Urban Renaissance Development is set to develop over 200 build-to-rent homes in what it deems the “long-overlooked” Atlanta University Center district via a multi-phase infill project. 

Atlanta-based Urban Renaissance, which bills itself as a team of professionals in the fields of real estate, research and finance, will bring townhomes, brownstones, flats and single-family homes to non-contiguous lots throughout the district, which is home to the historically black Clark Atlanta University, Spelman College, Morehouse College and the Morehouse School of Medicine.  

“We believe this will be the most meaningful non-contiguous infill development in the [Atlanta University Center] district in decades,” said URD co-founder Brian King, a finance and real estate investment professional who teaches real estate finance at Morehouse College. “Despite its rich heritage and significance to the black community nationwide, this area has been neglected long enough. It’s time to bring these empty lots back to life.”  

The district has lost almost 60% of its residents over the past 20 years, and about three-fourths of the lots are vacant or in disrepair, Urban Renaissance said in an announcement. Residences will be built with modular designs and off-site construction methods wherever possible to save time, cut costs and reduce waste and disruption on construction sites.