Real estate developer Fuqua Development LP intends to build an 800-unit self-storage facility at the northwestern corner of its Glenwood Place mixed-use project in the Grant Park residential district of Atlanta. The company will seek a zoning change for the site after failing to qualify for low-income tax credits as part of its original plan to develop affordable senior housing, according to the source.

Fuqua representatives presented their plan to the Grant Park Neighborhood Association this week. Though the company touted high property-tax income and limited traffic congestion as benefits to the community, the change to storage was met with strong opposition from residents, some of whom called it a bait-and-switch tactic, the source reported.

Completed in 2016, the Glenwood Place project includes 175,000 square feet of retail fronting Bill Kennedy Way and Glenwood Avenue. It serves Grant Park, a historic area noted for its craftsman and Victorian homes, Zoo Atlanta, and the cemetery where “Gone With the Wind” author Margaret Mitchell is buried. The surrounding population totals more than 65,000, according to the Fuqua website. The developer has been working on plans for adjacent parcels, including the self-storage site, the source reported.

Johnson Development Associates Inc., a real estate developer with interests in self-storage, is building a five-story facility at 1299 Northside Drive near Atlantic Station, which is part of another Fuqua-led mixed-use project in Atlanta’s West Midtown area. The storage facility is expected to comprise 112,448 square feet in 875 units.

Fuqua Development was founded in 2012 by Jeff Fuqua. It specializes in shopping centers and mixed-use projects, featuring residential and retail space, in the Southeast. Among its largest developments is The Battery Atlanta at SunTrust Park, a $400 million mixed-use project on 74 acres that is connected to where the Atlanta Braves play, according to the company website.

Sources:
Curbed Atlanta, In Grant Park, Fuqua Wants to Build Self-Storage Instead of Senior Housing
Fuqua Development, Website