A controversial rezoning proposal to allow construction of an apartment building for homeless senior citizens in the Kirkwood neighborhood is back on the Atlanta Zoning Review Board‘s agenda for its April 30 meeting at 6 p.m.
The 0.66-acre property at the corner of Howard and Hallman streets is currently owned by Turner Monumental AME Church and zoned for single-family residential use. The apartment building would require a rezoning change to planned development housing.
UPDATE: Kirkwood senior housing project gets zoning review board approval
Both Neighborhood Planning Unit-O and the Kirkwood Neighbors Organization (KNO) have voted against the rezoning request. The Atlanta City Council will ultimately cast the deciding vote on the project.
The project, led by Stryant Investments, would have 47 micro-apartments averaging 260 square feet. Tenants would be required to be age 62 or older, earning no more than $40,000 per year.
Opponents say the project is too dense for a residential neighborhood and are concerned about traffic congestion and public safety. Others voiced concerns about the lack of parking and the size of the units.
Turner Monumental AME, a fixture in the community for more than 120 years, received a $25,000 Faith-Based Initiative Development pre-development loan for the project through Invest Atlanta, the city’s economic development office.
In loan documents and correspondence obtained by Rough Draft between the developer and Invest Atlanta, the project was initially referred to as a permanent supportive housing (PSH) project, which generally offers services such as healthcare and case management.
By the time the rezoning request was submitted to the city, the project had become “47 multi-family residential units.” See the documents in question below.
Residents have decried what many of them feel is a lack of transparency from the church and the developer concerning details of the apartment building. A community benefits agreement crafted by the KNO for the project has yet to be signed.
The agreement was created in accordance with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) best practices and guidelines, according to resident Ben Kaplan.
Sugarman said in a previous interview with Atlanta Civic Circle that the community benefits agreement was on the table, but would only be signed if the development moves forward. You can read the document below.
Other opponents have also questioned what they assert is a lack of transparency on the project from Dist. 5 City Councilmember Liliana Bakhtiari.
A series of emails obtained in an open records request by Kirkwood residents and shared with Rough Draft indicate that Bakhtiari was advised of the project by Sugarman in Spring 2024. However, in response to questions at public meetings in late 2025, Bakhtiari claimed to know very little about the project.
Bakhtiari said they would have no statement until after the zoning review board makes its decision.
Kaplan said he and many residents are in favor of supportive housing, but the perceived lack of impartiality and transparency from the involved parties has left homeowners on edge.
“Rezoning in Atlanta is a quasi-judicial process. It demands impartiality. The documented record raises serious questions about whether that impartiality existed here,” Kaplan said in a statement to Rough Draft.
“Additionally the KNO worked directly with the church on a restrictive covenant and proposed HUD best practices as the operational standard,” he continued. “The church walked away from their own process the moment accountability was required. The community deserves a process that is transparent, fair, and above reproach. This one wasn’t.”
Rough Draft notes that the General Assembly amended Georgia’s Zoning Procedures Law, including O.C.G.A. § 36-66-3, in 2022 to clarify that zoning decisions are classified as legislative processes.
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated with additional information received by Rough Draft to clarify the originally proposed permanent supportive housing (PSH) component of the project and the nature of the community benefits agreement presented to Turner Monumental AME Church and the developer. Documents related to the project have also been added for public review and clarity.
