Plans are coming into clearer focus for a mixed-use proposal that aims to infuse housing options, commercial activity, and general vibrancy into the historic core of Lakewood Heights.
St. Vincent de Paul Georgia, a volunteer-driven nonprofit established in 1903 with a focus on providing housing and tackling hunger from 73 service hubs across the state, has owned a corner property at 1700 Lakewood Avenue since 2014.
Formerly home to a SunTrust Bank branch, the parcels are a prominent piece of several intersections that form Lakewood Heights’ commercial district.
SVDP plans to spend about $30 million—an unprecedented private investment in Lakewood Heights, according to neighbors—on a flagship development that would increase density and, in theory, help revitalize the downtown area.
The four-story redevelopment option being considered along Lakewood Avenue today. Society of St. Vincent de Paul Georgia; designs, Cooper Carry
A series of four community workshops have been held to gather input this year. Those included a design update last month for two Cooper Carry-designed concepts as developers start to prepare the project for a rezoning application and civil engineering work.
The 1700 Lakewood Avenue site is situated about a mile east of Lakewood Amphitheatre, roughly four miles from downtown Atlanta. Neighboring properties house historic Lakewood Heights storefronts, an Amoco gas station, idle lots formerly home to fast-food franchises, and a Family Dollar store.
The sprawling, post-industrial property where the Sawtell development has recently shown signs of life is located a few blocks to the northeast in Chosewood Park.
According to SVDP’s latest presentation, the project would create a pedestrian-oriented environment with new living options within the commercial district to help “support a more sustainable and varied business environment.” Two adjacent single-family parcels facing away from Lakewood Avenue would be…
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