as well. I suspect that with the access to I-20 and Memorial Dr., that site/neighborhood should be able to handle the increased traffic fairly easily.
Thanks for your comment, Ben.
I think you’re absolutely right about the neighborhood’s capacity to handle more traffic. There’s really not a whole lot of traffic on Glenwood or Bill Kennedy Way.
[...] gym may be counting on the new apartment complex that’s going up on the opposite corner of Glenwood. More density should mean more [...]
What a lot of people don’t understand is that you can make older buildings green. A lot of people resist going green because of things like removing historical buildings. Something as simple as changing the heating and cooling system to geothermal could make a building very green compared to its neighbors.
Hi Nolan,
Thanks for your comment. I would guess a lot of people are retrofitting older buildings, but you’re probably right that many more hold off, thinking you need to go whole hog.
Thanks again for your comment.
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