Developers hope 60-parcel Hapeville deal will boost city's growing village

Original story featured on Urbanize Atlanta February 17, 2021

16 acres are down the street from Porsche's headquarters, Atlanta airport

In the growing, artsy south ITP city of Hapeville, two veteran Atlanta developers have high hopes for finally building a mixed-use district that’s been two decades in the making.  

Real estate investment company Coro Realty and builder Miller Lowry Developers have partnered to buy about 60 different parcels within blocks of Hapeville’s historic core, which has been packing on new townhouses and single-family homes, restaurants, and a popular brewery while pushing an arts district identity. The purchase price wasn’t disclosed.

The 16 acres span roughly from 3602 South Fulton Avenue to 3558 Elm Street, between Hapeville’s de facto main street, North Central Avenue, and the Atlanta airport, as Coro Realty’s Robert Fransen, a managing partner, tells Urbanize Atlanta.

It’s “a lot of addresses,” wrote Fransen in an email.

Significant developer interest in this side of Hapeville dates back 20 years. With plans to build a new urbanist hub called “Asbury Park,” Main Street Partners once assembled about 80 parcels in the area, but the Great Recession felled those aspirations.

In the years since, Hapeville has scored major buzz as Porsche North America continues to build out its U.S. headquarters (alongside its tourist attraction Porsche Experience Driving Center, neighbored by a Kimpton hotel) within city limits.

The opening of craft beer brewery Arches and more eclectic eateries, a theater renovation, an expanded Corner Tavern, various art initiatives, and the addition of Atlanta Hawks G-league affiliate Skyhawks in nearby College Park have helped draw young professionals to Hapeville, the developers noted in a recent press release, echoing city officials.

The recent purchase marks Coro Realty and Miller Lowry’s third joint-venture in Hapeville. 

It’s too early for renderings or any other specifics. The development team described long-term plans as converting the properties “into a dynamic mixed-use community, featuring residential, commercial, and hospitality uses on the doorstep of Hapeville’s historic downtown.”

Miller Lowry, the development company’s president, has experience building residential and mixed-use components that aim to jibe with existing, older city centers in places like Roswell. The firm is also finishing a Hapeville townhome venture called The Clyde a few blocks away.

“The community and city support for this [60-parcel] project in Hapeville has been awesome,” Lowry noted in a prepared statement. “This is a great opportunity to build on the momentum the city has created.”