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February 5, 2007
First glimpse of Emory's mixed-use and graduate housing projects

by david payne

Preliminary details of two new development projects in the Sage Hill-Clifton Road area were presented at a community meeting in late January. Both communities - one for graduate students and the other for employees and students along Clifton Road - are pedestrian-friendly and will enhance the intellectual and social vibrancy of the Emory community.

The graduate student housing complex will be located on Briarcliff Road, next to the Sage Hill shopping center, and will include approximately 270 one- and two-bedroom units. In order to minimize traffic, plans for the two-building complex include fewer parking spaces than standard county requirements. The students will have easy, walkable access to the shopping center, and will have Cliff shuttle service to campus.

Emory also is planning a mixed-use project on Clifton Road where the Emory Inn, Turner housing and gravel parking lots currently sit. This project will have ground-level retail shops along Clifton Road, and approximately 870 residential units on the 15 acres of developable land.

Many of the five-story residential units will be built over ground-level retail stores. Additional residential buildings are proposed for the property with a steep topographical slope, near Emory's 1762 Clifton Road complex.

Final plans are not complete, but these residential units will be marketed to employees who work with various employers near Clifton Road, including Emory, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta and Druid Hills High School. Emory plans to offer residences at a range of prices and with possible purchase incentives to allow all levels of employees to live near their jobs. Employees who take advantage of these housing incentives will be expected to give up their parking permit and walk, bike or take Cliff to work.

The retail options are expected to include restaurants, shopping and services that will cater to both local residents and the thousands of employees and students who work and reside along Clifton Road. The goal is to provide these patrons with convenient, walkable options near their jobs and reduce midday traffic in the area.

"Both of these projects represent progress toward the vision of the Clifton Community Partnership, specifically helping to create a people-oriented, intellectually and socially vibrant community in and around our campus," said Mike Mandl, executive vice president, finance and administration.

"The mixed-use development, in particular, has the potential to transform that gateway to campus as a center for living, working and socializing for Emory, CDC, CHOA and Druid Hills High School employees. Not only will these projects provide wonderful improvements to our community and campus environment, they will also contribute toward our efforts to reduce rush hour and midday single-occupancy vehicle traffic," he said.

A later phase of the project will include removing the Emory Inn and replacing those rooms with additional new rooms at the Emory Conference Center Hotel.

Emory plans to break ground on both projects in late summer or early fall.

 

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