With the Southeast Trail of the BeltLine now officially open, a long-quiet corner of Grant Park and Ormewood Park is suddenly the center of a neighborhood fight. Plans to redevelop the two Trestletree Village parcels along the new path have neighbors swapping flyers, firing off emails and drawing battle lines over what should happen next.
According to flyers circulating around the community, Wingate Companies is exploring a plan that would relocate all current Section 8 tenants to the southern Trestletree site and clear the northern property at 794 Ormewood Ave to make way for three story apartment buildings and a parking deck. That possibility has split nearby residents between those determined to protect mature trees and yards and those arguing the aging properties badly need reinvestment, turning housing preservation into a very local fault line.
What Wingate wants
Wingate has confirmed it is under contract to buy both Trestletree parcels and is currently in due diligence, with hopes of closing on the properties this summer, according to Urbanize Atlanta. Company representatives say they plan to “explore options” that run from preserving existing buildings to new construction, while trying to keep the property’s HUD contract intact and avoid displacing current residents.
Wingate has pointed to prior projects where the company shifted subsidies and rebuilt units without permanently displacing tenants, holding those up as a possible playbook for how Trestletree might be handled, according to Urbanize Atlanta. Exactly how that would translate to the Ormewood corridor remains the big question.
Public funding and review
City planning materials show Wingate listed to present an Invest Atlanta application seeking $25,000,000 in support for rebuilding and modifying the Section 8 housing, according to the Neighborhood Planning Unit W meeting packet published by the City of Atlanta. That move drops the proposal onto a formal city review track, where neighborhood recommendations and any Invest Atlanta support could significantly shape what is possible on the site.
From here, the project is expected to move through the standard gauntlet of community and city oversight, starting with NPU discussions and potentially advancing to deeper financial review if support lines up.
What is on the ground
Trestletree currently spans roughly 21 acres across two adjacent sites and includes 188 two bedroom Section 8 units. HUD listings show current rents for income qualified tenants running from about $479 to $812 per month, according to HUD property listings.
On property management pages, the communities are typically listed as Trestletree North at 794 Ormewood Ave SE and Trestletree South at 956 Trestletree Court SE, per the Monroe Group. Both sites back directly up to the BeltLine’s Southeast Trail, which officially opened in April and has increased interest in nearby redevelopment, according to the Atlanta BeltLine.
Neighbors' concerns
Opponents of Wingate’s early concepts have circulated a seven point flyer urging the Grant Park Neighborhood Association (GPNA) to oppose three story massing, new parking decks, clear cutting of old growth trees, zero lot line construction and what the flyer describes as either displacement or the concentration of legacy residents.
Organizers are recruiting speakers for a GPNA Land Use and Zoning Committee meeting this week, and the flyer states that GPNA will vote on whether to support the project at its July 21 general meeting, according to Urbanize Atlanta. In one neighborhood email, a Grant Park resident who backs Wingate accused opponents of “NIMBY” tactics, highlighting just how sharply divided the community has become.
Next steps
Translating any concept into actual construction will not be simple. The NPU process, potential Invest Atlanta financing and existing HUD regulatory agreements all set boundaries on what can and cannot change at these Section 8 sites. City documents show Wingate’s Trestletree presentation already on NPU W calendars, and they indicate that a formal Invest Atlanta review could follow if the neighborhood recommendation is favorable, according to the City of Atlanta.
For now, Wingate remains in due diligence while neighbors organize around a series of upcoming meetings that could shape the project’s trajectory. The battle over trees, parking and the future of Trestletree’s residents is poised to play out in public through GPNA and NPU channels in the weeks ahead.
