Atlanta's Quarry Yards Bought for $127 Million by Microsoft; Development Plans Still Secret

Observers can only speculate about the development plans of the new owners of one of the city of Atlanta's largest development opportunities.

2 minute read

September 24, 2020, 6:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Atlanta Park

A rendering of the Bellwood Quarry Park, one component of the intrigue surrounding the sale of the nearby Quarry Yards site in Atlanta. | City of Atlanta / Westside Park at Bellwood Quarry

"The new owner of the Quarry Yards site on the Westside [of Atlanta] has an opportunity to remake one of the city’s largest, relatively untouched properties," reports Andy Peters. 

Earlier in September, Andy Peters, Greg Bluestein, and J. Scott Trubey reported that "[b]uyers affiliated with Microsoft are behind the $127 million purchase of the 70-acre Quarry Yards project in Atlanta’s Westside."

The land is highly prized for its location "at the convergence of three of Atlanta’s highly touted greenspace initiatives under development — Bellwood Quarry Park, the Beltline and the Proctor Creek Greenway — and within walking distance of the Bankhead MARTA station," according to the earlier article.

But displacement concerns in the area are part of the reason behind a development moratorium implemented by the city of Atlanta in early March 2020.

Despite these many intersecting dynamics and the high interest from around the region, the new buyers haven't yet revealed their intentions for the land. The speculation and anticipation building in response to the silence are the focus of the most recent article by Peters. 

An ownership group led by former Major League Baseball player Mark Teixeira sold the property in September for $127 million, Before selling the property, Teixeira's group sought a mixed-use project that would add 1,700 residential units, including affordable homes and about 2 million square feet of offices and retail space.

Tuesday, September 22, 2020 in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

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