ATLANTA — A few years after kickstarting efforts to transform Murphy Crossing, Atlanta BeltLine Inc. has selected a finalist to reimagine the Oakland City industrial site into a walkable development by the Westside Trail, according to the Atlanta Business Chronicle.
Culdesac Inc. — a development firm known for a car-free community in Tempe, Arizona — will lead the redevelopment of the 20-acre site at 1050 Murphy Avenue in southwest Atlanta. It will partner with affordable housing company Urban Oasis Development, Kronberg Urbanists + Architects, LDG Consulting and T. Dallas Smith and Co.
Developers have a renewed interest in the Westside, a historically underserved area of the city. Microsoft Corp. has chosen Grove Park neighborhood for a campus that could house tens of thousands of employees, and the BeltLine's route typically draws economic development in its wake.
Other revitalization projects are also underway. Neighborhood groups and community advocates have called for equitable growth in the area to prevent the displacement of longtime residents.
The preliminary plans for Murphy Crossing call for new residential units, restaurants, shops, arts and culture programming, co-working spaces and a farmers market, an homage to the site's former use as the Georgia State Farmers Market in the 1940s and '50s. Existing buildings will be renovated and peppered with new ones.
At least 25% of all residential units will be designated permanently affordable with an additional 5% deemed affordable for at least the next 30 years. Rents will be capped at rates attainable to people making between 60%-80% of the area median income. Culdesac plans to offer 30% of all retail and light industrial spaces at an affordable rate for small businesses.
