ATLANTA | Development Thread VI

[The Best Forumer]

Worst case... this is simply more infill...

[Street Advocate]

675 North Highland is planning a phase 2 expansion with smaller units. Will be nice to have the parking deck blocked by the new development. 39 units averaging about 630 square feet and 9,400 square feet of creative office space. I'm just glad we're seeing more resident near north highland. I really want to see infill throughout this area:

[robertjhajek]

Fencing go up around colony square!

[PhunkyPho]

Originally Posted by Street Advocate

675 North Highland is planning a phase 2 expansion with smaller units:

This has a very Pacific Northwest vibe. And a whole lot of ''meh'.

[Street Advocate]

Originally Posted by PhunkyPho

This has a very Pacific Northwest vibe. And a whole lot of ''meh'.

The proposal sure doesn't blow me away, but the scale is fitting, provides smaller units and increases density, the additional retail is good for the area, and it does not appear to add any parking. For a small lot, I'd call this a win.

Now i'd just love to see more developments along the size of 675 or slightly larger go in along Ponce down to PCM as infill or redevelopment where appropriate. Lots of great local businesses architecturally significant buildings in the area i'd love to see retained as well.

I get blasted often for saying this considering it's relatively new, but I think Atlanta should revisit Freedom Parkway and remove the parkway, restore some of the street grid, redesign the neighborhood park to engage more with the surrounding area, and include appropriately scaled developments (i think SFH, townhomes, and mid-rise developments could be appropriate in a handful of locations) between Ponce and Boulevard.

[Verge]

Originally Posted by Street Advocate

The proposal sure doesn't blow me away, but the scale is fitting, provides smaller units and increases density, the additional retail is good for the area, and it does not appear to add any parking. For a small lot, I'd call this a win.

Now i'd just love to see more developments along the size of 675 or slightly larger go in along Ponce down to PCM as infill or redevelopment where appropriate. Lots of great local businesses architecturally significant buildings in the area i'd love to see retained as well.

I get blasted often for saying this considering it's relatively new, but I think Atlanta should revisit Freedom Parkway and remove the parkway, restore some of the street grid, redesign the neighborhood park to engage more with the surrounding area, and include appropriately scaled developments (i think SFH, townhomes, and mid-rise developments could be appropriate in a handful of locations) between Ponce and Boulevard.

There is of course zero chance of removing Freedom Parkway--

[jsvh]

I would not put the odds at zero. The new build-able parcels gained could easily pay for the project and then some. The Freedom Parkway interchange with 75/85 is called for a major overhaul (likely downsizing) as part of the recently released downtown master plan. And stub highways have been removed in major cities all over.

[The Best Forumer]

Originally Posted by Street Advocate

The proposal sure doesn't blow me away, but the scale is fitting, provides smaller units and increases density, the additional retail is good for the area, and it does not appear to add any parking. For a small lot, I'd call this a win.

Where are residents supposed to park? Is Atlanta's transit really good enough for one to not need a car?

[Street Advocate]

Originally Posted by The Best Forumer

Where are residents supposed to park? Is Atlanta's transit really good enough for one to not need a car?

I presume they'll be leveraging the same parking deck erected for phase 1, directly behind phase 2. This is just my own speculation, though.

https://www.google.com/maps/@33.7724...7i13312!8i6656

But to answer your question, people living in Poncey-Highland do not need a car if they work in Downtown or Midtown. This location itself is very bikable with bike trails, separated bike lanes, and is home to a handful of reliable bus routes.

[jsvh]

Originally Posted by The Best Forumer

Where are residents supposed to park? Is Atlanta's transit really good enough for one to not need a car?

It is. No car here. Highly recommended. Of course we need to legalize more density and increase the supply of urban living options like mine so prices stay moderate as more and more people are looking for car free arrangements.

[Street Advocate]

Originally Posted by jsvh

Of course we need to legalize more density and increase the supply of urban living options like mine so prices stay moderate as more and more people are looking for car free arrangements.

Bingo! I couldn't agree more with this. I'm tired of the "if you cannot afford it, you do not deserve to live there" mentality. That's the wrong way to go about things. First and foremost, Atlanta needs to increase housing supply in dense fashion that supports walkable neighborhoods. Sure we can (and should) retail single family homes, but we really need to increase our housing stock and uses throughout our neighborhoods.

[pica]

The parking garage immediately behind this new building is massive. That's where they'll park.

Glad they're finally wrapping the garage but I really wish they'd just done this at the same time they built the first phase. The earlier construction work was super disruptive for a regular appointment I have across the street, and I'm not looking forward to it coming back.

