2d ago

Visuals: Amsterdam Walk proposal over Beltline shrinks again

atlanta.urbanize.city Visuals: Amsterdam Walk proposal over Beltline shrinks again

Density remains with Portman Holdings project, but height and plaza space cut back

Visuals: Amsterdam Walk proposal over Beltline shrinks again Josh Green Wed, 02/26/2025 - 16:08 A massive redevelopment project that once promised to stand out among Beltline-adjacent projects around the city has been reduced to a more familiar scale, according to renderings obtained by Urbanize Atlanta.

Following months of neighborhood meetings, complaints about traffic and other concerns, and substantial design revisions, leadership with both the Virginia-Highland Civic Association and Morningside Lenox Park Association voted in May last year to support the rezoning and redevelopment of commercial hub Amsterdam Walk.

The former warehouse district, spread across 11 acres, has recently seen its cachet boosted by new segments of the Beltline’s Northeast Trail next door.

Work on the Portman Holdings project largely went quiet over fall and winter months, but it’s now set for review by two Atlanta City Council committees and another round of community input, according to VHCA officials.

What arbiters will see is a substantially different project than what Portman last brought to the table in May as a compromise with neighborhood groups.

The multifaceted Amsterdam Walk proposal as of last year, following a revision process that subtracted height. SOM architects/Portman Holdings

The proposal from the same angle today, per current Portman Holdings plans. SOM architects/Portman Holdings

Overall, the Amsterdam Walk project’s density will remain the same, 1.18 million square feet, as plans called for last year.

But the arrangement and height of buildings—and thus, the amount of open plaza space—will be noticeably different.

According to Portman’s latest designs, the number of buildings has been cut back from four to three, and those will stand a maximum of nine stories, as opposed to heights up to 17 stories initially proposed.

With shorter and wider buildings, the plaza space will be reduced from earlier plans but will still meet the minimum 20 percent required by the city, according VHCA.

Office and retail space could land anywhere between 60,000 and 240,000 square feet, with 150,000 square feet being the current target.

Revised designs for an Amsterdam Walk interior courtyard space. SOM architects/Portman Holdings

How the project would look when approaching from the Beltline's Northeast Trail. SOM architects/Portman Holdings

Meanwhile, the residential unit count could actually bump up from what plans showed (roughly 840 residences) last year. Revised plans call for between 940,000 and 1.12 million square feet of residential space—enough for between 940 and 1,100 units, according to VHCA officials.

Another key design element calls for keeping Evelyn Street—the connection between Monroe Drive and Atlanta Botanical Garden—in its current location, instead of realigning it to be closer to Amsterdam Walk buildings.

Instead, a new spur road will link Evelyn Street with Portman’s project, per VHCA.

Portman officials first presented the redevelopment idea to both neighborhood groups in the summer of 2023. Specifics—and gripes—came later.

Initially, plans called for new buildings standing between seven and 17 stories, with 900 new apartments, 90,000 square feet of commercial space, and 400,000 square feet of offices. At that scale, the proposal triggered neighborhood pushback that included a campaign of naysaying yard signs.

Alongside a host of conditions, plans approved in May by VHCA and MLPA officials scaled back everything but the amount of commercial or retail space.

According to VHCA, the reduced density meant car trips would be slashed from an estimated almost 4,000 initially to 2,362 trips each day, or 41 percent less, per traffic models compiled last year.

SOM architects/Portman Holdings

Under the current C-1 zoning classification, Portman’s buildings could have stood up to 225 feet tall at Amsterdam Walk.

The updated Amsterdam Walk plans will not be required to go through the NPU process again before city council members vote on the proposal, according VCHA.

Alex Wan, District 6 Atlanta City Council member, is scheduled to host an online meeting March 3 regarding recent updates to the Amsterdam Walk project’s scope. Preregister for that meeting (and submit questions beforehand) right here.