ATLANTA, Oct. 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Radnor Property Group, in partnership with Madrone Community Development Foundation, joined Mayor Andre Dickens of the City of Atlanta, Morehouse College, Spelman College, and civic leaders to celebrate the groundbreaking of The Den at Eight50 West: a transformative $147 million student housing development in the West End neighborhood of Atlanta. The gathering marked a major milestone for the project, which is advancing high‑quality, accessible housing that will bring long‑term benefits and provide modern living to hundreds of Atlanta University Center (AUC) students.

“Today’s groundbreaking represents a historic milestone in this first-of-its-kind joint housing partnership,” said Tim Gigliotti, Managing Director of Development at Radnor Property Group. “We are honored to help bring this long-awaited vision to life as both colleges advance their missions to support campus and enrollment growth.”

The groundbreaking ceremony took place on the project site at 850 West End Avenue in Atlanta, steps from Morehouse and Spelman Colleges. Attendees included community members, civic leaders, Morehouse and Spelman leadership, and project partners.

“Atlanta has always been a city where excellence and higher education go hand in hand,” said Andre Dickens, Mayor of the City of Atlanta. “The influences of these HBCUs reaches into every corner of this city. The Den at Eight50 West is an investment for the next generation of graduates.”

“Meeting the evolving needs of our students requires innovative, forward-thinking solutions,” said Spelman College President Dr. Ayanna Howard. “The Den at Eight50 West reflects our Spelman Forward commitment to removing barriers to student success by fostering modern, supportive living spaces that allow our scholars to thrive both academically and in their overall well-being. Through this partnership alongside Morehouse College, we are not only broadening housing options for our campus communities, but we are also deepening our shared investment in the historic West End community we proudly call home.”

The Den at Eight50 West will deliver 793 beds across 305 apartment-style units. Amenities will include a 24/7 staffed lobby, outdoor recreation space, a fitness room, community lounges, bike storage, a dog run, and study rooms, with a careful blend of community-oriented and independent living styles. 

“The Den at Eight50 West reflects the value of partnership between Morehouse and Spelman and the broader AUC community,” said Morehouse College President Dr. F. DuBois Bowman. “At Morehouse, our responsibility is to create an environment that supports students’ success throughout their entire time at the college. Investments in student residential spaces foster academic, social, and personal growth, helping to support our mission of developing tomorrow’s principled leaders.”

Blair Tavenner, Chief Operating Officer of Madrone, said, “A project like this doesn’t happen because of one organization. It happens because a city, two distinguished colleges, and a team of builders and partners choose to say yes to the same idea, and kept saying yes through every meeting, every funding application, and every late-night revision. When these doors open, the students who move in won’t know about the zoning hearings or the financing deadlines. They’ll just know they have a safe, affordable place to call home. And that’s exactly how it should be.”

The development team includes Radnor Property Group as lead development partner, Clark Construction and CD Moody Construction in a joint venture as construction manager, Moody Nolan as architect, Pape-Dawson as civil engineer, and Radnor Campus Management, a joint venture between Radnor Property Group and COCM, as property manager. Construction on The Den at Eight50 West commenced in July 2026. It is expected to be ready for occupancy by Fall 2028. To learn more about The Den at Eight50 West, please visit the project website at www.TheDen850W.com.  

About Radnor Property Group
Radnor Property Group is a leading national real estate company with a focus in projects structured as public-private partnerships. The company specializes in the development of real estate and infrastructure assets, including student housing, workforce housing, mixed-use commercial, and campus utilities. Since its founding in 1999, Radnor has undertaken development projects cumulatively valued at over $4 billion. Radnor is headquartered in Philadelphia, with regional offices in Charlotte, North Carolina and Portland, Maine. For more information, visit radnorproperty.com.

About Morehouse College
Morehouse College is a private, historically Black liberal arts college in Atlanta, Georgia, and the nation’s only historically Black college dedicated exclusively to the education of men. Founded in 1867, the College has a long-standing reputation for developing leaders committed to scholarship, service, and social justice. Located within the Atlanta University Center Consortium, Morehouse shares a collaborative academic environment with Spelman College, Clark Atlanta University, and the Morehouse School of Medicine. The College’s mission is to develop men with disciplined minds who will lead lives of leadership and service. For more information, visit morehouse.edu.

About Spelman College
Founded in 1881, Spelman College is a leading liberal arts college widely recognized as the global leader in the education of women of African descent. Located in Atlanta, the College’s picturesque campus is home to 2,700 students. Spelman is the country’s leading producer of Black women who complete Ph.D.s in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). The College’s status is confirmed by the U.S. News & World Report, which ranked Spelman No. 34 among all liberal arts colleges, No. 34 for undergraduate teaching, No. 2 for social mobility among liberal arts colleges, and No. 1 for the 20th year among historically Black colleges and universities. Recent initiatives include a designation by the Department of Defense as a Center of Excellence for Minority Women in STEM, a Gender and Sexuality Studies Institute, the first endowed queer studies chair at an HBCU and a program to increase the number of Black women Ph.D.s in economics. New majors, minors and programs have been added, including documentary filmmaking and photography, refugee studies, gaming, and the first undergraduate cosmetic science program at an HBCU. Collaborations have been also established with MIT’s Media Lab, the Broad Institute and the Army Research Lab for artificial intelligence and machine learning, among others.

Outstanding alumnae include Children’s Defense Fund founder Marian Wright Edelman, former Walgreens Boots Alliance CEO Rosalind Brewer, political leader Stacey Abrams, Federal Reserve Governor Lisa D. Cook, former Acting Surgeon General and Spelman’s first alumna president Audrey Forbes Manley, Harvard University professor and former Dean Evelynn Hammonds, actress and producer Latanya Richardson Jackson, global bioinformatics geneticist Janina Jeff and authors Pearl Cleage and Tayari Jones.

To learn more, please visit spelman.edu and @spelmancollege on social media.

About Madrone Community Development Foundation
Madrone Community Development Foundation supports communities and institutions by providing essential facilities through public-private financing structures. Madrone is a public benefit corporation formed to lessen the burdens of government through providing educational, community, energy, hospitality, infrastructure and housing facilities. Headquartered in California, Madrone delivers facilities to sponsoring institutions across the USA. For more information, visit madronecdf.org.

Amelie Yeager, Radnor Property Group, ayeager@radnorproperty.com

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