Developers for the Mall West End redevelopment unveiled renderings of the $400 million project, which will include office, retail, and residential space, including affordable housing.
Atlanta-based Elevator City Partners released the renderings Tuesday and said they’ve already secured a $2 million predevelopment loan from the city, according to a news release from the company.
The renderings show a tall office tower, fresh retail and residential buildings with green space and a path for pedestrians in place of the aging 1970 mall.
Last year, Beltline visionary Ryan Gravel and investor Donray Von, who founded Elevator City Partners, announced their intentions to transform the aging mall along Ralph David Abernathy Boulevard into a mix of offices, hotels, homes, restaurants, and shops.
The property, which sits in an "opportunity zone," is a 12-acre site within walking distance of the Beltline's southwest trail, the Atlanta University Center and the West End MARTA station. An opportunity zone is a powerful federal tax incentive program, a designation allowing for certain investments in lower-income areas to have tax advantages.
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It’s hoped the new development will revive the West End and surrounding neighborhoods that were hit hard by the foreclosure crisis. Now a hot real estate market for Atlanta, the rising property values and developer speculation worry longtime residents who fear being priced out of the area.
Gravel and Von have said they are not attempting to replicate other mixed-used projects and want to stay true to the West End’s character: A hub for the arts and Atlanta’s black middle class.
“As an opportunity zone, the West End Mall was prime real estate for somebody from the outside to purchase and redevelop,” Gravel said in a statement. “But with (Elevator City Partners), the project is being led by people with a special interest in and connection to the proud history, culture, and community of West End.”
Phase one of the project is estimated to cost between $110 million and $150 million and will include multifamily housing and retail, according to the release. Phase two of the development will include additional housing and office space and is estimated to cost between $175 and $250 million.
No timeline was given for the construction.
Invest Atlanta, the city’s development agency, gave the developers a $2 million predevelopment loan to secure the site, begin preliminary designs and conduct a feasibility study, according to the release. The loan also comes with affordable housing set-asides for any future housing on the property.
Gravel and Von also plan to launch a $15 million economic development fund to address displacement and support minority-owned businesses.
Gravel has also partnered with global design firm Gensler on a master plan for the site.
“We designed the site to meet today’s market,” he said in a statement. “It needs to be a vibrant, walkable, transit-oriented, mixed-use district with public space and public art. And we also want to make sure the community’s history, culture, people and businesses are represented in every aspect of the project.”
— Staff writer J. Scott Trubey contributed to this article.
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