Unique buildings can fall to a common fate: demolition by neglect
Author Archives: John Ruch
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An experimental ‘tiny houses’ neighborhood debuts in Clarkston
An experiment in the “tiny house” movement has begun in Clarkston, where a micro-development called the Cottages on Vaughan was scheduled to celebrate a ribbon-cutting July 17. The Cottages is a mini-neighborhood of eight tiny houses, all around 500 square feet or less, arranged to face each other across a common lawn with edible plants […]
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Pioneering study of Atlanta’s LGBTQ+ history will inform preservation efforts
Historic Atlanta, Inc. has secured the money needed to begin a pioneering study of the city’s LGBTQ+ history, an effort that will lead to preservation efforts like landmarking and listings on registers of historic places. And while that’s a big step for an organization founded to expand the definition of “historic,” it’s just a start. […]
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Fulton Development Authority gains support for self-reforms and a new member
The scandal-plagued Development Authority of Fulton County board gained much support for its self-reforms — and a new member, the mayor of Johns Creek — from county commissioners July 14, while two proposed new regulations of its work were tabled. Commissioner Lee Morris, who proposed those regulations and has called for the end of the […]
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How Atlanta might — and might not — share its controversial public safety training center
While controversy rages about Atlanta’s plan to build a public safety training center on a site pegged for parkland, Fulton County is quietly working on a similar center of its own in an industrial area — and says it talked with the city about a possible team-up. As opponents of the Atlanta plan agitate for […]
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Fulton Development Authority chair resigns from controversial dual job as executive director
The Development Authority of Fulton County’s board chair has announced his resignation from his controversial dual role as the DAFC’s interim executive director, calling it “a political and a public distraction.” Michel “Marty” Turpeau says he will leave the executive director position at the scandal-plagued DAFC by Aug. 31 and expects a permanent replacement to […]
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Johns Creek mayor pledges to be reformer if named to Fulton Development Authority board
Johns Creek Mayor Mike Bodker is pledging to be a reformer of the scandal-plagued Development Authority of Fulton County if his nomination to a seat on its board is approved by county commissioners July 14. “I believe in the mission of the DAFC and know that the mission can be accomplished with a board that […]
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Fulton commissioner files reform legislation for Development Authority while wishing for its end
In the wake of a financial scandal at the Development Authority of Fulton County, Fulton Commissioner Lee Morris has filed legislation aimed at reforming its board’s spending and transparency while wishing for even tougher action — including a criminal investigation and dissolving the authority. Commission Chairman Robb Pitts is backing Morris’s legislation, which is scheduled […]
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Atlanta cancels zoning hearings in over two dozen cases after public-notice mistake
The City of Atlanta abruptly canceled its July 8 zoning board hearings, forcing the deferral of over two dozen cases, due to an error in mailing legally required public notices to neighbors. Among the affected projects was a high-profile Buckhead condo development that is attempting to preserve a historic book bindery building — a case […]
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Xpress commuter bus service plans trip cuts, electric future
It’s good news and bad news for the state’s Xpress commuter bus service. The bad news: pandemic cuts of over 40% to the trip schedule likely will become the official new normal. The good news: millions in federal money to start shifting the fleet to electric buses. Xpress has long been a popular commuting option, […]
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In Rockdale transit master plan, The ATL’s chief sees his own commuting future
Shortly after my U-Haul and I blew into metro Atlanta from Boston in 2013, I was fortunate to quickly score a part-time job with a newspaper in Rockdale County. I made a weekday-morning trip to get acquainted with my new beat, and I was instantly charmed. Conyers, the southeast metro county’s one and only city, […]
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Atlanta city clerk to halt removal of candidates’ info from documents after legal questions
The Atlanta Municipal Clerk’s office for years has redacted the contact information of political candidates from campaign finance documents in an online database, a practice one open-records expert called unlawful and defeating the purpose of transparency. In response to SaportaReport questions about the practice, Municipal Clerk Foris Webb III says the redactions will be halted […]
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Downtown’s historic Rose House mansion gets a new owner who promises restoration
A 120-year-old Victorian mansion that is a long-endangered historic gem of Downtown Atlanta may have a new owner who is pledging to restore it for future glory. The Rufus M. Rose House at 537 Peachtree St. is under contract to be bought for $1.65 million by UC Asset LP (also known as UCASU), a Chamblee-based […]
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Atlanta BeltLine Inc. kicks off planning for ‘affordable’ future of Bankhead site
Atlanta BeltLine Inc. says it will spend the next 18 months coming up with a community-informed plan for the 31-acre Bankhead property it recently bought to catch up on its unfulfilled promises to create affordable housing. How affordable “affordable” might be remains a key question. The timeline and open-to-ideas approach to 425 Chappell Road were […]
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Working toward a ‘unified’ fare system for all metro Atlanta mass transit
Expansion of metro Atlanta’s mass transit deservedly gets a lot of attention, as getting people where they want to go remains alternative commuting’s biggest local challenge. Less glamorous, but nearly as important, is making it easy for riders to pay for and transfer between the metro’s many transit services, from local shuttles to MARTA’s rail […]
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Emory graduate student housing plan raises traffic, historic preservation concerns
An Emory University proposal for a three-building graduate student housing complex on its Druid Hills campus is raising concerns from traffic to historic preservation — including the impact on one of the oldest houses in DeKalb County, which the university may demolish or move down the street. Sketched out as housing 1,000 students and a […]
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Buckhead resident joins mayoral race amid cityhood debate
In a mayoral campaign year where the Buckhead cityhood movement has become a major issue, the race finally has a candidate from that neighborhood — one who previously backed the separation in online comments saying locals should let the rest of Atlanta “burn to the ground.” Robert “Bobby” Wilkes, a real estate investor and former […]
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Fulton Development Authority’s hiring of lobbyists is questioned
The Development Authority of Fulton County is spending $5,000 a month on government lobbyists, a service some similar metro authorities don’t use. Until very recently, those lobbyists included a firm owned by the mayor of Sandy Springs that previously paid consulting fees to longtime DAFC board chair Bob Shaw — a situation one ethics watchdog […]
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Georgia ranked No. 38 among states on child well-being heading into pandemic crisis, report says
Georgia ranked in the bottom 13 of the 50 states on key child welfare measures heading into the pandemic, according to the 2021 edition of the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s “KIDS COUNT Data Book” report. While No. 38-ranked Georgia and the nation still showed improvements on most measures, policy changes are needed to make sure […]
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Henry County will soon propose public transit expansion in 30-year plan
Henry County has a perfect recipe for traffic: a booming population, rapidly expanding urban areas, and public transit commuting rates under 1%. Now the southeast metro county is prepping a 30-year Transit Master Plan that is close to proposing specific expansion ideas in advance of a November sales-tax ballot question that could start funding some […]
