Category: David Pendered

By David Pendered

The Colorado governor headlined an entourage that met Friday with local elected officials who are working to win passage of a 1-percent sales tax to pay for road and transit projects.

The Denver delegation advised their Atlanta-area counterparts to run a transparent process, educate voters, and campaign with persistence. They said that was their formula for success with a 2004 transportation sales tax referendum.

Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper predicted metro Atlanta voters will approve the proposed sales tax by a 55-45 margin.

By David Pendered

Thank you, Susan Mendheim.

That was the message delivered with a standing ovation at the retirement celebration Wednesday for the outgoing president and CEO of Midtown Alliance.

Actually, the full accolade for Susan McNeill Mendheim came from from Harald Hansen, the retired chairman and CEO of First Union National of Georgia and a director of Midtown Alliance:

“Thank you so much for the many things you’ve done for Midtown. Thank you for so many things you’ve done for us.”

By David Pendered

Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed announced today the city’s development arm will be headed by a man who now works in President Obama’s administration.

Reed named Brian McGowan, who now is a deputy assistant secretary/COO in the U.S. Department of Commerce, Economic Development Administration, as president and CEO of the Atlanta Development Authority.

In choosing McGowan, Reed passed over longtime ADA executive Ernestine Garey, who now serves as the ADA’s interim president. The third finalist for the job was Daniel Gundersen, who formerly served as New York’s commissioner of economic development and has White House connections.

By David Pendered

In the end, the Atlanta City Council voted Monday to recognize two of Atlanta’s ambassadors to the world – civil rights leader Xernona Clayton and architect John Portman.

The debate over the public honoring of two individuals who helped raise the city’s profile has raged since January. A city that has rarely hesitated to wipe its physical slate clean balked at renaming two downtown streets for Clayton and Portman.

The solution approved Monday provides for Clayton to be recognized by having street toppers with her name applied to the signs on a portion of Baker Street. Portman will be honored with the actual renaming of a portion of Harris Street.

By David Pendered

How would you define the culinary culture of the South?

Would entrees be shrimp and grits? Neckbones? Meatloaf? Fried chicken? Fried tempeh encrusted in peppercorns? Giblets and rice? Maybe a chili cheese dog?

A section committee comprised of airport executives will make this determination this summer when it recommends the hiring of companies to reshape the multi-billion-dollar food and beverage concession business at Atlanta’s airport.

Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed and the Atlanta City Council will make the final determination of what constitutes Southern food when they approve concessions contracts that will last at least a decade.

By David Pendered

The enthusiasm of some Atlanta residents to weigh in on the rezoning of Fort McPherson once the Army vacates the property on Sept. 15 is just a bit premature, the man overseeing the process said Friday.

The conversation about rezoning Fort McPherson arose this week at Atlanta City Hall, a month before the city’s rezoning process is to begin. Civic advocates used a presentation of the official redevelopment plan to deliver their alternate ideas for redeveloping the 488-acre parcel located between Downtown Atlanta and the airport.

The group included influential speakers such as Sen. Vincent Fort, a Democrat who represents the area; Michael Dobbins, the city’s former planning director who now teaches at Georgia Tech; and Deborah Scott, the executive director of Georgia Standup who led the battle to ensure that affordable housing is provided in tax-subsidized developments along the BeltLine.

By David Pendered

The concessions industry is struggling to get its head around Atlanta’s novel approach to establishing new food and beverage businesses at the airport.

Companies seeking contracts want the city to be more specific than it has been in telling companies precisely what concept Atlanta wants at each of the 100-plus food and beverage shops that will be created.

The city responded Thursday by issuing a host of amendments to its original, April 5, request for proposals for concession businesses.

By David Pendered

MARTA is slated to show off its Buckhead Station Wednesday to companies that want a piece of its $13 million to $14 million renovation.

MARTA intends to build a north entrance and pedestrian bridges that will link the northern end of the station platform with land on both sides of Ga. 400, according to pre-bid documents posted online by the transit agency.

MARTA has always intended for its Buckhead Station to be better connected than it is with the surrounding neighborhood. Of all the MARTA stations, Buckhead Station is uniquely poised to serve tony travelers arriving at Atlanta’s airport with reservations at a top-end hotel in Atlanta’s best address for shopping, dining and office.

By David Pendered

The power of Atlanta’s tradition of building a team to achieve a big public dream was underscored Tuesday by a federal cabinet member speaking at the Carter Center.

If there had been a regional group working on the foreclosure crisis last year, the region would have been more competitive to receive some of the $1.93 billion awarded in 2010 to contend with the foreclosure problem, according to U.S. Secretary Shaun Donovan, of the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Metro Atlanta now has such a consortium – the Piece by Piece initiative that includes more than 140 regional and national partners who collaborate with guidance from the Atlanta Neighborhood Development Partnership, Inc.

By David Pendered

Imagine being served nice food and drink for a fair price in a cutting edge facility at Atlanta’s airport.

This is the vision of prime operators such as Delaware North and other big firms. They all are vying for a piece of the lucrative food and beverage concessions contract at the world’s busiest passenger airport – Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed’s administration has created a novel approach to sign vendors and boost local businesses in order to foster this high level of customer care. The new program is said to be the first of its kind at domestic airports and results are due in six weeks.

By David Pendered

Heather Alhadeff glanced at the half-empty room and asked the obvious question no one had raised.

“Where is everyone? I thought there would be standing room only,” said Alhadeff, a transportation planner with Perkins + Will.

About 40 folks had gathered Friday morning for a Southface program about pedestrian safety near transit stops. The light turnout does not bode well as the region shapes a debate on all forms of mobility in advance of the 2012 vote on a penny sales tax for transportation improvements.

By David Pendered

Fulton County wants to find more effective ways to combat teen dating violence.

The county’s Board of Commissioners voted Wednesday to apply for a $1.75 million grant to address the problem. The phenomenon has become so prevalent that it’s been targeted by Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard.

“We are happy to work with the Fulton County commission, and any other entities that are focused on eradicating this problem, as we continue to see incidents of young people who are injured – or killed – as a result of dating violence,” Howard said Wednesday.