Forest Park is on the cusp of building its first-ever mixed-use development, a proposal the south metro Atlanta city hopes could be a model for such projects in Clayton County.
Dubbed “Project Moonshot,” the Clayton city is hoping to turn three downtown lots it’s acquired into a development of 275 apartments constructed over 22,000 square feet of retail space.
The $85 million development will include sidewalks, greenspace and a possible food hall. It will link to other redevelopment efforts, including the renovation of premiere gathering spot Starr Park.
“This is a project that we all know that is needed in this county, yet no one has taken the risk to truly bring it to fruition,” Forest Park Mayor Angelyn Butler told members of the Development Authority of Clayton County — the county’s economic development arm — in unveiling the project. The city is hoping the group, also sometimes known as Invest Clayton, will issue bonds to finance construction of the development.
Credit: CITY OF FOREST PARK
Credit: CITY OF FOREST PARK
If built, the development could be one of the first to bring the walkable urban center trend to Clayton, a community that has struggled to attract the big mixed-use projects that are commonplace north of Interstate 20, development leaders say.
It could also be a model of the type of mixed-use projects Clayton could build in the future, especially along the planned Southlake Bus Rapid Transit line, which leaders hope could give the community an economic boost akin to those seen at various MARTA stations.
ProComm Advanced Quality Solutions is partnering with the city to develop the property and has hired builder CBG Building Company and construction firm Skyline Engineering & Construction to help. CBG’s mixed-use projects include 505 Courtland in Midtown, UrbA ATL in West Midtown and Ella on Glenwood Avenue.
“This truly is going to be a Class A project,” said Joe Johnson, CBG’s vice president. “This is not just going to be your normal apartment structure.”
City officials said a feasibility study found a need for the project. There has been no new retail construction in downtown Forest Park since 2013 and vacancy rates at just under 3% sits at historic lows. Job growth in the city — predominately at the Gillem Logistics Center — has resulted in individuals earning as much as $111,000 annually in the transportation sector and $88,000 annually in warehousing.
There is some skepticism about the project, especially after Clayton’s fiasco with The Roman. That mixed-use project, unveiled in the summer of 2022, proposed building two 27-story condominium buildings, a 25-story luxury hotel, a 25-story office building and 7,500-seat amphitheater in the tiny Clayton hamlet of Lake City.
Credit: Courtesy Roman United, Yamasaki and Bad Consult
Credit: Courtesy Roman United, Yamasaki and Bad Consult
Priced at $800 million, the project — which received the greenlight from both Invest Atlanta and the Clayton County Commission — was nixed in May 2023 after The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, residents and other media outlets raised serious concerns about its financial viability. Jacques Roman, the project’s developer, and the team behind The Roman also missed numerous deadlines set to get it off the ground.
“Sometimes people cannot understand the goal and the vision,” Butler said, explaining that the city chose the codename “moonshot” because it represents reaching a goal that some might find impossible. “With that came a little bit of criticism. And that’s OK, because by the end of this project, all of those criticisms will turn into compliments.”
Shannon James, president and CEO of Aerotropolis Atlanta, a business group helping to bring development to areas around Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, applauded Forest Park for moving forward. He said he hopes the city also will look at adding housing that is for sale as Clayton has a more than ample supply of units for rent.
But he added the market dictates what is feasible so he can’t argue with Forest Park for going where there is demand.
“If there is anywhere to do this, it’s Forest Park,” he said of the development. “They are poised for it.”
This story has been updated to correct the role of ProComm Advanced Quality Solutions in the construction of Forest Park’s proposed mixed-use development.
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