Friday, October 7, 2016

Former Alfredo's Property Demolished, Hundreds of Apartments Coming Soon

Where Alfredo's operated for over 40 years
Nearly 450 more apartments coming to Cheshire Bridge

Atlanta-based developer Westplan Investors plans to develop nearly five acres of land on Cheshire Bridge Road into two new apartment complexes.  The firm purchased two nearby parcels last year on which is plans to construct "Accent 2050" a 198 unit apartment complex and "Accent Morningside" a 239 unit apartment complex.


Accent 2050 will be built in place of The Doll House, a strip club that recently relocated to Sandy Springs where is now shares space with Coronet Club.  Accent Morningide will be built across the street from Accent 2050, replacing the beloved Alfredo's which closed earlier this year ahead of the planned redevelopment.
The former Doll House strip club at 2050 Cheshire Bridge Road

Documents I obtained indicate that at least some of the Aldredo's parcel, which also included an auto shop and Ethiopian restaurant, and DOT facility, is subject to Brownfield remediation.

(Alfredo's Italian Restaurant, which closed this past April after over 40 years in business, has reportedly been thus far unable to find a new location suitable for their needs and at a price that ownership can afford.) 
The former Alfredo's - 7/16
I have been working on this post for months and multiple attempts at communicating with Westplan or a representative of the firm were unsuccessful.  The firm, with headquarters in Sandy Springs, often uses funds from Dutch investors to invest and finance their real estate endeavors, primarily in multi-family construction.  

The company's stated core values are honesty, communication  and transparency. 

According to their website, "Westplan Investors has invested in more than $2 Billion in real estate since its inception in 1994 with a primary focus on apartments."

"Westplan owns 5,404 multifamily units with an additional 1542 units and approximately 750,000 sf of retail in core markets in the Southeast with a value in excess of $1 Billion."

This week I noticed that demolition had begun on the Alfredo's parcel, but not the Doll House property so it seems that the "Morningside" property will be built first.  It's worth noting that a demolition permit for the Doll House property was filed with the City of Atlanta in May whereas the demolition permit for the Alfredo's property was filed in January.
Rendering of  "Accent Morningside" 
Research done in preparation for this post indicates that Westplan spent about $6.7 million on land for the "Morningside" project and about $4.5 on land for the "2050" project.  

The "2050" parcel includes about 2.4 acres while the "Morningside" property encompasses about 7.5 acres, of which about 6.8 represent "disturbed acres," or land that will be built on / directly affected by construction.  
Rendering of "Accent 2050" 
The "2050" project will also include  the renovation of existing 50,000 and 70,000 square foot warehouses into loft office / showroom space.

Documentation shows that the firm plans to offer the "Morningside" units, which will reportedly average 871 square feet in size, for an average monthly rent of $1538 per unit.  

Units in the "2050" project will come in a little smaller at an average of 812 square feet and a little cheaper with an average monthly rent of $1474 per unit.  

These sizes and prices are of preliminary and were planned months in advance so some modification is to be expected as the properties get closer to actually leasing.  

First move-ins are expected to be offered in July 2017 for both complexes with expected completions for "2050" in October and "Morningide" in November.  

Research indicates that Westplan intends to place both its "2050" and "Morningside" properties on the market in mid 2019.  

Westplan is actively leasing two other intown projects, one in Executive Park off North Druid Hills, with visibility from I-85 North, and another on Northside Drive by the Atlanta Waterworks. 
Accent North Druid Hills
Accent North Druid Hills features 310 units with 746 square foot units starting at $1495 per month and going up to 1149 square feet at $2200 per month.  

Accent Waterworks, located literally on top of popular gay strip club Swinging Richards, offers units starting as small as 620 square feet for $1250 per month and going up to 1162 square feet at $1950 per month.  
Accent Waterworks with Swinging Richards between it - 7/16
According to the Westplan website, Eagle's Brooke, a 520-unit garden style apartment complex is the company's only current investment in Georgia.  The same website lists a number of "exited investments," among them are Two Blocks, a 400 unit development just off Chamblee Dunwoody Road in Dunwoody, The Heights at Armour, a 372 unit development on Armour Drive near Sweetwater Brewery and Five Oaks, a 280 unit development on Montreal Road in Tucker.  

The firm also previously had stakes in both Fountain Oaks shopping center on Roswell Road in Sandy Springs and Rivermont Station on Holcomb Bridge Road in Roswell.

As a company, Westplan describes their experience and interest as follows: 

"Markets that fit in our multifamily experience: Atlanta, Raleigh, Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, South Florida, Tampa, Jacksonville and Phoenix Suburban locations with barriers to entry submarkets Urban locations with relatively low cost basis."

Are you excited to see Cheshire Bridge begin to shed its seedy businesses in favor of premiumly priced apartments? Do you still miss Aldredo's?  Do you currently rent, if so, what do you consider your threshold in metro Atlanta?

Please share your thoughts below  

20 comments:

ImAndy said...

I remember moving to atlanta in 2007 and Gables Midtown was just finishing construction on Monroe and they wanted $900 for a studio and I told myself I'd never spend that much in that area of town and I didn't! Gables is pure luxury compared to these planned for Cheshire Bridge Rd. Unbelievable! I have a 6 month old 5 bedroom craftsman home in Doraville for $1600 a month mortgage (without escrow and a healthy down payment) there is O reason EVER to spend $2200 in rent per month in Atlanta

Kevin B. said...

