On Memorial Drive, controversial Harp Transmission project moves forward with community input

Revisions based on feedback will bring public amenities to ground-floor breezeway, more parking, developers say

By Michael Kahn Aug 1, 2017, 11:43am EDT

A three-story glass structure, floating above an open court on slender columns, with a large flat roof structure above. — A previous rendering of the facility. Changes to the top floor have yet to be incorporated.

One of the most anticipated yet oddly contentious projects on the booming Memorial Drive corridor is hoping for calmer seas ahead in its quest toward construction.

The redevelopment of the empty Harp Transmission building—on a primetime parcel two blocks west of Oakland Cemetery—by local developers Pellerin Real Estate and Clark Property R+D will take into account community input while moving forward, project leaders tell Curbed Atlanta.

When drawings were released earlier this year of a snazzy new office building with community space on the ground floor, many celebrated the new life the proposal would bring to the corridor.

But others weren’t so keen on the proposal’s height. Or the expected parking situation.

Those against the concept cited a study that identified the parcel as part of a linear park connecting downtown to Oakland Cemetery. Others expressed concern about the density proposed, the lack of parking (visitors, they argued, would be forced to park on crowded neighborhood streets), and the requested rezoning.

In Atlanta, these are visions for transforming Memorial Drive’s westernmost reaches. — Plans for the greenway, which include the Harp site as open space.

However, developers say those concerns have all been addressed in the latest revision of the proposal, available on the project’s website.

Revisions include: a decrease in the development’s square footage (from 43,000 to 34,500 square feet, now with a rooftop deck); the incorporation of public restrooms and other amenities for park-goers in the first floor; a developer contribution of $100,000 toward the creation of an adjacent park; and an agreement to provide 40 off-street parking spaces at nearby lots or bury them underground.

Ultimately, the developers and Square Feet Studio—the project’s architect—feel the building will enhance, rather than detract from, the park space.

With the revisions, the developers hope to bring the project to fruition with support from the neighborhood.