Why this one site matters

According to the AJC, Digital Realty wants to convert the vacant former printing press property into a 282,000-square-foot facility it describes as a data exchange, along with about 35,000 square feet of retail. The company has said the location matters because it wants to stay close to its downtown carrier hotel facilities and the fiber connections tied to them.

For neighbors who oppose the plan, that technical argument is not the main issue. The bigger question is whether a transit-accessible site in southwest Atlanta should be used for a data center at all. Opponents have argued the land is better suited for housing, mixed-use development, or other transit-oriented growth that puts more people and everyday activity near MARTA and the Beltline.

Why the proposal conflicts with Atlanta’s recent policy

Atlanta City Council approved two 2024 ordinances aimed at steering new data centers away from some of the city’s most valuable redevelopment areas. One created a city definition for data centers and barred them within 2,640 feet of high-capacity transit stops. Another prohibited them within the Beltline Overlay District.

The ordinance text shows those transit restrictions apply in the Adair Park and Historic West End special public interest district unless a site-specific change is made. That is why this fight matters beyond one vacant building. The current legislation, listed by the city as 26-O-1097, is tied to an Adair Park SPI amendment rather than any citywide rollback of the 2024 rules.

What the NPU vote does, and does not, do

NPU-V covers Adair Park, Mechanicsville, Peoplestown, Pittsburgh, Summerhill and Capitol Gateway. Atlanta describes NPUs as citizen advisory councils that make recommendations to the mayor and City Council on zoning and land-use matters. In other words, the April 13 vote is influential, but it is not the final decision.

That distinction mattered at the meeting itself. As the AJC reported, NPU leaders noted that the body is recommending, not approving or denying the project outright. Still, neighborhood votes are one of the clearest public signals City Hall gets on land-use disputes, especially when a proposal asks for an exception to a policy the city adopted only recently.

What residents should watch next

The next meaningful step is the formal city review process, not the neighborhood vote alone. Atlanta’s zoning process typically routes rezonings and similar land-use cases through staff review and the Zoning Review Board before they reach the Council’s Zoning Committee and, ultimately, the full City Council.

For residents, transit riders, and nearby business owners, the central question is now straightforward: will Atlanta treat its 2024 data center restrictions as a firm policy for transit-rich land, or as a rule that can be bent parcel by parcel? What happens next at City Hall will say a lot about how seriously the city intends to protect land near MARTA and the Beltline for more people-focused development.

Sources

• AJC neighborhood vote report
• AJC project background report
• Atlanta City Council data center restrictions press release
• Ordinance 24-O-1222
• Atlanta City Council personal papers entry for 26-O-1097
• City of Atlanta NPU-V meeting and boundary page
• Atlantaga
• Atlantaga
• Citycouncil

Neighborhood Planning Unit V voted 105-87 on April 13 against endorsing legislation tied to a proposed Digital Realty data center at 713 Ralph David Abernathy Boulevard in Adair Park, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. That matters politically, but it does not end the case. NPU votes are recommendations, and the zoning item is still moving through the city process.

Why this site is drawing so much attention

The property sits in a transit-rich stretch of southwest Atlanta near the West End MARTA station and close to Beltline-connected neighborhoods. That has turned the dispute into a broader argument about what kind of development should claim one of the area’s larger redevelopment sites.

Opponents have argued that land this close to rail transit should stay available for uses that put more daily activity on the ground, such as housing, shops, or other neighborhood-serving development. Supporters have argued the project would bring investment to a long-vacant industrial property. The immediate city question is narrower: whether Atlanta should allow a data-center use on this parcel despite newer restrictions meant to steer such facilities away from transit-adjacent areas.

Where the case stands now

The active zoning item is Ordinance 26-O-1097, listed in Atlanta City Council records as an Adair Park SPI ordinance and routed through the zoning process. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that the measure would make Digital Realty’s proposal possible.

The next major public step is the Zoning Review Board. The city says the board considers rezonings and special use permits, weighs recommendations from the relevant NPU and zoning staff, and then sends its recommendation to the City Council’s Zoning Committee. From there, the full City Council has the final say on land-use legislation. The city’s current Zoning Review Board calendar shows May public-hearing dates, and the Journal-Constitution reported this case is expected to reach that stage in May before a possible City Council vote in June.

Why the 2024 rules matter

This is not a routine rezoning dispute. Atlanta spent much of 2024 tightening where data centers can go. City Council said Ordinance 24-O-1222 defined data centers in city code and prohibited them within 2,640 feet of high-capacity transit stops. Official city records also describe that ordinance as updating zoning tables in several districts, including SPI-21. A separate 2024 ordinance barred new data centers in the Beltline Overlay District.

That policy backdrop is why the Adair Park case is being watched beyond one parcel. If City Hall makes an exception here, residents and developers will read that as a signal about how firmly Atlanta plans to protect transit-adjacent land for other uses.

For residents, the practical takeaway is simple: the neighborhood body has formally opposed the proposal, but the decision is not final. The part to watch now is the zoning pipeline, especially the Zoning Review Board agenda, staff report, and any later City Council action on Ordinance 26-O-1097.

Sources

• Atlanta Journal-Constitution report on NPU-V opposition
• Atlanta Journal-Constitution background on the proposed Adair Park data center
• Atlanta City Council personal papers listing Ordinance 26-O-1097
• Atlanta Zoning Review Board process page
• Citycouncil
• Citycouncil
• City of Atlanta ordinance file for 24-O-1222 data-center restrictions