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Full Belvedere Park block cleared, but it’s crickets for stylish project Josh Green Fri, 07/26/2024 - 08:00 Two years after demolition and site-clearing work began, a modern-style townhome project that had promised to keep the march of new Memorial Drive housing going beyond Atlanta city limits has stalled, leaving some neighbors wondering what’s going on.

Beginning in summer 2022, Decatur-based Valor Tower Real Estate Developments demolished houses, cleared a full block, and installed infrastructure—including new streets—for a sizable townhome venture in DeKalb County’s Belvedere Park neighborhood.

But more recently, progress appears to have come to a halt.

The 44-unit project is called Grand Terraza at Memorial Drive (alternately “Gran Terraza”), according to site plans, renderings, and promotional materials. Its foundational work has claimed a sloped block just east of East Lake in the 3200 block of Memorial Drive in Decatur, on the south side of the six-lane thoroughfare.

Multiple inquiries for updates to developers and the project’s builder—Norcross-based APC Contractors—have not been returned this month. The project’s promotional Facebook page hasn’t been updated since 2020. Sources in the area report being in the dark about the project as well.

Streets and infrastructure work shown across the idle, 3265 Memorial Drive site this month. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Planned townhome frontage along Memorial Drive at Thomas Road. Valor Tower Real Estate Developments

Grand Terraza’s site plan calls for seven separate buildings surrounding an internal park, with several greenspaces dotted throughout. According to the developer, initial plans were altered after Belvedere Park neighbors complained of a lack of visitor parking created by the townhomes along Julian Street, opposite Memorial Drive.

Plans for internal streets were expanded to allow for 23 parking spaces for townhome visitors on special occasions, and Valor Tower also widened Julian Street to 24 feet for more space, as developers have specified.

Scope of the planned Grand Terraza site off Memorial Drive. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Valor Tower Real Estate Developments

Should it move forward as planned, the addition of denser housing would be part of DeKalb County’s broader plan to revitalize Memorial Drive, a vital commuting corridor linking Stone Mountain to downtown Atlanta.

Find more context and renderings illustrating what Grand Terraza is—or was—planned to be in the gallery above.

The 3265 Memorial Drive site in Belvedere Park, between East Lake and the Interstate 285 Perimeter’s easternmost edge. Google Maps

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Full Belvedere Park block cleared, but it's crickets for stylish project

Full Belvedere Park block cleared, but it's crickets for stylish project