Atlanta Beltline, Inc. announced its first steps forward as the new master planner and co-developer of the fraught Murphy Crossing development adjacent to the Westside Trail and near the Oakland City and West End MARTA stations.
At a June 2 public meeting, Beltline leaders announced its project timeline for the next year. From now until December the agency will work on site planning, entitlement, a development plan and its request for proposals. From January to May 2026, it will move into choosing developers and builders, raising capital and negotiating deals. There will be community engagement throughout.
It sets the stage for the first phase of development on the 20-acre site. Atlanta Beltline, Inc. will primarily handle the roads, spur trails, and paved paths, while partners will handle the so-called “vertical construction” of buildings. Beltline Housing Policy and Development Vice President Dennis Richards said this year, the team hopes to do some early demolition on the site.
“We will fully plan this site out and we will develop a full development plan that is inclusive of our strategy as to how we intend to execute the development,” Richards said. “Then we will seek partners along the way to help execute on different phases of this project, and all of the details that will develop throughout this planning process.”
In January, the Beltline announced it would take over as lead developer of the project in a surprise announcement that ousted Arizona-based group Culdesac and local Urban Oasis Development. They were selected by Invest Atlanta in March 2024 to take on the transformational project.
The ambitious project aimed to turn a 20-acre former industrial site into a multi-use, car-free complex with affordable housing and retail along the Beltline. The mixed-use community would help to transform a long-neglected area of the city’s Westside.
But just months later, the Beltline claimed Culdesac failed to deliver on expectations: developing a site master plan, completing preconstruction work like permits, securing financing and managing construction.
Now the Beltline is in charge of the project. It will lead the Murphy Crossing development and aims to keep long-term ownership of the property. But the project needs partners to make the 20-acre vision come to life.
On June 2, the organization announced it had hired design firm Perkins&Will from May 2025 to May 2026 to help develop the master plan. The firm has previously worked on chunks of the Eastside Beltline Trail and the Atlanta Dairies, among other projects.
“We believe in making places that help support communities so that communities can thrive,” Perkins&Will Urban Designer Jeff Williams said. “This goes back to the very foundations of the Beltline.”
Williams said his firm aims to blend nature and community living. The team will work with the Beltline to create a new master plan for the project alongside PEC, Planners and Engineers Collaborative, Inc. for civil engineering work. Atlanta Beltline, Inc. also hired KB Advisory Group to conduct and present a market analysis. Over the summer it aims to procure a firm to create the project’s financial model.
Still, Beltline leaders assured they weren’t starting over from scratch. Previous developers like Culdesac and Urban Oasis Development conducted neighborhood engagement and began to plan out what the 20-acre transformation could look like.
“We’re not starting over,” Richards said. “I think we have done a lot of our due diligence that positions us to be able to move quickly.”
He said the phased approach and co-developers will help get everything done. It allows the developers to put off certain things — like getting the industrial tenants necessary to fulfill its industrial-mix zoning requirements — until later.
Moving forward, Richards said the Beltline plans to continue robust community engagement and ensure things like affordable housing and local businesses are a part of the project from the start.
“We want this to happen with the community and not to it,” Richards said.
