Metropolitan Parkway housing, retail development officially a go

Josh Green

Tue, 01/07/2025 – 08:25

Fresh housing aimed at boosting a southside corridor between downtown and Atlanta’s airport is scheduled to officially move forward this month.

Paces Preservation Partners, a partnership between affordable housing development firms, plans to host a Jan. 14 groundbreaking alongside Mayor Andre Dickens and other local dignitaries for a project called Metropolitan Place.

The 176-unit venture with an affordable rental and retail component will take shape at 2333 Metropolitan Parkway, just south of Langford Parkway and west of the downtown Connector in the Perkerson neighborhood.

For years, the corridor has grappled with disinvestment and blight, but development officials say Metropolitan Place is indicative of projects that are starting to turn the tide.

The site’s location just south of Langford Parkway and west of the Interstate 75/85 Connector. Google Maps

According to Invest Atlanta, which is helping to fund Metropolitan Place, the majority of units, or 144 total, will be reserved at rates for people earning 60 percent of the area median income or less. That means 750-square-foot, one-bedroom apartments are expected to rent for $972 monthly.

Seventy two-bedroom units—the most prevalent option in the project—will rent for $1,164 for 850 square feet. And three-bedroom apartments (35 total) with 1,200 square feet will cost $1,331 monthly.

Amenities are listed as an onsite fitness center, clubhouse, picnic area, and security cameras.

The expected look of Metropolitan Parkway (top) and Avery Road frontages. The Paces Foundation, Inc., Soho Housing Partners; via Invest Atlanta

Elsewhere, 32 apartments are expected to rent for market rate, ranging from $1,653 to $2,052 per month.

At the ground level, roughly 1,000 square feet of commercial retail space will also be built, according to project plans.

The development is a team effort from Soho Housing Partners and Smyrna-based The Paces Foundation. The latter is a local nonprofit striving to develop more than 3,000 affordable housing units.

According to an Invest Atlanta project summary last year, Metropolitan Place aims to continue investments in the north-south corridor that include a new Atlanta Police Department Zone 3 precinct next door and Goodwill’s Metropolitan Parkway Career Center a few blocks north.

Other housing developments in the area have contributed to an ongoing revitalization, per Invest Atlanta officials.

The vacant plot in January 2023, with the new APD precinct shown at left. Google Maps

Invest Atlanta leadership has said the mixed-use project will take 18 months to build. Records indicate the 6-acre property in question sold in early 2023 for $2.75 million.

About half of Metropolitan Place’s $77.1 million cost will be paid for with a tax-exempt loan from Atlanta’s Urban Residential Finance Authority, alongside federal and state tax credit equities aimed at helping spur development.

Invest Atlanta officials agreed last spring to provide $2.9 million via Housing Opportunity Bonds.

The 2333 Metropolitan Parkway site in relation to downtown and the airport. Google Maps