A Fulton County authority preliminarily approved a hefty tax break for one of the largest projects in Atlanta’s Southside, one that promises to transform a distressed property near Greenbriar Mall into shops, a grocery store and thousands of apartments.
But where exactly is this more than half-billion-dollar project, and who is developing it?
Those details — along with most other aspects of the development — were shrouded in mystery during Friday’s specially called meeting by the Development Authority of Fulton County.
The board of DAFC, also known as Develop Fulton, gave its initial OK to a $23 million tax break over a 10-year period for the development, listed as “Project Nexus.” The two-phase development will include 1,126 mixed-income apartments, more than 168,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space, and 40,000 square feet of grocery and fresh food space. It also will include more than 2,400 parking spaces.
DAFC Chairman Kwanza Hall said it’s a potentially transformative development south of I-20 that could act as a new anchor for its surrounding area, but neither the project site nor the development team promising the revitalization were disclosed.
“If Project Nexus is able to move forward, the applicant’s name and site location will be announced at that time,” Hall told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in a statement before the 10 a.m. meeting. Those details will likely be revealed after the project’s tax break returns for a subsequent final vote next year.
Basic biographical and location information typically is included in preliminary agenda fact sheets ahead of DAFC meetings, but authority officials said there is a nondisclosure agreement in place on this project.
Georgia’s Open Meetings Act includes exceptions for economic development projects in some instances, said Richard T. Griffiths, a former CNN executive and Georgia First Amendment Foundation board member. He said the lack of transparency could be a disservice to residents living near this project site.
“(The size of the tax break) suggests that this is a huge project for which there will be zoning questions and all kinds of other questions,” Griffiths said. “For all of that to be undertaken in secret does raise questions about government transparency, especially for the people living around where that development might be.”
A likely location
Project Nexus is a redevelopment effort that will “transform an underutilized, distressed property into a potentially catalytic mixed-use economic development opportunity,” according to a DAFC fact sheet.
Friday’s meeting took place virtually, and a Project Nexus representative gave a presentation detailing the development but did not provide her name, nor did she appear on video.
The project’s address was not provided, but it is south of I-20 and within the city limits for Atlanta and East Point. The Project Nexus team is under contract to acquire the property, but transaction terms were not disclosed.
During the meeting, DAFC board member Erica Long said the site is within the Greenbriar neighborhood. Vice Chair Kyle Lamont also asked the Project Nexus representative whether MARTA’s rapid transit bus line planned for Campbellton Road could connect to the site. The representative said her team is in preliminary discussions with the transit agency about creating a bus stop “at the front door of this project.”
The Discount Mall shopping center at 2841 Greenbriar Parkway appears to be the only site that fits the aforementioned description, based on an evaluation of large developed parcels that straddle the city limits of Atlanta and East Point.
Retail and residential
The Project Nexus team said 52% of the proposed apartments will be offered at market rates, while the rest will be reserved at more affordable rates.
The fact sheet said one-third of units — 372 apartments — will be reserved at rents affordable to people making 100% of the area median income, or about $107,500 for a family of four. Another 15% of units — 169 apartments — will be reserved at rents affordable to making 80% AMI. This is more than Atlanta code requires for new residential projects in this area.
“This will require a fulsome public-private partnership,” the Project Nexus representative told the DAFC board. “So we do imagine that there will be additional partners as we continue to go through this development project.”
The representative emphasized that the Project Nexus site plan equally focuses on its retail and residential aspects. During the meeting, she showed photos of other unnamed projects that her team helped develop, which she said embody successful mixed-use districts.
“A lot of developers start from the residential and throw the retail on as an afterthought,” she said. “We do it the other way around.”
Credit: Courtesy Develop Fulton
Credit: Courtesy Develop Fulton
The project site currently employs 50 retail workers, according to the fact sheet. The proposed mixed-use development will create at least 1,348 jobs and increase the area’s property tax revenue by nearly $61 million during the 10-year abatement period, according to the DAFC fact sheet.
“I’m so excited about this project,” Hall said during the meeting. “It is truly transformative anytime we get an investment of this caliber in Fulton County. We’re excited about it, especially when it’s south of I-20.”
Construction is estimated to start in 2026.
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