Three men walked into a meeting — a preservationist, a developer and the head of a demolition company. The topic was the historic Georgia Baptist property, which is being redeveloped by the Integral Group. We met in the offices of Barry Roberts, founder and an executive of Atlanta Demolition, which is clearing the site of […]
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 inMaria's Metro
Home Depot CEO Ted Decker: ‘the founders were brilliant’
Thousands of Home Depot employees were busy volunteering their time on a myriad of projects across the country in honor of Veterans Day. At the Store Support Center, a corporate headquarters for most companies, hundreds of associates braved nearly freezing temperatures to build a variety of toy houses or to assemble bicycles and wagons for […]
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Metro Atlanta Chamber looks to 2026 FIFA World Cup as city’s next chapter
The location for the 2025 annual meeting of the Metro Atlanta Chamber played on the theme for this year — the College Football Hall of Fame. Multiple sports celebrities took the stage, all proclaiming Atlanta as a special place to live. There was Ryan Klesko, who played with the Atlanta Braves when they won the […]
Posted inColumns
Noah Glassman seeks to preserve and protect Amata – a beloved community
Walking around Amata, a property just west of the Lake Claire Community Land Trust along Nelms Avenue, feels as though one is stepping back in time to a place where people lived communally — in harmony with the environment and with each other. In truth, Amata embodies all the attributes the late husband-and-wife team, Norman […]
Posted inColumns
2025 OnBoard study finds little progress for women on Georgia’s corporate boards
The percentage of women on Georgia’s public company boards has steadily increased every year. Until now, that is. Women directors make up 27.4 percent of the state’s corporate board, virtually the same as 2024, when women held 27.2 percent of director seats. The 2025 OnBoard study also showed some backsliding of key metrics. OnBoard tracks […]
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MARTA may be moving its headquarters from Lindbergh area
MARTA is considering possibly moving its headquarters away from the Lindbergh Station area, where the transit agency has been located since the 1980s. MARTA is taking a serious look at a possible move, according to several people familiar with conversations that have been held with the transit agency. When asked about a possible move of […]
Posted inColumns
New partnerships needed to create a healthy Downtown and Atlanta region
Two events served as ideal bookends of how Atlanta is doing — good and not so good. Central Atlanta Progress held the “State of Downtown” breakfast on Wednesday Oct. 22 at the Commerce Club. Two days later, the “State of the Region” breakfast was held at the Georgia World Congress Center, also in the heart […]
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Tom Johnson: A man ‘Driven’ to make a difference
After 10 years of agonizing and reflecting over his incredible life, Tom Johnson has written his autobiography. Titled “Driven: A Life in Public Service and Journalism from LBJ to CNN,” the book details the ups and downs of his 84 years. “Driven” covers Johnson’s life — as a cub reporter for the Macon Telegraph, as […]
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What metro Atlanta can learn from Charlotte’s economic mobility story
Charlotte, N.C. — More than 100 people from around the country gathered in Charlotte on Oct. 7 to learn how they can improve economic mobility in their communities. Charlotte has emerged as a national model for tackling economic mobility issues, given its success as seen through the research of Harvard University’s Raj Chetty, founder of […]
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Blank Foundation makes historic $50 million grant to Atlanta HBCUs
Four of Atlanta’s Historically Black Colleges & Universities are receiving a $50 million boost from the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation. It is the largest gift Blank has made to higher education in Atlanta. In November 2019, Arthur Blank made a $50 million gift to his alma mater, Babson College, based in Wellesley, Mass., to […]
Posted inMaria's Metro
Atlanta-based Cortland caters to those who choose to rent rather than own
When looking for a name for his apartment development company, Steven DeFrancis turned to one of his favorite books, The Fountainhead, by Ayn Rand. The lead character in the book is architect Howard Roark, who strives to design a perfect multifamily community — Cortlandt. DeFrancis settled on the name Cortland, dropping the “t” to simplify […]
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Atlanta Committee for Progress selects its 2026 board chair
The 2026 chair for the Atlanta Committee for Progress (ACP) will be Andrew Schlossberg, president and CEO of Invesco, an Atlanta-based independent investment management firm. Kathy Waller, executive director of the highly influential business and civic group that advises Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, said Schlossberg will succeed Michael Russell, the CEO of H.J. Russell & Co., who is […]
Posted inMaria's Metro
Transit in Atlanta is at a crossroads
As Atlanta Beltline Inc. celebrates its 20-year anniversary, it is still up in the air on how the city will move forward to build out the vision for transit. The most tangible Beltline rail project is putting light rail on the Eastside Trail, extending the downtown streetcar to the Beltline and continuing the rail to […]
Posted inMaria's Metro
Shaky Knees at Piedmont Park: creating a city within the city
Moving the Shaky Knees Music Festival from Central Park in the spring to Piedmont Park in the fall went as smoothly as could be expected. Shaky Knees held its annual festival from Sept. 19 to 21 at Piedmont Park. Reading messages on Next Door and other social media apps, the level of outrage was minimal. […]
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Georgia Research Alliance celebrates 35 years at the Governor’s Mansion
For the first time in its 35-year history, the Georgia Research Alliance held its quarterly board meeting at the Governor’s Mansion on Sept. 18. Appropriately, the location meant the meeting was filled with reverence and symbolism. The meeting was unlike most GRA board meetings because it focused less on its operations and more on its […]
Posted inMaria's Metro
Expanded Civil Rights center reaffirms Atlanta’s role in the movement
When the National Center for Civil and Human Rights first opened in June 2014, Atlanta proclaimed its rightful place in history as a place that championed civil and human rights. The development of the Center helped solidify Atlanta’s identity on the global landscape. The National Center for Civil and Human Rights is undergoing a major expansion, […]
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Leadership transition at Atlanta-based Concessions International
Concessions International (CI), an airport concessions firm founded in 1979, will have new leadership beginning on Oct. 6. The company was founded 45 years ago by the late H.J. Russell and two business partners – Felker W. Ward Jr. and Jesse Hill Jr. In 1999, Russell bought out his two partners, and CI became totally […]
Posted inMaria's Metro
Biography of former U.S. Sen. Wyche Fowler offers lessons for today
One could spend all day listening to Wyche Fowler recount tales of his colorful life in and out of Atlanta, Washington, D.C. and Saudi Arabia. Fowler’s political and diplomatic career has spanned decades, starting with the civil rights era in Atlanta and the nation’s capital. Now, there’s a biography that chronicles his life, focusing primarily […]
Posted inMaria's Metro
Atlanta leaders exploring best site for new Amtrak station
All aboard! Let’s pick the best location for a new Amtrak station in downtown Atlanta. The Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) and the City of Atlanta have joined forces to conduct an in-depth $625,000 Passenger Rail Station Alternatives Study to determine where a new Amtrak station should be built in Atlanta. ARC, through federal funds, allocated $500,000 […]
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Goodbye print: AJC will cease printing the newspaper by 2026
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution will sunset its print publication by the end of the year, AJC Publisher Andrew Morse told staff members at a town hall meeting Thursday morning. It is the end of an era. Going back 157 years, the AJC, through its predecessor publications, has been delivering its news through an actual newspaper. As […]
