The timeline for when two corners at a historic Sweet Auburn intersection might be transformed with new investment and street life is coming into clearer focus.
The two-phase development led by Gorman and Company, a Wisconsin-based developer with expertise in building affordable housing, aims to enliven what’s currently a dead zone of boarded-up, historically significant buildings and surface parking lots.
The corners in question are located on the southwest and southeast sides of where Auburn Avenue meets Jesse Hill Jr. Drive.
The properties made news last week when the Invest Atlanta Board of Directors approved a Housing Opportunity Bond up to $3 million to help move construction forward. Collectively, however, both phases of Sweet Auburn Grande, as the project’s now called, are expected to cost north of $74 million.
Joel Reed, Gorman’s Southeast market president, provided Urbanize Atlanta with an outlook this week—both near-term and not—for when Atlantans might start to see that section of Sweet Auburn brought back to life.
The current parking lot and building conditions at the corner of Jesse Hill Jr. Drive and Auburn Avenue, beneath the 65-foot Lewis mural. Google Maps
Breakdown of two development phases on either side of Jesse Hill Jr. Drive. Gorman & Compay; via SR, 2023
For phase one, revised Sweet Auburn Grande plans call for building 109 multifamily residences along Auburn Avenue, located at the southeast corner of the Jesse Hill Jr. Drive intersection. Roughly 11,500 square feet of commercial space at street level would also be included.
According to Reed, that phase is scheduled to start construction in late July and cost roughly $56 million, barring increases due to inflation and supply and demand.
As of now, the apartments and retail are expected to open in July 2026, following two years of building.
The residential component will include 57 units—or more than half—reserved for tenants earning…
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