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An illustration of Portman Holdings’ proposed redevelopment of Amsterdam Walk as seen from Piedmont Park.
Credit: Portman Holdings and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
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Plans for Amsterdam Walk ‘incompatible’ with Va-Hi, Morningside-Lenox aesthetic, some residents say
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Portman Holdings’ plans to transform Amsterdam Walk from a small-scale shopping center into a large mixed-use development adjacent to the Atlanta BeltLine is “incompatible” with the surrounding single-family neighborhoods, according to some residents.
About 20 people from the Virginia-Highland and Morningside-Lenox neighborhoods met March 27 with Mike Greene, senior vice president of development at Portman.
The roundtable discussion, held at the Red Light Cafe in Amsterdam Walk, was set up by Greene to answer questions and clear up any misinformation floating on social media.
Residents at the meeting repeated their frustrations and fears about Portman’s plans to redevelop the approximately 10-acre site nestled between Piedmont Park and their neighborhoods with 900 apartments and about 500,000 square feet of retail and office space.
The proposal includes two high-rise buildings — a 13-story office tower and 17-story apartment building — and more than 1,000 parking spaces.
“This will turn Morningside into Atlantic Station 2 or Buckhead 2,” Charlie Kaften told Greene. “How does this fit in? It doesn’t.”
Another person said the heights of the buildings are “inappropriate” and would be an “eyesore.” The development would stand out like a “growth” amid the greenery of the park, Atlanta Botanical Garden and the manicured lawns of single-family homes, they said.
Then there’s traffic. The main entrance into Amsterdam Walk is Amsterdam Avenue, off Monroe Drive. Traffic on Monroe is already a burden, several people said. Adding 900 apartments and an office building and retail on the site with one main entrance and exit would force people to drive over Monroe and onto residential streets.
A traffic study estimates the development would add nearly 4,000 daily new car trips. The city’s planned redesign of Monroe Drive will be completed before construction begins should the project move forward and would mitigate many traffic concerns, according to the report. Easy access to the Beltline is also expected to take cars off the street.
Greene said Portman would not be willing to invest more than a billion dollars in the project if people could not access the development, which the traffic report supports.
Lenders are going to be asked to loan 60% to 65% of the cost to build the buildings, Greene added. Getting those loans depends in large part on accessibility to the project as supported by the traffic study.
Greene did acknowledged what Portman is planning doesn’t fit in with the area as it is now.
“You might ask me, ‘How dare you have the audacity to propose this development in what is seemingly mostly a single-family residential neighborhood?'” Greene added.
“Well, I think the city of Atlanta has a desperate need to continue to build housing to support its growth. And that’s been echoed by most of the city council.”
During the past 15 years or so, zero apartments have been built in Va-Hi, Greene said. Only about 900 apartment units have been built in Morningside in that same time.
“And we want to keep it that way,” a person said.
“I understand. Some people do. Some people do,” Greene said.
Greene reminded everyone the Amsterdam Walk property, owned by Halpern Enterprises and a partner in the planned development, is already zoned C-1 commercial despite its location within these neighborhoods.
The current zoning allows for about 750,000 square feet of non-residential use and more than 300,000 square feet of residential, for a total of more than 1 million square of new development.
“That is really the underlying basis for why we had the audacity to propose the design we did,” Greene said. “It’s because it already possessed a large density on it.”
Some residents have asked why not build a community of townhomes on the site rather than a large mixed-use development with high-rise towers.
Halpern understands the value of the property, Greene said. C-1 does not mean only office space. C-1 zoning allows for building banks and other financial institutions, commercial schools, childcare centers, specialty schools, churches, synagogues, temples, mosques, other religious worship areas, clubs and lounges, commercial greenhouses, commercial recreation establishments, including bowling alleys, theaters and convention halls.
C-1 does allow for about 300 apartments, but Portman wants to rezone the property to mixed-use to be able to build 900 rental units.
The Virginia-Highland master plan calls for development on the site, but it calls for “compatible development in scale and scope,” Kaften said. The Portman project is not compatible with that plan..
But Jack White, longtime member of the Va-Hi Civic Association and current member of the planning committee, said Portman’s proposal “substantially” fits with the neighborhood’s master plan, including building predominantly residential along the Beltline.
And the project preserves single-family homes, he said.
Mark Campis, another Va-Hi Civic Association planning committee member, noted there are about 10,000 people who live in the two neighborhoods, but only 20 people showed up for the March 27 meeting.
The civic groups are in talks with Portman about conditions they want if the project is approved, such as building a streetscape to improve pedestrian and bike safety in the area.
Conditions could also include asking Portman to scale the project back. But Greene stressed that Portman, and especially Halpern, have to build enough density to make a profit.
A vote by the civic groups to support or not support the project is expected by May. After their votes, Portman would then take their plans to Neighborhood Planning Units E and F and ask for support.
The current pace could put the project before the city’s zoning review board in June. After the ZRB vote to recommend approval or not, the Amsterdam Walk project would go to the city council for a final vote.
Greene plans more roundtable discussions with concerned residents at the Red Light Cafe on April 10, April 17 and April 24. The meetings will be from 5 to 7 p.m.
This story has been updated. An earlier version reported that Portman’s Mike Greene has said the Amsterdam Walk redevelopment would not move forward without neighborhood approval. That is incorrect. Rough Draft apologizes for the error.dr
This story comes to GPB through a reporting partnership with Rough Draft Atlanta.
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