City of Atlanta seeks developer for sprawling site near Westside Park

Josh Green

Wed, 01/08/2025 – 12:15

The credibility of Atlanta’s “We Full” campaign may have just taken another hit.

Mayor Andre Dickens’ office and Atlanta Urban Development announced today developers are formally being sought to transform a large tract of empty land due west of Atlantic Station that even hardcore ATL urbanists might not be familiar with: Gun Club Park.

The city and AUD officials have released a Request for Qualifications to find development partners capable of turning the decommissioned city park—it’s been vacant for more than 20 years—into a mixed-income community with an emphasis on larger family homes, affordable rental housing, and greenspaces that encourage residents (and Atlantans currently living nearby) to get outside.

Atlanta Urban Development

Two sections of planned redevelopment, with the existing Proctor Creek Greenway shown in dark blue. Atlanta Urban Development

Situated at 2140 Alvin Drive, Gun Club Park is just northwest of the city’s largest greenspace, Westside Park, where neighborhoods Grove Park, Almond Park, and West Highlands meet. Boyd Elementary School is a five-minute walk away, and the shopping and eats of West Midtown a 10-minute drive. Both Georgia Tech and Atlantic Station, per the RFQ, are a 15-minute drive from the site.

The land in question was once considered a “barrier and public safety concern” for nearby neighborhoods, per project leaders.

According to AUD—a nonprofit subsidiary of the Housing Authority of the City of Atlanta tasked with redeveloping public-owned land—the project encompasses just over 44 acres overall, to be built out over multiple phases.

For context, that’s roughly twice the size of Centennial Olympic Park downtown.

Gun Club Park’s proximity to existing segments of the nearby Proctor Creek Greenway qualifies anything that will be built there as a “Trail-Oriented Development,” according to city officials. (Site plans show an extension of the multi-use trail will eventually be built through the new community.)

Planning work with Atlanta-based design firm TSW took place last fall and has received neighborhood approval for required zoning changes, per the RFQ.

As laid out in the Gun Club Park Small Area Plan, any redevelopment will see an even split of rental and for-sale units. Those will range from small-lot, single-family homes to missing middle units and smaller apartment buildings, per the city.

Overview of the master plan study at the City of Atlanta’s Gun Club site.Atlanta Urban Development/TSW

Atlanta Urban Development

The overarching plan calls for building more than 200 units of permanently affordable housing that’s “aimed at bringing new families and facilities to this key area of the Westside,” said Dickens in today’s announcement.

For phase one, the RFQ specifies that 40 percent of rental units will be set aside as affordable for a mix of households earning up to 50 and 80 percent of the Area Median Income.

Meanwhile, the homeownership portion of the community calls for 25 percent of units to be set aside at unspecified affordable prices, per the city.

Plans also call for retaining 40 percent of the acreage’s existing tree canopy and seamless connections to existing sidewalks, roads, and greenspaces in the area.

Developer responses to the RFQ are due by Feb. 14. Following that, AUD will vet submissions and “engage with the most qualified respondents to fulfill the city’s vision,” according to today’s announcement.

“This project embodies a transformative development for Atlanta’s Westside, focusing on creating diverse housing options that cater to residents across the income spectrum, particularly larger units for families,” John Majors, AUD president and CEO, said in a prepared statement.

A deep dive into the RFQ can be found here. For a quick recap of visual highlights, head up to the gallery.

Breakdown of planned functionality across Gun Club Park acreage.Atlanta Urban Development