Beltline allure conjuring up big mixed-use development on Boulevard

Rendering for a development at 1099 Boulevard SE.

Rendering for a development at 1099 Boulevard SE.

Practically everyone who lives in Atlanta is familiar with Boulevard, a miles-long road that runs through multiple beloved neighborhoods.

The northern end begins in the Old Fourth Ward, where Monroe Drive turns to Boulevard at the Ponce de Leon Avenue intersection. The street snakes south past John Lewis Freedom Parkway, past the bustling-at-night Edgewood Avenue, past the revered Oakland Cemetery, above I-20 and past Grant Park.

For most people, that's essentially where it ends. But after the old train tracks that demarcate the neighborhood line between Grant Park and Chosewood Park — which is also the Atlanta Beltline's to-be-developed southeast trail — Boulevard continues south for nearly another mile before finally dead-ending into the formidable Atlanta Federal Penitentiary.

But like many previously forgotten areas in the Beltline’s path, developers are looking at that stretch anew.

Pollack Shores Real Estate Group intends to build a 319-unit apartment complex with about 15,000 square feet of retail and office space on 8.5 acres immediately south of those once kudzu-covered train tracks. The Atlanta-based company has closed on the land purchase of 1099 Boulevard SE, a Wednesday press release said.

“There is significant demand for new multifamily product on the next leg of the Atlanta Beltline, which is a proven catalyst for economic growth and development,” Steven Shores, Pollack Shores CEO and president, said in a statement.

Rendering for a development at 1099 Boulevard SE.

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Apartments will range from 500-square-foot units to 1,500-square-foot two-story, three-bedroom units. The complex will offer “a wide array of price points” as a “new model for diversity that will set the tone for future developments in the neighborhood,” the press release said.

Tyler Gaines, Pollack Shores vice president of development, said the Beltline has the potential to make Chosewood Park a success story in the same way it did for the Old Fourth Ward.

“There are no comparable rents in this area, so we have the opportunity to offer affordable micro-units that address existing market demand, as well as larger three-bedroom options,” Gaines said. Dollar amounts were not announced.

Amenities will include a community clubhouse, fitness center with CrossFit and yoga studios and a pool area with an outdoor grilling area. The project was designed without a parking deck to lower building costs, and about 50 units will offer trail-front views.

Construction is scheduled to break ground in October; the first units may open in fall 2019. That portion of the Beltline isn’t likely to developed until 2023, but it’s expected to open as a public jogging trail before it’s paved.

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