[jddar]

Originally Posted by The Best Forumer

Where are residents supposed to park? Is Atlanta's transit really good enough for one to not need a car?

I lived one-block from there for 12-years. It’s a very walkable neighborhood. There’s a supermarket (Publix,) pharmacy, library, parks, bars/pubs, dry cleaner/laundry, clothing stores, other shops, and pretty much everything you need all within a few blocks. There are 3-bus lines that stop at Ponce de Leon Ave. and N. Highland Avenue: #2, #16, and #102. The #16-bus gets you downtown to Five-Points really quickly – I took it to school at GSU. I’d be so happy to move back to that neighborhood.

[Sbgt92]

Originally Posted by Street Advocate

Bingo! I couldn't agree more with this. I'm tired of the "if you cannot afford it, you do not deserve to live there" mentality. That's the wrong way to go about things. First and foremost, Atlanta needs to increase housing supply in dense fashion that supports walkable neighborhoods. Sure we can (and should) retail single family homes, but we really need to increase our housing stock and uses throughout our neighborhoods.

I'm wondering if someone will ever infill the parking lot at the intersection of N. Highland and Briarcliff Pl, across from American Roadhouse. It's been vacant as long as I can remember, and the last proposal at that location died on the vine. There's certainly demand.

I remember at one of our NPU meetings someone brought it up as too big, too dense for the neighborhood, but that was about 5 years ago. Mindsets may have changed.

[Street Advocate]

Originally Posted by Sbgt92

I'm wondering if someone will ever infill the parking lot at the intersection of N. Highland and Briarcliff Pl, across from American Roadhouse. It's been vacant as long as I can remember, and the last proposal at that location died on the vine. There's certainly demand.

I remember at one of our NPU meetings someone brought it up as too big, too dense for the neighborhood, but that was about 5 years ago. Mindsets may have changed.

For Virginia Highland, I want to see infill there as well as the parking lot across from DBA (as multi-family housing), Los Angeles and North Highland (retail), Yeah Burger and the two surrounding parking lots could be mixed use, Wells Fargo and Virginia and Todd could be mixed use, the cut through in front of Taco Mac make into a pedestrian plaza up to the intersection, gas station redeveloped with the fueling station remaining where the nozzles are hanging, Diesel's parking could also become a pedestrian plaza, mixed use redevelopments at CVS, Intown Ace, the aforementioned parking lot, the building with the orthodontist and Atlanta Roadhouse, and infill at the hand in hand and neighbor's parking lot.

Around Poncey-Highland, I want to see the Publix redeveloped to a mixed use along Ponce and multi-family facing North Ave, plaza theatre parking lot facing Ponce turned to a pedestrian plaza, I'd prefer to see the dentist and parking surrounding san francisco coffee develped into mixd use as well, mixed use at the manuel's parking lot (soth of williams), infill retail just north of JavaVino, mixed use developments at El Ponce, La Fonda, Fellini's, Rite-Aid, Dugan's, Green's/surface parking next to FFL, and Moe's.

I could go on and on, but basically I want to retain the feel and charm of the neighborhoods by maintaining architecturally significant buildings and local businesses, but also increasing density to support the local businesses and providing more housing options in some of Atlanta's most walkable "small-town" vibe neighborhoods that can and should certainly increase in density.

[cabasse]

Originally Posted by PhunkyPho

This has a very Pacific Northwest vibe. And a whole lot of ''meh'.

oy, i think it looks pretty good myself. very low key but still nice, and a lot more pleasant to look at than some of the hodge podge shite going up around town, especially here in b-head

oof.

[jayden]

Originally Posted by cabasse

oy, i think it looks pretty good myself. very low key but still nice, and a lot more pleasant to look at than some of the hodge podge shite going up around town, especially here in b-head

oof.

Bankhead or Buckhead?

[Omaharocks]

Originally Posted by cabasse

oy, i think it looks pretty good myself. very low key but still nice, and a lot more pleasant to look at than some of the hodge podge shite going up around town, especially here in b-head

oof.

Agreed, whatever region that architecture in the N.Highland addition resembles, it's better than the typical Atlanta faux traditional/garden apt/frumpy modern/jumblefuck of 10 disjointed facades....

Despite the awful midrises that have been built however, Atlanta does better than most with townhouse, single family, and high-rises. So it sorta balances out.

[cabasse]

Originally Posted by jayden

Bankhead or Buckhead?

buckhead. i don't know of anything being built in bankhead as of yet. still not sure why i shortened that though

[jayden]

Originally Posted by cabasse

buckhead. i don't know of anything being built in bankhead as of yet. still not sure why i shortened that though

I figured you were referring to Buckhead. Just wanted a giggle or two.