Three development teams have announced plans to redevelop a west Atlanta mall since 2019, but none of them got out of the starting gate.
New York-based Prusik Group was the most recent firm to detail a new vision for the Mall West End, which included tearing down the shopping center, splitting the land into quadrants with a new street grid and building hundreds of apartments, a grocer, restaurants and shops. But that plan was abandoned before any demolition or action took place, radio outlet WABE first reported Tuesday.
Charles Taylor, a principal owner of the mall and a WABE foundation board member, said the Prusik Group recently sent a letter to terminate its development contract.
“They told me one thing,” Taylor said on air. “They were trying to work something out with the city. That told me they were not able to work something out with the city. That’s all I know.”
The Prusik Group and its development partner BRP Companies did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The 51-year-old shopping center, which is located about a mile west of Center Parc Stadium (formerly Turner Field), has seemingly had its days numbered multiple times as developers see untapped potential in the 12-acre property. The West End and surrounding neighborhoods have experienced a wave of real estate speculation, powered in part by the Beltline, which has stoked fears of gentrification among long-time residents.
Developers’ attempts to replace the mall with mixed-use destinations stalled out in 2019 and 2021, with Prusik Group’s vision now joining the pile. Prusik Group co-founder Andrew Katz told the AJC in August 2022 that the prior plans were overly ambitious and that his firm’s vision would fit the character of the neighborhood.
“They were shooting for the stars,” said Katz, whose company specializes in projects in lower-income areas. “But you really want to do something here that the community is going to appreciate. Something that is going to fit in and be contextual within the community.”
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
At the time, a fourth of the mall’s stores were empty. Taylor said conditions have not improved since then because multiple tenants left under the threat of impending demolition. He said on WABE that the mall property “is no longer actively being marketed for sale.”
The Atlanta Business Chronicle reported that mall ownership would be open to considering another redevelopment plan in the future if it aligns with community interests.
Prusik Group’s plan included 650 to 900 apartments with up to 25% being reserved as affordable units. In addition to new retail spaces, the developers also considered a 200-room hotel, which would have been marketed to parents of students at the Atlanta University Center, a collection of historically Black universities north of the West End.
The mall is located in a federally designated Opportunity Zone, which provides tax credits for development projects in low-income neighborhoods. Katz declined in August 2022 to disclose how Prusik and BRP planned to fund the project.
Developers have faced project financing challenges after interest rates were hiked several times to combat high inflation. Multiple projects across metro Atlanta have either delayed their timelines, shrunken their scope or stalled out in recent months.
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