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The Masquerade commits to Underground

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As published in the Atlanta Business Chronicle on October 20, 2017

Underground Atlanta’s first permanent tenant will be long-time Atlanta music venue The Masquerade.

The concert venue known for its three stages – Heaven, Hell and Purgatory – has signed a lease to stay at least 10 years at the downtown project.

The Masquerade had first moved to Underground last November. At the time, it was pegged as a temporary location after the venue had to leave its long-time home on North Avenue when that property was bought for redevelopment.

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Metro Atlanta Speaks: regional support for transit continues to grow

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Transit is becoming an easier sell in the Atlanta region.

That is the top finding from the 2017 Metro Atlanta Speaks – the fifth year that the Atlanta Regional Commission has commissioned a comprehensive survey of residents throughout the region. The results were to be released at the ARC’s State of the Region Breakfast on Friday morning.

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Underground Atlanta project progressing well, developer WRS says

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As published in the Atlanta Business Chronicle on October 20, 2017

Since buying Underground Atlanta last April, WRS Inc. has been moving forward with development plans for the property.

WRS is partnering with Peak Campus, a student housing developer, to build a 700-bed building across from Georgia State University. The building also will have about 25,000 square feet of retail at street level. The student housing development should be open by the fall of 2020 for that school year.

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Seeds planted at the Kendeda Fund’s Living Building launch at Georgia Tech

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n lieu of a traditional ground-breaking ceremony, Georgia Tech and the Kendeda Fund planted seeds Thursday to begin construction on what will be the most environmentally sustainable building in the Southeast.

The goal is for the Living Building at Georgia Tech will follow construction guidelines so it will do little to no harm to the environment by using the greenest building materials and by being  a net zero building in terms of energy and water use.

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Column: Atlanta Committee for Progress develops blueprint for next mayor

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As published in the Atlanta Business Chronicle on October 13, 2017

The high-powered Atlanta Committee for Progress has developed a blueprint for the city as a way to help provide a smooth transition for the next mayor.

ACP, which was created in 2003 by then-Mayor Shirley Franklin, includes many of the top business and civic leaders in the Atlanta region. It has helped launch a host of initiatives, including the Atlanta Beltline, acquisition of the Martin Luther King Jr. papers, pension reform and the Westside Future Fund.

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Atlanta Women’s Foundation raises $2 million at lunch with Madeleine Albright

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By Maria Saporta Two was the operative number for the Atlanta Women’s Foundation annual luncheon – Numbers 2 Big to Ignore – at the Georgia World Congress Center. The lunch itself raised more than $1 million, including on-the-spot pledges from dozens of women who raised their hands to make donations from $500 to $10,000. Kari […]

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GRA Study: State needs to increase research funding 

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As published in the Atlanta Business Chronicle on October 13, 2017

When Atlanta CEO Larry Gellerstedt recently met with 60 of Cousins Properties Inc.’s investors, he heard one message loud and clear.

“Don’t tell us about your airport,” they told him. “All we want to hear about is your university infrastructure.”

Gellerstedt recalled that exchange at the Oct. 5 quarterly meeting of the Georgia Research Alliance, a public-private partnership of top business leaders, presidents of the state’s research universities and key officials in state government. Gellerstedt also happens to be the current chairman of GRA.

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Column: MailChimp makes deep journey into community knowledge, philanthropy

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As published in the Atlanta Business Chronicle on October 6, 2017

When MailChimp first approached the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta to set up a “Community College” for its employees, the nonprofit kept sending the technology company to other possible partners.

“We kept pushing back,” said Alicia Philipp, president and CEO of the Community Foundation. “We don’t usually work with companies. We work with high net worth individuals and the community. This was not in our wheelhouse.”

But Lain Shakespeare, MailChimp’s director of corporate citizenship, would not take no as an answer. “My mission is to grow corporate citizens,” Shakespeare said. “The Community Foundation was the only choice for us.”

