New housing and retail could rise next to Mercedes-Benz Stadium

It’s not clear yet the scope or timeline of the project, or whether Carter would acquire the property or be a development partner.

“We look forward to sharing more details as the project progresses,” Carolyn Baker, a Carter spokesperson, said in a statement.

A spokesperson for Blank’s AMB Sports and Entertainment declined to share details about the plans at this time.

The potential project site includes Northside Plaza, a 1990s-era apartment complex where the explosion occurred in November. It also includes land formerly owned by Friendship Baptist Church, which was relocated and demolished to make way for the stadium more than a decade ago.

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez

Billions of dollars of new development is already reshaping areas around Mercedes-Benz Stadium. At Centennial Yards, the 50-acre tangle of rail lines and parking lots known as the Gulch is filling with new apartments, hotels, restaurants and entertainment venues.

Transformations of the former CNN Center and a historic swath of South Downtown are also underway. And the state agency that oversees the Georgia World Congress Center has engaged the developers behind The Battery Atlanta to conceive a new entertainment district on the doorstep of the stadium.

But Atlanta business and civic leaders have looked to spur new investment along Northside Drive, a barrier between downtown and Westside neighborhoods, including Vine City and English Avenue, which are rich in history but have suffered from severe flooding, blight and other issues.

The project that Carter is eyeing could take shape at the southeast corner of Northside and Martin Luther King Jr. drives.

Entities tied to Blank own the multiple parcels, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution confirmed through public documents and people with knowledge of the matter who were not authorized to comment.

The land was assembled over several years, beginning in 2015, for about $29 million, property records show.

Redevelopment plans for the 8-acre property were revealed in permit applications filed with the city of Atlanta on Nov. 18 and call for the demolition of portions of the Northside Plaza apartments. The last family moved out of the complex in November, according to Integral Group, the property management company for the complex.

In the plans, a letter from a Carter senior vice president says the property is slated for “a mixed-use destination focused on residential and retail uses that will support the long-term growth and activation of the surrounding area.”

Carter has experience resurrecting neglected areas near downtown.

After the Atlanta Braves left Turner Field for a new home in Cobb County, a joint venture of Georgia State University, Carter and other development partners acquired the ballpark and surrounding properties.

Carter, serving as master developer, helped ignite a $1 billion revival in Summerhill. That included rehabbing the historic commercial district along Georgia Avenue and bringing a grocery store to the neighborhood, long considered a food desert.

Carter recently received new financial support when last July Texas-based Hunt Cos. bought a controlling interest in the firm.

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez

South of Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the Northside Plaza apartments recently made headlines when a natural gas leak led to an explosion in one of the buildings on Nov. 18, according to Atlanta fire officials.

The demolition plans were filed with the city the same day, but for unaffected parts of the complex, including a pool and a separate apartment building at Markham and Haynes streets.

One person was injured in the explosion, authorities said. The man was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital in stable condition.

Integral Group, the property management company, said no residents were displaced because the building had already been vacated during “an ongoing, orderly redevelopment of the property.”

“Northside Plaza is in the process of being studied for future opportunities,” the company told the AJC.

According to Integral Group, the gas leak was caused by someone entering the building illegally to steal copper. It’s not clear when the alleged crime took place, but property management confirmed multiple 911 calls had been made hours earlier reporting the smell of gas, including one from a nearby business.

Later that night, an open flame was used inside one of the vacant units, managers said, causing the accumulated gas to ignite.

Atlanta fire officials declined to release additional information, citing the agency’s ongoing investigation.