The Atlanta Beltline is starting the process to develop the largest piece of property it owns, a massive site in the historically underserved neighborhood of Bankhead.
Beltline officials held a public engagement meeting Monday to poll residents on the what they’d like to see built on the 31-acre property at 425 Chappell Road. The Beltline bought the land in 2021 from housing developer Brock Built Homes for $25.6 million.
City leaders, including Councilman Byron Amos, said the size and location of the vast acreage presents a critical opportunity to help a lagging part of the city.
“This is a very important piece of dirt that we’re looking to develop,” Amos told attendees during Monday’s virtual meeting.
The site along the Beltline’s Westside Trail is located about a half-mile south of the Bankhead MARTA Station and just south of the 90-acre property owned by Microsoft. The tech giant recently halted plans to develop the site into a massive new campus, stalling what would have been the largest development project in Atlanta’s Westside.
Microsoft’s land acquisition, which prompted other companies to flock to nearby areas, sparked gentrification concerns among residents. Those same fears popped up during the Beltline’s meeting about the Chappell Road site.
Resident Michael Mapp asked whether the potential development could increase property taxes that could price out existing residents — a typical root cause of gentrification. Chelsea Arkin, senior manager of housing policy for the Beltline, said the agency has a legacy resident retention program that helps offset property tax hikes for existing residents for a decade.
Arkin said the Beltline will take inspiration from Brock Built Homes’ plan for the site, which included 450 apartments, 242 townhomes and new greenspace that never came to fruition. She said the site likely needs even more density and should incorporate affordable housing, especially since surrounding land includes Maddox Park and other state-owned parcels — a total of about 90 acres.
Credit: Atlanta Beltline, Inc.
Credit: Atlanta Beltline, Inc.
“This site represents a tremendous opportunity to partner with the City of Atlanta to create a significant mixed-use, mixed-income, multimodal development in this neighborhood,” she said.
Arkin added that the site presents landscaping challenges.
“There’s no natural front door to the property, meaning the site is tucked into a residential neighborhood with no primary road frontage,” she said.
The development could address retail gaps in the surrounding area, a stretch of underserved neighborhoods from Westin Heights/Bankhead to Collier Heights, Arkin said.
The Beltline conducted a study of neighborhoods near the Chappell Road site and found 98% of residents commute to work outside the area, while the median household income is less than $35,000 a year — about half the median household income of the city.
Beltline officials will continue public feedback sessions through the summer. The input will help inform requests for proposals, which the Beltline issues to seek development partners. More information is available at beltline.org/the-project/economic-development-commercial-real-estate/chappell-road.
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