Residential development could leave big mark on tiny DeKalb village
A massive housing development in Avondale Estates, the garden village with a population of 3,500 just east of Decatur, was unveiled this week with an astonishing price tag of $350 million.
The development will include up to 800 units on 18 acres, with single-family homes, townhomes and apartments.
One of the planned sites housed one of DeKalb County’s oldest manufacturing plants, where Fenner Dunlop made conveyor belts. It was closed and razed in 2009.
Atlanta-based developer Avila Real Estate and builder Hedgewood Homes unveiled plans for the development at the Avondale Estates Board of Mayor and Commissioners meeting, held Wednesday evening.
Avondale Estates Mayor Jonathan Elmore praised the developers for coming up with a plan that fits with the character of the village, which has a distinctive strip of ersatz English Tudor buildings.
“It’s complementary to a lot of things in Avondale: outdoor spaces … paths, nice streets, a variety of architecture,” Elmore said.
The plans showed how the new development, which has been in the works for more than a decade, would blend into the village’s existing architecture. It will help officials meet their housing goals as Atlanta’s metro area grows.
Developers also want to create a walkable neighborhood that connects with the 19-mile Stone Mountain multiuse path.
Avila Real Estate principal Ignacio Diego said the plan avoided cookie-cutter homes, with Hedgewood Homes president Pam Sessions noting that the design team embraced the similarities of the homes right alongside their quirks.
“If that puts a window in a funky place inside, we go with it, because that’s the way historic homes were, and it makes them interesting, actually,” Sessions told officials during the presentation.
The plan calls for urban apartments and cottage-style owner-occupied homes in garden settings that stretch over two sites.
At City Park to Oak Street, on 13 acres behind the Town Green, there will be 75 for-sale homes and apartments. On Maple Street to College Avenue west of downtown, there would be 36 owner-occupied homes and apartments.
Renderings and concept designs showed homes with roof decks and porches cloistered around courtyards, tree-lined streets and green space.
“We always animate the street, and because we’re building in urban environments, we do a lot of porches. We do rooftops. We give people outdoor experiences without a big yard,” Sessions said.
The Downtown Development Authority of Avondale Estates will consider using the Avondale Estates Tax Allocation District, or TAD, to help pay for infrastructure to support the development, including roads, a stormwater system and utilities.
“Not only does it immediately revitalize key areas of our downtown, but it also brings new and different housing options which in turn will help us toward a more vibrant and walkable downtown,” said Dave Deiters, chair of the Downtown Development Authority.
With the city aiming to reach an agreement for the development by the end of this year, the plan will now move through the zoning and variance process, with public hearings expected through November.
About the Author
Matt Reynolds is a housing reporter for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's local government team.
