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Proposals Sought for Key Beltline Property at Piedmont Park

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A long, thin plot of land sandwiched between the Beltline and Virginia-Highland is up for sale adjacent to Piedmont Park. The Atlanta Beltline, on behalf of Invest Atlanta, is seeking to offload the 90-foot-wide strip of land between Monroe Drive and Cresthill Avenue, just north of 10th Street. Somewhere between 1.5 and 1.7 acres — the RFP gives conflicting numbers — the parcel has more than 800 feet of frontage along the Beltline corridor and is literally steps away from Piedmont Park. Interested buyers have until Friday to respond to a Request for Proposal for Purchase. But not just anything goes for the site, with a laundry list of requirements for any new development.

While the property is currently zoned as commercial, its location in the Beltline Overlay District requires that it be developed as a mixed-use project. Housing must be provided for a diverse range of people, with 20-percent meeting affordability goals — unless a developer gives a "donation" that would provide for affordable housing elsewhere on the Beltline.

Though the project would be located at the cusp the Beltline, parking must be provided for all units (at least it's required to be hidden from site.) Obviously, any proposal has to work well with the Beltline, contributing to a pedestrian environment and not interfering with access to Piedmont Park.

From pictures, it's pretty clear that development of the land will result in the loss of several large trees, but any building constructed will have to conform to green infrastructure requirements imposed by the city, so that's something. On the plus side, adding housing and retail space will bring more density to the well-connected area, hopefully encouraging greater usage of the Beltline and park.

· REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL FOR PURCHASE AND REDEVELOPMENT OF
PROPERTY OWNED BY THE ATLANTA DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY D/B/A
INVEST ATLANTA [Atlanta Beltline, Inc.]
· Atlanta BeltLine plans to sell 1.5 acres at Piedmont Park for mixed use development [Saporta Report]