Construction is starting this month on a $147 million student housing development at 850 West End Ave. SW, after financing closed July 1. The project will add 793 beds on the edge of the Morehouse and Spelman campuses, directly across the street from Morehouse's B.T. Harvey Stadium.
The beds are grouped into 305 units ranging from studios to four-bedroom apartments, with amenities including an outdoor recreation space, fitness room, lounges, bike storage, a dog run, study rooms and a lobby staffed around the clock. Philadelphia-based Radnor Property Group announced the start on July 22.
The driver is enrollment. Nick Allen, Radnor's director of public-private partnerships and a partner at the firm, told the Develop Fulton board in January that enrollment across the two colleges had grown roughly 25% over five years, adding about 1,100 students. \"Our steadily growing student enrollment fuels our collective need for affordable, near-campus housing,\" said Undria Stalling, Morehouse's chief financial officer and senior vice president of business and finance, describing the project as an investment in the residential experience that feeds academic success and persistence to graduation.
The financing structure runs through the public side. The Development Authority of Fulton County, known as Develop Fulton, issued just under $147 million in tax-exempt and taxable bonds. Proceeds are loaned to a subsidiary of Berkeley, California-based Madrone Community Development Foundation, which has signed a 50-year lease with a joint venture entity between the two colleges. Morehouse and Spelman selected the development team, which pairs Radnor with Madrone.
Occupancy is expected by fall 2028. Allen has said rent would likely land near $1,200 per bed monthly, slightly below the metro Atlanta average for student housing. Other partners include Clark Construction and CD Moody Construction as a joint-venture construction manager, Moody Nolan as architect and Pape-Dawson as civil engineer.
Dawn Alston, Spelman's chief financial officer and senior vice president of business and financial affairs, framed it as a template: the partnership \"represents what is possible when mission-driven partners come together with a shared commitment to student success.\" For the West End, it means several hundred more residents within walking distance of the AUC and a short MARTA ride from downtown.
Original reporting: Atlanta Business Chronicle (2026-07-24)