Since I moved to Atlanta in the 80s, I've deemed Cheshire Bridge Road to be the street that has something to offer everyone in Atlanta. Restaurants, bakeries, fortune tellers, gay bars, gentlemen clubs, veterinarians, antiques, delis, gasoline, headshops, drug stores, a cinema, and access to the Interstate for a quick getaway. With gentrification now in the sights for this odd road strip, we can begin kissing most of the above list goodbye. Development is killing all the wonderful, interesting, and fun cultural attractions that have been making this city a magnet for years.

Anonymous said...

Please continue to keep us updated on Alfredo's. No other Italian restaurant in town measures up...

Anonymous said...

I was just thinking through locations that might be affordable to Alfredo's and in that quest it dawned upon me every location that I thought of at the pace and trajectory of redevelopment in the Atlanta area every location would be at risk for redevelopment sometime soon. Hey Eli what are they building in what used to be that big huge ditch at the corner of Cheshire Bridge/Lenox and Buford Highway? I'm talking just opposite the new Pulte townhome development.

Ham said...

I agree that losing the eclectic nature of Cheshire Bridge is something Atlanta will never recover, but bottom line that property has just become too prime for developers to ignore. I also agree that the cost of these apartments seems ridicules compared to houses just a few miles away. I’m not talking about Loganville, but just few miles in say Lavista Hills (if that’s what we call the area between Atlanta and Tucker).

I suspect many transplants or recent college grads initially rent all these new apartments then in a few years buy homes. Then the apartments are forced to drop rent to fill units and this leads to lower income tenants which results in more people leaving and more low income tenants moving in. This seems to be a cycle we’ve seen all over the metro area and not sure it qualifies as smart growth, but who knows maybe it’s just the new norm.

minky said...

They continue to develop the soul right out of the city. Bland boring homogenized beige crap. This makes me so sad. Between the apartments and corporate businesses like mattress firm, there just isn't room for anything interesting anymore.

Ham said...

"They continue to develop the soul right out of the city. Bland boring homogenized beige crap. This makes me so sad."

I doubt the City of Atlanta as a whole will ever lose its unique locales, but sometimes you do wonder. While many will probably disagree I think some of the “interest” in the metro-Atlanta area is now in the more established suburban areas. For instance the Decatur area, the international flavored businesses along Buford Hwy and around Gwinnett Place, maybe even some of the suburban town center/main street projects you see popping up. Who knows one day the OTP folks may be looking down on the ITP folks for be too homogenized.

The Anti-Gnostic said...

Agreed minky. Wood frame, cheap crap. Who pays rent for this crap:

Documentation shows that the firm plans to offer the "Morningside" units, which will reportedly average 871 square feet in size, for an average monthly rent of $1538 per unit.

Units in the "2050" project will come in a little smaller at an average of 812 square feet and a little cheaper with an average monthly rent of $1474 per unit.

Atlantan99 said...

@Anon RE: Cheshire Bridge & Buford Highway,

Yes, that will be more... SELF STORAGE! Hurray!

Full story here:

http://www.tonetoatl.com/2016/08/contain-your-enthusiasm-four-new-self.html

As always, thank you for your comments and readership.

ImAndy said...

I met the regional VP Of Public Storage Wednesday. He has Atlanta and Birmingham. As a total he's at 95% occupancy. This boom will continue to chase demand.

Regarding Alfred's I was never a fan but got drug there a lot. Three weeks ago someone took me to Nenos a block away and I found it much better than Alfred's. But I hear people love or hate one over the other.

Anonymous said...

Wait, move-ins in 2017?? That's pretty ambitious. Is that correct?

AJ said...

There will always be some people that will pay whatever the rent is to live in the newest flashiest places, but while these will be the newest (for a short period of time), I can't imagine they'll be the flashiest. That being said, there will always be people who rent whether it's because they can't get their act together to save for a down payment, whether they move for a job too much to justify buying, whether they just don't want the "hassles" of home ownership, etc., but are there really THAT many people? I'm curious how many new apartments there are over the past 2-3 years. Plus the number of apartments already built. Eventually somethings got to give. Also, hope they build turn lanes...

Anonymous said...

Andy is spot on - you are either a Neno's or Alfredo's fan but rarely both. It's like Pat's or Geno's in Philly with cheesesteaks.
My family always fell on the Neno's side of that divide.

I am surprised that money is an issue with Alfredo's - their price point for pasta seemed plenty high to make ends meet.

Anonymous said...

Remember when Numbers, Colonnade, a lesbian bar, and a motel were all there was in the general area. 1970s -1980s.

Anonymous said...

Who remembers when Shakey's Pizza was there in the 70's?

Anonymous said...

Apartments and self storage facilities go hand in hand and could bubble up and implode into oblivan for all I care. "Luxury" apartments being built for millennials but they are not supposed to collect stuff a la extra crap. Most apartments turn into low income housing than will eventually be on the evening news because of a fire.

Anonymous said...

I'll be surprised if Alfredo's finds a new location. It is sad to see the unique old school restaurants go away.

I could not imagine living/renting on Cheshire Bridge. I would hate driving thru that traffic everyday.

Unknown said...

My question is are any of the apartments going to be for low-income families are they going to be accepting Section 8 and I'm always good to see new development in the city and the state and which I was born

Unknown said...

The reason why I ask about low income housing is so hard to find a decent place to stay that accept Section 8 and if you are not a member would you consider being one all you have to do it contact Atlanta Housing Authority OCT 6 years old and I'm used to having nice things and really nice place so I ask again will you are you ever going to accept low income housing in my lifetime

Unknown said...

My question is are any of the apartments going to be for low-income families are they going to be accepting Section 8 and I'm always good to see new development in the city and the state and which I was born

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