Atlanta Business Chronicle: Over 18 acres on Atlanta’s Westside gets a new developer, possibly a different plan

About 18 acres along the new Westside Beltline Connector is now under the control of a Dallas based real estate giant.

Lincoln Property Co. bought a collection of sites along Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway near its intersection with Northside Drive, paying about $38 million, according to Fulton County real estate records.

The properties are part of an area near Georgia Tech’s expansion into West Midtown and several new residential and office projects that area underway. A new Beltline Connector that runs through the site will also link with downtown.

The development offers a chance to create pedestrian connections on the Westside, where a wave of new projects is exposing a need for greater mobility.

The PATH Foundation is already underway on the multi-use trails. Ed McBrayer, executive director of PATH Foundation, said two trails will tie into the new development.

One will cross over nearby railroad lines on what is known as the “Bankhead Bridge.” Another will eventually link with Joseph E. Lowery Boulevard.

The trail system will connect with the eventual path of Atlanta Beltline, areas around the Westside Park at Bellwood Quarry and downtown’s Centennial Olympic Park and Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

“It should provide a massive uplifting for the nearby neighborhoods, a chance to walk to places that people without cars can’t walk to now, unless they interact with traffic,” McBrayer said.

A partnership including Atlanta developer Brock Built LLC, Defoor Ventures and 60 West Funds sold the sites that will make up the Lincoln Property development.

The scope of the project raised concerns on the Westside, including too much density and a lack of affordability.

The development partnership including Brock Built worked with surrounding neighborhoods and scaled back the site plan, and the city approved it.

The properties are zoned for the development of 650 apartments, with 20 percent of the units required as affordable. It is also zoned for 40 townhomes, 302,000 square feet of office space, 135,000 square feet of commercial space, and a 120-key hotel.

Lincoln Property now essentially becomes the master developer after buying the sites in late December. It’s unclear how the project will unfold, including a timetable for starting construction on any of its potential components.

A Lincoln Property executive said the company was unable to comment immediately on the next steps.

Lincoln Property is one of the largest real estate companies operating in Atlanta, where it manages over 18,000 apartment units and more than 17 million square feet of office space.

It’s also known for new apartment developments in areas of the city including Buckhead, and the revitalization of aging office buildings such as 1372 Peachtree in Midtown. It now joins an array of developers and their capital partners that are revitalizing areas near the Bankhead MARTA station and Westside Park at Bellwood Quarry.

-Douglas Sams, Atlanta Business Chronicle