For decades, a south Atlanta flea market has helped thousands — probably millions — of knickknacks and hand-me-downs find new owners at cheap prices.
Now, the building itself is the focus of a secondhand sale to a developer looking to reuse the site for a new age.
New York-based Mural Real Estate Partners received support Wednesday from Atlanta’s economic development authority to acquire about 26 acres near Greenbriar Mall, including the longtime Discount Mall at 2975 Headland Drive SW. The developer is planning one of the largest projects in Atlanta’s Southside, a more than $500 million project centered on 1,000-plus apartments and 250,000 square feet of retail space.
Invest Atlanta approved a $5 million loan to help the developer purchase the site. Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said he’s excited for the property’s reinvention, even if he has fond childhood memories of Discount Mall.
“I used to like it as a kid because I could get cheap stuff in there for $5 or $10 — that could be good or bad,” he said with a laugh. “But this is the type of development that the community is desiring.”
The development first entered the public eye in December under the name “Project Nexus.”
The Development Authority of Fulton County gave preliminary approval to a $23 million tax break to support the project. At the time, most of its details were shrouded behind a nondisclosure agreement. But The Atlanta Journal-Constitution identified the Discount Mall site as the only property that fit the project’s description.
The property is split between the city limits of Atlanta and East Point. It features two shopping centers, Greenbriar Marketplace and Shoppes at Greenbriar, which Invest Atlanta staff described as underutilized.
Dickens, who serves as the chair of the agency’s board, said a more dense development would better serve the neighborhood.
“In today’s world, no one would want to have this,” he said. “(It’s) more parking lot than building — a single-story flea market essentially.”
Credit: Courtesy of Invest Atlanta
Credit: Courtesy of Invest Atlanta
Launched in 2022 by Robin Zeigler, Mural is a newcomer developer to Atlanta but has roots in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic, according to an Invest Atlanta fact sheet. Its Greenbriar proposal will be built across two phases and include 1,069 residential units, spanning studios to three-bedroom apartments.
The developer will reserve 15% of those apartments for residents making 80% or less of the area median income — presenting monthly rents between $1,506 and $2,236, depending on unit size.
Mural also committed to withhold a fifth of the development’s retail and commercial spaces at below-market-rate rents for local businesses. Both affordability commitments will last at least 15 years.
“There are some existing tenants that we intend to incorporate into the new project,” Zeigler told the board. “Which, frankly, if we keep their rents the same, it will be significantly discounted even beyond the 20%.”
Mural is set to soon go before the Local Initiatives Support Corporation Atlanta board for consideration of a $15 million loan to assist with site acquisition. Invest Atlanta’s contribution is funded through the Campbellton Tax Allocation District, charges 4.5% interest and will be retracted if the property isn’t bought within two years.
Mural’s development timeline is to complete phase one by the end of 2028 and the entire development by 2030.
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