Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Neighborhoods Fuqua on proposed development: 'incorrect' to say Walmart is tenant, we'll build part of Beltline trail
Posted by Thomas Wheatley @thomaswheatley on Wed, Sep 19, 2012 at 5:46 PM
- Google Maps
- Jeff Fuqua, veteran Atlanta developer who helped build Edgewood Retail District and Town Brookhaven, eyes old concrete facility off Glenwood Avenue in southeast Atlanta
"At this point we're talking with everyone in the business about that site," Jeff Fuqua, president of Fuqua Development, said in a brief telephone interview. "Several tenants fit into that square footage. Or it [could be broken up between] two or three users."
A Walmart spokesman tells CL the retailer has had "some preliminary discussions with Fuqua about this particular site. Our understanding is that there are a number of anchor possibilities. We have no agreement in place."
The roughly 10-acre property sits in the middle of what Beltline officials consider a key redevelopment and activity node and which could one day boast a stop along the project's streetcar line. The parcel's eastern edge abuts the 22-mile greenspace, parks, and trails loop.
Fuqua says the development, which he hopes to start building next spring, will include streetfront retail and a new street grid system, including an extension of Chester Avenue, which currently dead ends at Glenwood Avenue. Most of the development's parking would be shielded from the roads by streetfront buildings, Fuqua says.
He says the project "absolutely" aims to play off its proximity to the Beltline. He's offering to build the approximately 1,500 to 1,800 feet of the Beltline's multi-purpose bike trail that project planners have proposed snaking onto the property and running along that Chester Avenue extension. A Beltline spokesman confirmed that the organization and Fuqua have held a "high-level" meeting and the developer offered to build the section of the trail. Beltline officials also showed Fuqua the area's master plan (PDF), which calls for medium density residential and new streets breaking up the property to offer more connectivity.
For several years, Fuqua's been eyeing the site. He thinks it's a great location in an area that's ripe for quality redevelopment and which could sustain more retail. Fuqua points to the nearby Edgewood Retail District, which he helped develop as a top executive at Sembler. That retail center remains strong, he says, showing there's pent-up demand for places to shop. The Glenwood Avenue project, which he says will be "best in class," could feature as many as seven or eight restaurants. He thinks it will "definitely" include a grocery store. Not on the menu at the moment (seriously, no pun intended): new residential.
We're awaiting project renderings, which should give a better idea of the proposal's scope, from Fuqua's staff. Once we get 'em, we will post 'em. Some websites have posted this two-sheet summary about the development, apparently named "Glenwood Place." The developer told us, however, that the project doesn't have a name yet.
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