Westside project along Beltline trail takes key step forward

Josh Green

Mon, 12/23/2024 – 13:39

A longstanding civil rights organization that’s plotting a new campus on Atlanta’s Westside has selected an architect and developer—and announced ambitions to achieve the greenest certification possible for its local headquarters.

The Southern Poverty Law Center, a nonprofit legal advocacy agency founded in 1971, has picked Atlanta-based Quest Ventures to design and build its campus at 871 Wheeler St. in English Avenue.

Veteran local architecture firm Cooper Carry—which partnered with Quest to develop a mixed-use employment, retail, and housing hub in nearby Vine City two years ago—is also on board with the SPLC project.

SPLC officials recently announced the English Avenue campus will seek Living Building Challenge certification, which is considered the highest possible green building certification. (Georgia Tech’s Kendeda Building was the first project of significant scale in the South to achieve the certification in 2021.)

After deciding to decamp from its Atlanta headquarters near downtown Decatur, Montgomery, Ala.-based SPLC purchased the Beltline-adjacent site last December, following a two-year search.

The 871 Wheeler St. property’s location in relation to Midtown and downtown landmarks. Photo courtesy of Real Estate Photos Atlanta

The main structure on site today, as seen along Wheeler Street with the BeltLine connecting trail behind it. Google Maps

The 2.5-acre property is located directly on the 1.7-mile Westside Beltline Connector, a link between downtown and the Beltline’s Westside Trail, a section of the 22-mile mainline loop.

Situated immediately east of Joseph E. Lowery Boulevard, roughly midway between Georgia Tech and Westside Park, the brick warehouse building on SPLC’s site is occupied by Verco Materials, a protective armor manufacturer, records show.

A SPLC rep tells Urbanize Atlanta the tenant’s lease on site now runs through summer 2025. A cell tower that’s also on site will remain standing but won’t interfere with SPLC’s development plans.

SPLC’s goal is to break ground in the second half of 2025. Renderings of the new campus won’t be revealed until the first phase of community consultations are finished, according to SPLC officials. Few details about the project’s scope have been confirmed.

General plans for the expanded campus call for free event space, affordable commercial spaces for local entrepreneurs of color, spaces for programming to support Westside residents and community groups, and other resources aimed at uplifting the community, according to SPLC leadership.

The Westside BeltLine Connector shown with the Southern Poverty Law Center’s new 2.5-acre property behind it near Joseph E. Lowery Boulevard. Google Maps

Photo courtesy of Real Estate Photos Atlanta

SPLC has had an office in Atlanta since 2006. As its lease was expiring in Decatur, SPLC’s leadership sensed an opportunity to expand to a larger facility that’s more accessible to local communities of need. Plans initially called for building a 60,000-square-foot office complex or renovating an existing structure.

The future Westside campus “is not only a new office for SPLC staff, but also a major investment in a community grounded in civil rights history,” Margaret Huang, SPLC president and CEO, said in a prepared statement. “We intentionally sought out an Atlanta-based team that specializes in equitable, community-focused development. Quest’s strong connection to the Westside makes them the ideal partner.”

SPLC’s campus won’t be the only significant new investment in the immediate area.

Earlier this month, Atlanta Housing and developer Windsor Stevens Holdings broke ground on a 137-unit, mixed-use project called The Proctor. That’s moving forward on the block directly south of SPLC’s property.

The Southern Poverty Law Center’s new location, midway between Georgia Tech and Westside Park. Google Maps