Atlanta Humane Society: Okay, developers, we’ll sell our prime property

Nonprofit has owned West Midtown land on Howell Mill Road for 80 years

By Josh Green@JoshGreen1234 Jan 13, 2017, 12:38pm EST

The Atlanta Humane Society campus in West Midtown, from 10th Street. — The campus’ 10th Street frontage.

The Atlanta Humane Society, a longstanding nonprofit that serves more than 30,000 animals throughout the city each year, has owned its West Midtown property since the 1930s.

But now, amid so many changes in the piping-hot Howell Mill Road corridor, AHS is looking for an offer it can’t refuse.

AHS officials announced in a press release today they’re offering their campus — 2.29 acres at the intersection of 10th Street and Howell Mill Road — up for sale, in hopes of boosting the agency’s capabilities and possibly building anew in the neighborhood it’s called home for 80 years.

No price was specified.

“We’re anticipating the property to be highly sought after, and that the potential sale would enable us to reinvest into the city of Atlanta and its animals in a greater way,” said AHS spokeswoman Christina Hill.

The pet-friendly campus occupies the northeast corner of 10th Street and Howell Mill Road.

As is, the intersection is a relative dead zone between the burgeoning nodes of Westside Provisions District and the restaurant hub that includes The Optimist and 5 Seasons Brewery. Major development projects in progress nearby include Stockyards Atlanta, while Star Metals Atlanta and a potential mixed-use venture by Georgia Tech are moving forward.

Funds from the sale, AHS officials said, would help facilitate the opening of an animal hospital on the southwest side, several neighborhood animal welfare centers across Atlanta, and a specialized behavioral and medical rehabilitation center.

AHS would also explore using proceeds to build a new facility elsewhere in West Midtown.

“We’re committed to embracing and driving change within our industry,” Cal Morgan, AHS President and CEO, said in the release, “and the potential sale of our Howell Mill property has great promise to make an immense impact on animals in Atlanta.”

Sounds like a win-win-win.