Atlanta's zoning review board voted 4-1 to approve plans for an 18-story, 140,000-square-foot luxury condominium tower at the edge of Old Fourth Ward Park, clearing the way for a project that would rise 225 feet above a neighborhood where most buildings top out at six to nine stories. The vote came even as residents packed the hearing to oppose the development, citing environmental, safety, and neighborhood-character concerns.
What the Rezoning Would Do
Ordinance Z-26-52 would rezone the two-parcel property at 687 and 707 Angier Avenue NE, changing it from Mixed Residential Commercial Conditional/Beltline Overlay and Light Industrial/Beltline Overlay to a unified Mixed Residential Commercial/Beltline Overlay designation, according to Rough Draft Atlanta, which first reported the board's vote. P&Z Radar's case tracker independently describes the same request as consolidating the two properties' zoning into a uniform MRC-3/BL designation while retaining the Beltline Overlay, and lists the case as continued at a Nov. 9 hearing, according to atlanta.pnzradar.com. The property currently includes Hillside Villas, a 22-unit affordable multifamily residential building, and a duplex, and demolishing those structures would mean the loss of 24 affordable units, per the Rough Draft Atlanta report.
Developers plan to build the 52-unit condo tower with a projected completion date of 2031. City officials and developers said the project aligns with Atlanta's 2025 Community Development Plan, per the same report. Satish Lathi, one of the developers, said the city did not impose an inclusionary requirement for the condominiums, though he added that conditions could change if some units end up as rental properties. A city housing impact statement said nearby properties would see no perceived negative effect on their existing use or usability, and the statement noted the condominiums will sell for millions of dollars.
Neighbors Say the Opposition Was Already Clear
Before the board's vote, the Old Fourth Ward Neighborhood Association had already voted to deny the rezoning altogether on Oct. 20, according to the Protect Old Fourth Ward advocacy page. Days later, Neighborhood Planning Unit M — one of 25 citizen advisory groups formally created by the City of Atlanta — voted 41-8 to deny the rezoning as well, the same page says. Despite that lopsided community rejection, the zoning review board moved forward with approval.
Cody Pierce, who lives about five feet from the development, told the board the proposed high-rise is not what Old Fourth Ward needs, arguing the same density could be achieved in a much shorter building. Pierce said the Community Development Plan includes the site but does not require developers to pursue its most intensive option, according to the Rough Draft Atlanta report.
Park-Side Concerns From a Neighborhood Scientist
Melinda Fox, an Old Fourth Ward Neighborhood Association member and environmental scientist, raised concerns specific to the tower's location at the edge of Old Fourth Ward Park. She asked the board to conduct an independent solstice-to-solstice shadow study, warning that the building's windows and balconies could create what she called a fishbowl effect overlooking children at play below. Fox described the park as a major family destination along a busy Beltline corridor that serves families, children, and visitors year-round, per the same account.
Context: A Neighborhood Already Reshaping Itself
The fight over Angier Avenue echoes a pattern that has played out in Old Fourth Ward for years. Back in 2018, Curbed Atlanta covered resident opposition to an earlier round of proposed million-dollar condos in the gentrifying neighborhood. More recently, the area has also seen a push in the opposite direction: Urbanize Atlanta reports that the City Lights North Block project broke ground with site work and demolition at 633 Parkway Drive, with plans for 187 apartments capped at rates affordable to tenants earning 60 percent of area median income or less. Elsewhere in the neighborhood, the Historic District Development Corp. and Mercy Housing Southeast have planned to raze the three-building, 58-unit Henderson Place apartments at 514 Irwin Street to make way for a $20 million, 76-unit affordable housing project restricted to families earning at most $50,000 a year, according to Bisnow.
What Comes Next
The zoning committee is scheduled to review the plans at the Nov. 16 full council meeting, to be held at Atlanta City Hall, 55 Trinity Avenue SW, with the proceedings viewable on the city's ATL26 YouTube page. The Rough Draft Atlanta report on the zoning review board's vote was authored by Stephanie Toone and published in the outlet's Atlanta Intown section.
