Much has been written in recent years about the push to end Atlanta’s exclusionary single-family zoning, certain neighborhoods’ pushback against it, and the city council’s ultimate decision to kick that can down the road.
But accessory dwelling units—or ADUs—aren’t forbidden everywhere in the ATL. As a new project in Home Park vividly illustrates.
When all goes well, ADUs function as a means for home and property owners to activate underused backyards and other spaces, building smaller dwellings that in turn bring additional income as rentals.
On the flipside, for renters, ADUs offer more housing options in a city with tight supply, oftentimes with larger spaces than traditional apartments in hip neighborhoods that have become prohibitively expensive.
Which brings us back to Home Park, a historic neighborhood of mostly single-family housing wedged between Atlantic Station and Georgia Tech.
Modern-style facade, second-floor balcony, and parking pad at the 750-square-foot Home Park ADU. Courtesy of Rockethouse Design and Build
Previously, the property in question near 14th Street’s Al-Farooq Masjid mosque was home to only a small, two-bedroom bungalow of 900 square feet. The backyard was empty, and the neighborhood’s R-5 zoning (like those with R-4 designations, but not R-1 to R-3) allowed for an ADU, within certain restrictions. Added bonus: the lot has an alley behind it, allowing for private ADU access.
The property owner, a Home Park real estate investor of more than 30 years, was working with Rockethouse Design+Build—a metro Atlanta homebuilder with a stable of custom ADU plans—on another project, when he hatched the idea for an ADU behind the bungalow.
So what’s allowed today when such ideas pop up?
Within Atlanta city limits, a maximum of two dwellings per property (including ADUs) are permitted in areas with R-4 and R-5 designations. R-5 properties also allow for duplexes, but duplexes don’t…
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