Plans for ‘The Lodge’ at East Atlanta Village are moving forward

Developers behind plans to remake a derelict corner where Ormewood Park meets East Atlanta Village say progress is continuing—only behind the scenes, for now.

The eight-parcel project’s working title is “The Lodge,” a nod to the 1940s Masonic building that would become the centerpiece of the mixed-use development at 525 Moreland Avenue.

The Atlanta City Council unanimously approved legislation in May to rezone four parcels on site from single-family residential to a mixed-use designation that allows for commercial tenants.

Meanwhile, as environmental assessments and variance applications have moved forward, developers are pushing back closing dates with property owners to work out complex details of affordable housing tax credit requirements.

“We’re delaying the closing to wait for the affordable housing tax credit funding,” Jesse Clark, a principal with developer Clark Property R+D, wrote in an email to Curbed Atlanta. “The latest that will happen is December, but [I] can’t yet say if it would be sooner.”

The redevelopment plan chosen—and favored by some 600 local survey participants—would refurbish the Masonic Lodge and an older home on Glenwood Avenue, create a central public plaza, and add a “gentle density” mix of office and retail.

Elsewhere would be 42 units of workforce housing geared toward residents earning 60 percent of Area Median Income or below.

The project is expected to cost $14 million, and since the veil was lifted on plans this past winter, the development team has been aiming to break ground this year.

“Nothing has changed in the project scope,” noted Clark. “We’re starting to work on fleshing out the schematic drawings and elevations.”

Meanwhile, developers report that Georgia Department of Transportation is expected to start work this fall on a realignment of Glenwood Avenue, an EAV corridor that snakes through its intersection with Moreland now.

Clark’s firm is partnering with local developers Porch & Square, King Properties, and Tony Riffel on the project, with designs by McMillan Pazdan Smith Architecture. Rea Ventures Group, another partner, is working to develop the workforce housing component.

The Masonic Lodge—neglected for years but structurally sound, developers have said—was built in 1947 and used as a Masonic Grand Lodge (upstairs) with a Kroger at street level.

The intent is that the buildings will hide parking and scale down to adjacent homes in the neighborhood.

Clark’s team also noted that pre-leasing for restaurants, office tenants, and retail uses is expected to begin soon.