05/26/2023
From the Atlanta Business Chronicle:
A real estate team is inching closer to creating Doraville's city center, an effort aimed at reviving the historic heart of the suburb with apartments, shops, restaurants, public space and other uses.
Atlanta-based Kaufman Capital Partners recently completed a conceptual plan for the project, poised to take shape between New Peachtree Road and Buford Highway near MARTA's Doraville station. At a May meeting, City Council agreed to move forward with evaluating the feasibility of the early vision before creating a final plan, which could surface later this year.
The concept plan, created with the help of consultants HGOR and Flippo Civil Design, lays out an enhanced street grid. A new street is proposed from New Peachtree Road to Central Avenue, crossing Park Avenue and flowing past a central greenspace and future buildings. It would be complemented by a pedestrian path, which would branch off from the middle of the new street and head toward Central Avenue.
The city center will replace an assortment of vacant land, aging municipal buildings and commercial space spread across approximately 20 acres, including 13 acres of city-owned properties. The area roughly comprises the same scale as Downtown Duluth. It could eventually be expanded with buy-in from neighboring owners, such as redeveloping surface parking at the MARTA station.
"The goal, ultimately, is to bring people here to experience and enjoy Doraville," said Garry Sobel, senior vice president at Kaufman Capital Partners, during a March meeting.
The real estate team is borrowing qualities found at several mixed-use projects, including Avalon in Alpharetta, Ponce City Market in Old Fourth Ward and Halcyon in Forsyth County. But the final project is intended to feel authentic to Doraville, said Paul Flippo, founder of the civil design firm, during a March presentation to City Council.
Doraville is known for its international cuisine, grocery stores and minority-owned businesses strung along Buford Highway. Unlike neighboring cities, the north Atlanta suburb lacks a central gathering place for residents, workers and visitors to gather. The city center fell into disrepair decades ago, following the construction of Interstate 285 and other transportation projects.
"It really should be a place where we can connect all the different pieces of Doraville that are currently separated from each other by train tracks, highways and freeways," Doraville Mayor Joseph Geierman previously told Atlanta Business Chronicle.
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Last year, Doraville formed a public-private partnership with Kaufman Capital Partners to restore the area. The city is paying the firm $20,000 and covering consulting fees for the first phase of work. It expects to spend $435,000 on the second phase, including a $75,000 fee to the developer, according to an updated agreement approved in May.
On the opposite side of the MARTA station from the city center, Gray Television Inc. is replacing the former General Motors plant with a film and entertainment campus. The broadcast company is pausing plans to add housing, shops, restaurants and a hotel to the site in light of market conditions. But it is still moving forward with building 19 sound stages.
