An effort to transform a shuttered industrial site along the Atlanta Beltline into a bustling village with more than a thousand homes, new shops and a new MARTA station has fallen apart after more than two years of development negotiations failed.
The Beltline announced Friday it will terminate the pending sale of the 20-acre Murphy Crossing site in southwest Atlanta to Culdesac Inc. and Urban Oasis Development, derailing a project that promised to be a new hub in a historically disinvested corner of the city. The mixed-use project was the latest attempt to redevelop the former State Farmers Market property at 1050 Murphy Ave. SW.
Beltline officials said the sales negotiations and redevelopment “faced significant challenges,” such as increased interest rates and a tough financing market for new development, sending one of the largest projects along the multiuse trail back to the drawing board.
“We remain committed to the redevelopment of Murphy Crossing,” Atlanta Beltline President and CEO Clyde Higgs said in a news release.
Culdesac Chief Investment Officer Caroline Lerner Perel said the developer remains “committed to the project” but did “not believe that ABI (Atlanta Beltline Inc.) had the right to terminate the purchase and sale agreement.”
MARTA, Mayor Andre Dickens’ office and Urban Oasis did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Commercial and residential development along the Beltline in its early years centered along the popular Eastside Trail, but it has migrated to other portions of the loop in recent years. The Murphy Crossing land and nearby Mall West End, which was sold in October to a development group after prior development plans failed to gain traction, are seen as vital anchors for portions of the trail south of I-20.
Credit: Atlanta BeltLine, Inc.
Credit: Atlanta BeltLine, Inc.
Murphy Crossing, located near two MARTA stations and a location where Mayor Dickens pushed for its own infill rail station, has long been targeted for redevelopment, but those plans have struggled to gain momentum.
The Beltline spent several years acquiring all the parcels that comprise the site, and it took two rounds of public calls seeking development partners before it selected Arizona-based Culdesac and Atlanta-based Urban Oasis in September 2022.
Since then, negotiations have been held behind the scenes with little change taking place at the site. The project ranked as one of the most consequential developments on land owned by the Beltline and was planned to include approximately 1,100 housing units and up to 180,000 square feet of commercial space, both with significant affordability components.
Murphy Crossing is in City Council District 12. Council member Antonio Lewis said he planned to talk to Beltline officials to learn more about what was behind the setback.
He said he believed the Beltline was “doing its best to invest in the Southside” and trusted officials had tried to “get this deal done.”
“We’ve got to keep fighting to bring more investment into the Southside,” he said, adding that the project would have brought a much-needed grocery store and expanded transit to the community.
The Murphy Crossing site used to be home to the State Farmers Market, but the bustling area has deteriorated into a series of rusted and mostly vacant warehouses and buildings. The property once served as the postapocalyptic backdrop in the “Hunger Games” series.
The Beltline said it is advancing planning, entitlement and predevelopment activities while restarting the search for partner developers. A stakeholder meeting will be scheduled in February to discuss the redevelopment’s next steps.
“Our priority is fulfilling our fiduciary responsibility to the public and delivering on the promises made throughout the many community engagement activities for this site,” Dennis Richards Jr., the Beltline’s vice president of housing policy and development, said in the release. “(The Beltline) will continue with the planning and development of this site, and we look forward to sharing our next steps with the public in the coming weeks.”
