280 Elizabeth St. Development to Break Ground in July

INMAN PARK — The developers of the 280 Elizabeth St. project expect they will break ground on the $45 million residential and retail complex in July.

The mixed-use development, bounded by Elizabeth Street, North Highland and Lake avenues and the Inman Park Village project, is projected to be complete by the third quarter of 2014.

Atlanta-based developers South City Partners and JPX Works LLC, which are partnering on the project, gave Inman Park residents an update on the project at the May meeting of the Inman Park Neighborhood Association.

The 3.4-acre lot already home to several business, all of which will have to leave by July 9, Mark W. Randall, South City Partners' founder and executive director, told IPNA members.

"Please, please support them through that last day," Randall said.

Dad's Garage, the theatre group and neighborhood mainstay, will remain through the end of July to complete its season, he said.

When complete, the project will have 201 rental apartments — down from an original 204 — and 39,000 square feet of retail space, which includes 19,000 square feet designated for restaurants.

It also includes a swimming pool and a 570-space parking deck.

The update is the latest benchmark in what has been a controversial proposal since Randall and Jarel Portman, JPX Works' founder and principal, first proposed it.

It culminated with a group of residents filing a request for a judicial review last year of the process that ultimately approved the development.

Those residents argued the Atlanta Urban Design Commission acted beyond the scope of its discretionary powers when it granted variances to the project.

The judge ruled in favor of the developers earlier this year, which allowed the project to move forward.

See also our topics page: 280 Elizabeth St. Development.