Near Avondale MARTA stop, new mixed-income hub is pretty much upscale

Score one for transit-oriented development and affordable housing with verve in Decatur.

On Monday, developer Columbia Residential announced that its newest endeavor, Decatur East, is now accepting applications from senior citizens looking for a place to live on the cheap-ish. (Rent prices have not yet been revealed).

The five-story, “affordable” mixed-income complex with 92 apartments is one of two senior living options that Columbia has introduced to Decatur; the other venture, the Senior Residences at Forest Hills, doesn’t boast quite the same enviable accessibility.

Decatur East sits on Freeman Street, a 10-minute walk—probably a bit longer if you’re using a cane or wheelchair—from the Avondale MARTA Station.

Built on a former parking lot, Decatur East is part of MARTA’s latest transit-centric mixed-use development adjacent to the Avondale stop.

In addition to 92 senior housing rentals, the partnership between the Development Authority of Decatur, Columbia Ventures, and Courtland Partners will deliver 377 market-rate apartments, 34 condos, and more than 40,000 square feet of retail space.

At Decatur East, renters must be at least 62 years old to sign leases for one- or two-bedroom units with amenities such as a “dining and dancing room, business center, movie theater, state-of-the-art fitness center, and onsite laundry facilities,” per a release.

The community also comes with a private outdoor courtyard with green space and a gazebo.

Added bonus: The residences are just a stone’s throw from Three Taverns Craft Brewery, for elderly folks who like to get their drink on with the millennials.

Elsewhere ITP, Columbia also recently reopened an old affordable senior-living tower in Midtown.

• Columbia Senior Residences at Decatur East [firm site]