Front Porch opens its front door to Auburn Avenue

An outpouring of civic leaders and dignitaries participated in the ribbon-cutting and unveiling of the first phase of the Front Porch project on Auburn Avenue – just two blocks west of Ebeneezer Baptist Church.

The entrance to the Front Porch felt like an open-air living room that provided a welcoming entrance to the $37.5 million residential and commercial development that has been years in the making. The project received a grant from the Eastside Tax Allocation District through Invest Atlanta, which is helping make rents affordable.

“Today marks another milestone for Sweet Auburn,” declared Mtamanika Youngblood, who had served as a long-time leader of the Historic District Development Corp. (HDDC), developer of the project. “No historic buildings were demolished.”

An “overjoyed” Cheneé Joseph, who succeeded Youngblood as HDDC’s president and CEO, said Front Porch is the first new development along that section of Auburn Avenue in about two decades. A ground-breaking for the project was held in 2022.

During the ribbon-cutting event the Atlanta Streetcar could be heard traveling outside the front entrance along Auburn Avenue.

Michael Hatcher, who is co-developing the project with HDDC, said the project’s first phase has 33 residential units – designed as a co-living concept. There will be a total of 67 bedrooms in those 33 apartment units, and renters will pay per bedroom in the fully furnished apartments.

“It’s going to be affordable on the commercial side and the residential side,” Hatcher said. The street-level spaces are set aside for restaurants and retail with living spaces primarily above.

A special feature of Front Door is its roof garden that will be used for urban agriculture and provide a vista of downtown. It is next door to the former Haugabrooks Funeral Home, which is being transformed into an art gallery and event space. 

One of the most attractive features is how a side entrance to the development showcases stained glass from the Haugabrooks building. 

One of the complexities of the site is that the area just north of the project is primarily vacant land, and it has been a location where Atlanta’s unhoused population have established makeshift living places with tents.

HDDC does not plan for Front Porch to be a gated community. Instead, it will be open to the public. It is envisioned that restaurants or retail establishments will spill out into the porch.

Hatcher said HDDC is realistic that there will be an adjustment with how people will interact with the space, including the unhoused population.

“That’s what comes when you’re reshaping any environment,” Hatcher said. “We want it to be inclusive and open. But there will be security” that will monitor how the space is used.

The business owners want to help make this welcoming to the community,” he said, adding that Joseph “wanted this space to be the front porch for the entire Auburn Avenue community.”

Integral is serving as the property manager. Colliers is handling the leasing. The project was designed by Syntony Design Collaborative and its president Garfield L. Peart working with Cole Hil architects. Cooper Carry provided construction administration.