New City Plans More Apartments in Atlanta

New City Properties plans to add hundreds of apartments to its Fourth Ward development in Atlanta once market conditions improve.

The local developer wants to construct two apartment buildings with 780 units as part of the final phase of its $1 billion Fourth Ward project, the Atlanta Business Chronicle reported. The development would replace a parking lot, a temporary dog park, and the former site of Venkman’s music venue at 740 Ralph McGill Boulevard. Berlin-based architect Barkow Leibinger will oversee the project’s design.

A timeline for construction has not been established, but Irwin indicated that the project would commence when market conditions improve. However, not all units will be built at once due to the challenges posed by elevated interest rates and an influx of new units in the metro Atlanta apartment market.

Rents were trending downward this summer, when the average advertised asking rent was down 0.1 percent to $1,638, according to Yardi Matrix. The metro posted the nation’s second-biggest decline in rent growth year-over-year in the second quarter. Developers delivered 5,649 units in the first half of the year, and another 36,575 were under construction.

The median rent in Old Fourth Ward sits at about $2,200 per month, which is approximately 33 percent higher than the metro Atlanta average, according to Zillow.

The spike in demand underscores the need for additional housing options, especially in one of Atlanta’s most historic and walkable neighborhoods, New City founder and president Jim Irwin said.

New City’s Fourth Ward development includes a 360,000-square-foot, 11-story office building anchored by the headquarters for Mailchimp. It also has the FORTH hotel and social club and the 359-unit Overline Residences apartment building.

— Andrew Terrell