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Historic Adair School to be renovated into an affordable arts community

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By Maria Saporta An affordable arts community will be bringing new life to the historic George Adair School in the Adair Park neighborhood in southwest Atlanta. The Creatives Project, an arts nonprofit, has joined forces with local developers Stryant Investments and Building Insights Inc. to offer affordable housing to artists and people in the creative […]

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CNN’s Jeff Zucker: ‘Donald Trump has made American journalism great again’

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One outcome of President Donald Trump’s tirade against CNN and other news organizations is probably not the outcome the White House wanted.

Viewership is up at CNN and virtually all the cable news networks, according to Jeff Zucker, president of CNN Worldwide, who spoke at an Atlanta Press Club Newsmaker Luncheon Tuesday at the Commerce Club.

“Donald Trump has made American journalism great again,” Zucker told the audience of about 200 people.

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TransFormation Alliance picks Odetta MacLeish-White as its first executive

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 The push for greater equity in Atlanta received a boost with the naming of Odetta MacLeish-White as the first managing director of the TransFormation Alliance.

The Alliance is a collaboration of metro Atlanta organizations aiming to develop thriving, mixed-income communities anchored by transit – and ensuring that those investments are available to all residents.

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Atlanta-born Purpose Built Communities accelerates work revitalizing neighborhoods

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As published in the Atlanta Business Chronicle on October 6, 2017

OMAHA – Hundreds of people gathered from Oct. 2-4 here in the hometown of famed billionaire investor Warren Buffett to review the accomplishments of Atlanta-based Purpose Built Communities and preview its future efforts.

Buffett told the 500 attendees at the 8th annual Purpose Built conference how he was hesitant when Atlanta real estate developer Tom Cousins first approached him years ago to be an investor in the redevelopment of Atlanta’s East Lake community.

“I was skeptical, but you never want to underestimate Tom Cousins,” Buffett said. “He’s been going around like Johnny Appleseed… He has resurrected neighborhoods. There’s no one I would rather partner with.”

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Column: Honeywell’s executive chairman sings Atlanta’s praises on visit

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As published in the Atlanta Business Chronicle on Sept. 29, 2017

Dave Cote, executive chairman of Honeywell, would like to see Amazon come to Atlanta.

A year ago, Honeywell announced that it was establishing a state-of-the-art Software Center in Atlanta near Georgia Tech. It also has located its recently formed Home and Building Technologies business in Atlanta. The company is expected to employ more than 730 software-focused employees by 2021.

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Morehouse College names Harvard’s David Thomas as its 12th president

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When David A. Thomas was 10 years old, his ambition was to attend Morehouse College.

On Sunday, the board of trustees of Atlanta-based Morehouse College named Thomas the 12th president of the prestigious historically-black institution.

Thomas comes with a 30-year academic background working for Ivy League institutions. He currently is the H. Naylor Fitzhugh Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School, a position he’s held since January.

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Oglethorpe University launching business school with $50 million gift

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As published in the Atlanta Business Chronicle on Sept. 29, 2017

Oglethorpe University will receive a $50 million gift from alumnus Bill Hammack to establish a business school.

The gift is 10 times larger than the biggest gift the university has ever received – $5 million from the Robert W. Woodruff Foundation. It also is 20 times larger than the biggest individual gift the university ever received – $2.5 million from Ann and Tom Cousins, a donation made in 2017.

The new business school, which will open in the fall of 2019 within the liberal arts college, will be called the Q. William Hammack Jr. School of Business. It will be housed in the new Center for Science and Innovation, which also will open in the fall of 2019. Hammack already had signed on to give the new Center $2 million.

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MARTA Chair Robbie Ashe: Search for MARTA CEO will be ‘a fair fight’

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As the American Public Transportation Association is holding its Expo in Atlanta this week, there is much chatter among professionals about who might become the next CEO of MARTA.

But Robbie Ashe, chairman of the MARTA board, did dispel one rumor – that a possible candidate could be Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, whose two terms as mayor will end in January.

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