Council votes to retire Shirley Place; $1 housing transfer still on hold

Atlanta City Council voted 10–0 on Nov. 2 to adopt the amended ordinance authorizing abandonment of part of Shirley Place NW, according to draft action minutes. The separate $1 transfer of the city’s interest in the parcel to the Metro Atlanta Land Bank remains held.⁠[1]

The council vote moves the abandonment beyond the committee recommendation we previously reported. The measure addresses the right-of-way’s legal status—not a new physical street closure. The ordinance says Shirley Place has been fenced off to vehicles and pedestrians since Verbena Gardens was demolished because it no longer provides access to occupied or actively used properties. Existing public and private utility easements would remain in effect.⁠[1][2]

The housing plans extend beyond this street parcel. The transfer ordinance says LDG Development and its affiliate, Verbena Family Development, intend to build more than 200 affordable rentals across a larger assemblage called Verbena Gardens or Verbena Street Redevelopment. Shirley Place would be one piece of that site—not the location of all 200-plus homes by itself.⁠[2]

Council adopted the street measure, Ordinance 26-O-1535, but returned the conveyance proposal, Ordinance 26-O-1590, as held to the Community Development/Human Services Committee. The minutes list Nov. 10 at 1:30 p.m. as the transfer measure’s next committee checkpoint.⁠[1]

The street vote does not start the proposed three-year housing clock. Under the held transfer ordinance, the deed would preserve a city right to recover the parcel if permanent affordable housing does not receive a city-issued certificate of occupancy within three years of conveyance. That deadline is tied to the land transfer—not the abandonment vote.⁠[1][2]