Zoning board backs 225-foot Angier condo tower despite NPU opposition

Atlanta’s Zoning Review Board recommended approval Nov. 5 of a rezoning for a proposed 225-foot condo tower at 687 and 707 Angier Avenue NE. The board sided with planning staff’s approval recommendation; NPU M recommended denial.⁠[1][2]

The board’s recommendation advances the proposal beyond the staff support we previously reported. It is not final rezoning approval, and the records reviewed do not establish a final City Council decision.⁠[1][2]

The Old Fourth Ward proposal calls for 52 for-sale homes on a site that now holds a duplex and a 22-unit residential building, according to planning staff. It also includes about 104 off-street parking spaces—two per home—even though staff lists no minimum parking requirement under the BeltLine Overlay.⁠[2]

The housing tradeoff is substantial. The city’s affordable housing impact statement projects a loss of 24 homes affordable to households earning between 50.01% and 80% of area median income, alongside 52 new condos in its above-80%-of-AMI category. Those are projected impacts of the proposal, not completed removals.⁠[3]

The statement also carries a strong caution: its analysis relies on applicant information and, in some cases, public real-estate data. Unit counts, prices and other details can change before and during construction. The statement directs readers to an issued building permit for information that may better reflect final plans.⁠[3]

Planning staff acknowledges the tower would exceed several nearby buildings but argues that its scale would be comparable to the adjacent New City Properties mixed-use development. Staff also acknowledges that the 2008 Old Fourth Ward Master Plan identified these properties as part of a proposed park area, rather than assigning a building-height recommendation. Its report argues that greater height can fit the plan in exceptional circumstances when a project advances multiple planning objectives.⁠[2]

Case Z-26-52 would replace conditional mixed residential-commercial and light-industrial zoning with MRC-3 mixed residential-commercial zoning, retaining the BeltLine Overlay. The marked agenda records the disagreement over that request but does not explain NPU M’s reasons for recommending denial.⁠[1]