Anybody who grew up around Decatur probably has a memory or two from North DeKalb Mall. The mall is gone now, and the land is turning into something a lot of people around here will be living in. The latest piece: Ellory House, a 274-apartment building that broke ground at Lulah Hills.
Atlanta-based RangeWater Real Estate and its partner, Nippon Steel Kowa Real Estate Co., announced the groundbreaking on Oct. 13 in a RangeWater news release. Along with the 274 apartments, the building will have 39,000 square feet of retail built into it.
Lulah Hills is a 73-acre mixed-use redevelopment of the former mall, led by EDENS, which is a co-sponsor of Ellory House. RangeWater says the building will sit directly on Lulah Avenue, the development's main street, across from Lemon Park, the biggest green space in the project. The idea is that people who live there can walk out the door to restaurants, shops and gathering spots.
The broader Lulah Hills plan includes 320,000 square feet of retail anchored by a grocery store, with for-sale and rental housing set along a walkable main street. RangeWater says EDENS is putting together a mix of local and regional restaurants and businesses, national retailers and a Publix.
"We are eager to bring this building to life within Lulah Hills, one of the Atlanta region's most exciting developments," said Brian Oates, RangeWater's executive managing director of development. "Ellory House and Lulah Hills will set the standard for walkable, high-quality infill development in this market."
Herbert Ames, a managing director at EDENS and its Southeast regional lead, called the partnership "an important milestone in the redevelopment of Lulah Hills."
Who's who
This is RangeWater's first development deal with Nippon Steel Kowa Real Estate and its 31st development in the Atlanta market, according to the company.
The press release didn't give a construction cost, a unit mix or an opening date for Ellory House, so those are still open questions.
RangeWater is selling the location partly on what's around it. The site sits in what the company calls Atlanta's "Eds & Meds" corridor, near Emory University and Emory University Hospital, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, Emory Decatur Hospital, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the VA hospital. That's a lot of nurses, researchers, techs and staff who might like a shorter commute. RangeWater also says the project answers growing demand for city-style convenience in an established suburban market, which is a fair description of what's happening all over DeKalb County.
The groundbreaking announcement did not name a general contractor for Ellory House, and neither did the other coverage we found. If you're hoping to bid this one, that's the first question to chase down.
Not the only crane on site
Ellory House isn't going up alone. Multi-Housing News reported that Crescent Communities broke ground on Novel Lulah Hills, a 303-unit apartment building, as the first vertical piece of the redevelopment, with Fortune-Johnson as general contractor and first move-ins expected in late 2027. Crescent is partnering with EDENS and NTT Urban Development on that six-story building, which the report said will have studios through three-bedroom apartments over 39,000 square feet of ground-floor retail. That same report put the full Lulah Hills plan at up to 1,800 homes.
So you've got at least two big apartment buildings, a Publix and a main street of shops all moving at once on one old mall property. Anybody who's worked a site like that knows what it means: a lot of trucks, a lot of coordination, and a lot of work for a lot of trades over the next few years.
Why it matters for Contractors
Mixed-use buildings with apartments over retail call for a big range of trades, from concrete and structural crews to framers, MEP subs, elevator installers, storefront and glazing contractors, and the finish trades who build out the restaurants and shops once tenants sign on. With several buildings rising at Lulah Hills at the same time, crews already working one site may find openings on the next one across the street. Since no general contractor has been named for Ellory House yet, keep an eye on RangeWater and EDENS for an announcement, and get your qualifications in front of whoever lands the job. Tenant fit-out work on that 39,000 square feet of retail could keep smaller commercial and interior contractors busy well after the apartments are framed.