Rangewater Real Estate, Nippon Steel Kowa Break Ground on 274-Unit Ellory House at Atlanta's Lulah Hills

Rangewater Real Estate and first-time U.S. development partner Nippon Steel Kowa Real Estate Co., Ltd. broke ground Oct. 13 on Ellory House, a mixed-use project with 274 apartments and 39,000 square feet of retail at Lulah Hills, the 78-acre redevelopment of the former North DeKalb Mall in Decatur, Georgia.

Ellory House is the latest component of the Lulah Hills district to move into construction. EDENS, a national developer with regional headquarters in Atlanta, is master developer of the project.

Ellory House Project Details

The project is planned at 2042 Lawrenceville Highway, near the intersection of Lawrenceville Highway and North Druid Hills Road. It will front Lulah Avenue, the planned main street of Lulah Hills, and sit across from Lemon Park, the development's largest greenspace. Rangewater Real Estate representatives said the goal is to place apartment residents within steps of social areas, dining and retail. Planned resident amenities include an outdoor pool, fitness center and lounge.

Nippon Steel Kowa Real Estate described Ellory House as its first rental-housing development project in the United States, making the deal an entry into the Atlanta multifamily market.

Ellory House will be Atlanta-based Rangewater Real Estate's 31st development deal in the metro area. The firm's other recent projects include Camino in Doraville, The Vivian along the Beltline's Southside Trail, and the 21-acre The Greene in Gwinnett County.

Brian Oates, Rangewater's executive managing director of development, called Lulah Hills "one of the Atlanta region's most exciting developments" and predicted Ellory House "will set the standard for walkable, high-quality infill development in this market," according to the project announcement.

Lulah Hills Redevelopment Progress

Lulah Hills calls for 2.5 million square feet of new development. The program includes 92 for-sale townhomes built by Empire Homes (formerly Empire Communities), roughly 1,700 to 1,800 multifamily units, about 320,000 square feet of retail, restaurant and entertainment space, and 2 acres of public greenspace.

EDENS began demolition at the former mall in summer 2024 and acquired the property in 2021, a year after the mall closed. North DeKalb Mall opened in 1965 as the first fully enclosed mall in metro Atlanta, at the intersection of North Druid Hills Road and Lawrenceville Highway. Several buildings have since been erected, including an anchor space for Publix that is set to open in the spring. A Marshalls and an AMC movie theater remained in place and are operating, and Refuge Coffee opened in July in a former fuel station at 3861 North Druid Hills Road.

Crescent Communities began construction in December on Novel Lulah Hills, a six-story building with 303 apartments over retail that includes Anthropologie, at the end of Lulah Avenue.

Other signed tenants include Design Within Reach, Herman Miller, Solidcore, Firepit Pizza Tavern, Honeysuckle Gelato, Les Mains Nail Bar, LaserAway and Foxtail Coffee. L.L. Bean announced in July that its first Georgia location, a 15,000-square-foot store, is planned for Lulah Hills in 2028 as part of the district's second phase. Lulah Hills officials also announced the second inside-the-Perimeter location of Oaxacan-inspired restaurant Cuevacía, following its Colony Square site in Midtown, scheduled to open in late 2027. EDENS describes the broader retail and dining district as anticipating a 2027 opening.

"Eds and Meds" Corridor Location

Lulah Hills is positioned to capitalize on Atlanta's "Eds and Meds" corridor, a reference to nearby educational, medical and research institutions. They include the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Emory University and Emory Healthcare, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, Emory Decatur Hospital and the Veterans Affairs Hospital.

Market Context for Atlanta Retail and Multifamily

The retail component enters a tight Atlanta market. Metro retail vacancy was approximately 4.1% to 4.6% in the second quarter of 2026, with average direct triple-net asking rents of roughly $19.98 to $23.63 per square foot, up approximately 3.6% to 4.1% year over year. New retail construction was about 0.2% of existing inventory, with most active projects tied to build-to-suit or substantially pre-leased neighborhood centers.

The Atlanta multifamily market, by contrast, is absorbing a substantial wave of recent apartment deliveries, and mid-2026 market commentary described the sector as focused on integrating newly delivered inventory. Ellory House's placement within a walkable mixed-use district near major institutional employers is intended to differentiate it from conventional suburban apartment supply.

Outlook

With Ellory House, Novel Lulah Hills and the Publix anchor under way, Lulah Hills is moving from demolition and site preparation into multi-phase vertical construction. Ellory House is a ground-up development rather than a property transaction.

Sources

• EDENS: Next section of North DeKalb Mall's replacement officially a go