April 2026 DRC Recap: Two Apartment Renovations and Expansions
04/14/26
The Midtown Development Review Committee (DRC) reviewed two residential proposals at its April meeting.
These two residential projects along Piedmont Ave. were presented by the same developer and architect team. Both involve the renovation and expansion of early 20th century buildings to enhance their use as multifamily apartments. A third case, concerning outdoor patio dining at the southeast corner of 11th and Peachtree Streets, was also on the agenda but was not presented.
More info about each project is provided below:
761 Piedmont Ave.
The existing building will be repaired and enlarged to a 7,248 SF (7-unit) apartment complex with each unit having a private outdoor space along with a shared roof deck. Eight (8) parking spaces are proposed with two (2) parking spaces in the front yard and six (6) parking spaces accessed by the existing east rear alley.
The DRC appreciated the adaptive reuse of the building for unique apartments. The comments focused on previous permitting along with public safety and security as detailed below:
DRC Recommendations:
1. The City Staff should investigate the stairs encroaching into the south side yard setback because the applicant noted it was granted a permit in 2021 (without a variance).
2. Remove parking in the front yard to improve public safety - unless one ADA space is required there. If so, shift the parking slightly east (away from the sidewalk), provide a convex mirror, and angling the space 30 degrees to provide improved visibility toward oncoming Piedmont Ave. traffic. The surface treatment of the potential space is recommended to be concrete pavers or ‘grasscrete’ so it appears less like a typical parking space.
3. Relocate the large 9-stall bike rack to the covered rear yard area for more comfortable and secure bike storage. In the front provide a simple inverted ‘U’ bike rack either in the street furniture zone or near the front porch area for guest/visitor bike parking.
Next Steps:
The committee expects to receive updated info for electronic review to confirm that the open question and minor comments will be addressed.
793 Piedmont Ave.
The existing building will be renovated and expanded to a 7,830 SF (8-unit) apartment complex with each unit having a private outdoor space along with a shared roof deck. All five (5) parking spaces will be accessed by the existing east rear alley.
The DRC appreciated the adaptive reuse of the building for distinctive apartments. Their comments were limited to the best practices of bike parking:
DRC Recommendation:
1. Relocate the large 9-stall bike rack to the covered rear yard area for more comfortable and secure bike storage. In the front provide a simple inverted ‘U’ bike rack either in the street furniture zone or near the front porch area for guest/visitor bike parking.
Next Steps:
The committee expects to receive updated info for electronic review to confirm that the single comment will be addressed.
1035 Peachtree St.
New ~1000 SF outdoor patio dining area was slated to be presented for the patrons of the existing Prime Cigar/Restaurant at the southeast corner of 11th and Peachtree St. A new door is proposed to access the new tables and chairs on the outdoor patio. To facilitate this, two existing trees would be removed and replaced by two new street trees along 11th St.
The applicant team for this project was a no show. Thus, they could not answer the DRC’s open questions about inconsistencies in the plans, grade changes which would necessitate stairs, and various issues with the adjacent parking lot which should be addressed.
Next Steps:
The DRC will be ready to host the applicant team at the May DRC meeting.