The Tax Allocation District (TAD) is one of the most popular economic redevelopment tools in the City of Atlanta — one that helped finance the redevelopment of Atlantic Station as well as hundreds of projects throughout the city. In December 2024, the Atlantic Station TAD was shut down because it had lived up to its […]
Author Archives: Maria Saporta
Maria Saporta, executive editor, is a longtime Atlanta business, civic and urban affairs journalist with a deep knowledge of our city, our region and state. From 2008 to 2020, she wrote weekly columns and news stories for the Atlanta Business Chronicle. Prior to that, she spent 27 years with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, becoming its business columnist in 1991. Maria received her Master’s degree in urban studies from Georgia State and her Bachelor’s degree in journalism from Boston University. Maria was born in Atlanta to European parents and has two young adult children. She launched SaportaReport in February 2009.
Posted inLatest News
Fulton County puts off decision to withdraw from Westside TAD
It was a close call for the City of Atlanta and its Westside developments.A resolution introduced by Fulton County Commissioner Bob Ellis called for the county to no longer participate in new projects in the city’s Westside Tax Allocation District (TAD). After a long debate, the commission voted unanimously at its July 9 meeting to […]
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Wellstar Health System has selected a new CEO
Ketul Patel has been named as the next president and CEO of Wellstar Health System, succeeding Candice Saunders, who has served in that role since 2015 and announced in January her intention to retire. Patel will begin his role as Wellstar’s CEO in late October. Patel currently serves as chief executive officer of Virginia Mason […]
Posted inMaria's Metro
No easy fixes to connect passengers between International Terminal and MARTA
Last month I wrote a column about the inconvenience that arriving international passengers face when trying to access MARTA at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. The column, “Atlanta can improve interconnectivity between the airport’s International Terminal and MARTA,” suggested potential ways to fix what one can best describe as a clumsy connection today. The existing Atlanta International Shuttle […]
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Slow down with the wrecking ball; save the most historic Georgia Baptist hospital building
It’s so Atlanta to celebrate the demolition of history. Such was the case Monday afternoon when various VIPS, including Atlanta City Council President Doug Shipman (a stand-in for Mayor Andre Dickens) and various dignitaries with Wellstar Health System and the Integral Group, gathered at the site of the former Georgia Baptist Hospital (the now-vacant Atlanta […]
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Andre Dickens to ACP: City tax increase likely within the next few years
The City of Atlanta is facing a budget crunch, and it likely will need to pass a property tax increase within the next several years to be able to provide ongoing services to a growing population. That was part of the message Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens shared with the influential Atlanta Committee for Progress at […]
Posted inMaria's Metro
Atlanta Rotary seeking to engage people with the spirit of the ‘Atlanta Way’
The Atlanta Way took the spotlight at the June 23 meeting of the Rotary Club of Atlanta. In many ways, it was a coming home. The Atlanta Rotary has been a galvanizing force of bringing the community together for decades. It was on Sept. 20, 2021, when two Rotarians – Egbert Perry and Larry Gellerstedt […]
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ARC convening inaugural Regional Assembly of Public Officials
For the first time ever, the Atlanta Regional Commission will convene the mayors, city council representatives and county commissioners from the 11-county region. The all-day Regional Assembly of Public Officials will be held June 26 at the Cobb Galleria Centre in Cobb County. The event will bring together elected leaders from 76 cities and 11 […]
Posted inMaria's Metro
Atlanta can improve connectivity between airport’s International Terminal and MARTA
One of Atlanta’s greatest selling points is that MARTA has a station inside Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. Collie Greenwood, MARTA’s general manager, touted the service in a recent press release discussing preparations for the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup matches. “MARTA is one of the only transit systems in the world that offers direct access to the […]
Posted inColumns
Save 148 Edgewood for history’s sake
It happened once before. It can happen again. Georgia State University announced plans in 2014 to tear down the historic Bell buildings on its campus as part of its master plan to transform the area east of Woodruff Park. The plans called for turning the site along Auburn Avenue into a surface parking lot. But […]
Posted inColumns
Enough already! We need to preserve our city’s trees
It is maddening to be a tree lover in Atlanta. Everyone in leadership claims to want to protect Atlanta’s trees. But when it comes time to take a stand and actually pass a new tree protection ordinance, leaders respond by delaying or diluting a proposed tree ordinance. This is not new. Since 2014, Atlanta has […]
Posted inMaria's Metro
A $9.6 million campaign to make Chattahoochee Nature Center more inviting
The Chattahoochee Nature Center (CNC), a focal point to invite people to experience the natural environment and the Chattahoochee River, has launched a $9.6 million capital campaign to make the center even more welcoming. The campaign will fund several projects to make CNC more open and more inviting to both young people and adults. “This […]
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U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock: ‘Uncertainty is never a friend of business’
At the weekly Rotary Club of Atlanta luncheon May 19, U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock provided an alternative voice to many of the policies being pushed by the “trifecta” of Republican power in Washington. Warnock said he is “deeply concerned” about a number of those policies, including cuts to the Atlanta-based Centers of Disease Control and […]
Posted inMaria's Metro
Atlanta’s dean of global health Bill Foege celebrated for his contributions
MAP International held the annual Bill Foege Global Health Awards May 15. Much to the delight of those attending the event at the Delta Flight Museum, Bill Foege was a featured guest. Foege, 89, picked Atlanta to be his home 65 years ago because it was the home of the federal Centers for Disease Control […]
Posted inMaria's Metro
Pat Mitchell on Sundance Film Festival: “Atlanta was a serious contender”
Atlantan Pat Mitchell has been part of the Sundance Institute and the Sundance Film Festival for decades. Mitchell joined the board in 1994 after getting to know Robert Redford when she was working on a documentary series about native Americans for Ted Turner. Redford asked her to join the Sundance board, and she served as […]
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YWCA Greater Atlanta reaches $19.5 million goal
The YWCA Greater Atlanta, founded at Spelman College in 1902, just celebrated one of its most eventful weeks ever. Danita Knight, president and CEO of the YWCA Greater Atlanta, announced it has raised its goal of $19.5 million to renovate the Phillis Wheatley YWCA on the Westside, a project that’s been years in the works. […]
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CCI’s Rohit Malhotra announces run for Atlanta City Council president
The race for Atlanta’s City Council President is becoming more competitive. Rohit Malhotra, the founder of the Center for Civic Innovation (CCI), is running for the office. He filed his paperwork on May 9, becoming the second candidate in the race. Atlanta City Council member Marci Overstreet announced she is running for the position in […]
Posted inMaria's Metro
Success on Sunset: restoring historic 220 Sunset for affordable housing
It was 2019, and the demolition permit had been issued. 220 Sunset Avenue — the apartment building developed by Rev. Maynard Jackson Sr. and where his family lived — appeared destined for the scrap heap. There was such history in the red brick building. The Jackson family lived on the top floor of the building, […]
Posted inMaria's Metro
New plan to enhance Piedmont Park will need our support
What an undertaking! The Piedmont Park Conservancy unveiled its new comprehensive plan on April 24 that will guide the future growth, maintenance and use of Atlanta’s signature green space. The 28th annual Landmark Lunch provided the venue of the “Big Reveal” with a keynote speech by Thomas Woltz, senior principal of Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects. […]
Posted inMaria's Metro
David Jernigan, diagnosed with ALS, leaving BGCMA on May 1
It was Nov. 21, 2024. David Jernigan bravely posted on LinkedIn that he had made the “difficult decision” to transition out of his role as president and CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta (BGCMA), a job he’s held for five years. He wrote: For several months, I’ve been experiencing challenges with […]
