Note: The story has been updated to reflect additional comments from Atlanta Mission and South Downtown leadership. On Aug. 24, SoDo founders David Cummings and Jon Birdsong sat in front of a ballroom packed with Atlanta’s most powerful people. They had a simple plea: “I would love for Atlanta Rotary to make downtown one of […]
Tag: Development
Posted inDelaney Tarr
Developers, designers ask: Can Atlanta be a design city?
Maria Saporta finished the Atlanta Design Roundtable on Aug. 13 with a clear takeaway: “Good design has to come from the heart.” It’s the core of civic nonprofit Atlanta Way 2.0’s design roundtable series. Hosted by nonprofit and SaportaReport founder Maria Saporta, each event asks how Atlanta can become a city known for “good design.” […]
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The Mayor’s Office of Sustainability and Resilience hosts “Climate Resilient ATL” advisory board meeting
The City of Atlanta’s Office of Sustainability and Resilience (OSR) held an advisory board meeting on Aug. 18 with residents and local officials, including the city’s Chief Sustainability Officer Chandra Farley. With climate change impacting flooding in the city and major climate events becoming more frequent, local board meetings like this have become more important. […]
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‘Fully affordable’ housing development breaks ground along Beltline in Buckhead
On Aug. 4 a crowd of developers and community leaders broke ground on the Overlook at Garson, a new affordable housing development in Buckhead — and it sits alongside a future piece of the Beltline. The Overlook at Garson will be a mixed-use community with 130 units of affordable one- and two-bedroom homes, each priced […]
Posted inDelaney Tarr
SoDo is in full swing, but will it last?
It’s 10 a.m. on July 1 and Bottle Rocket Fine Food and Beverage is packed with rowdy soccer fans. They got an early start to the FIFA World Cup festivities. In the afternoon, England and DR Congo are set to face off at Mercedes-Benz Stadium down the street. The impending game has created an infectious […]
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Bezos Earth Fund gives $9.4 million to Park Pride for Four Corners Park redesign in Peoplestown
Peoplestown resident and unofficial mayor Columbus Ward remembers playing softball in a vacant lot as a kid. He also remembers when it became an official park, and the effort he joined in to keep the park from being demolished. For years, Ward and his community have pushed to give Four Corners Park more resources. Now […]
Posted inAtlanta Way 2.0
How Atlanta could combat climate-driven flash flooding
On May 20, a storm cell hit Atlanta, causing catastrophic flooding and extreme traffic congestion. With inches of water covering much of the Downtown Connector, commuters became stranded, and local waterways were filled with polluted runoff that killed an unprecedented number of fish. With many climate experts warning that flash flooding will only continue to […]
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Atlanta releases long-awaited audit of Tax Allocation Districts
A newly-released audit of the city’s tax allocation districts has three recommendations for the city as it plans to extend the TADs — and they’re all about transparency. It’s the latest in Atlanta’s ongoing TAD saga. Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens has spent months on a full-court press to renew six of the city’s eight tax […]
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Inside SoDo, Atlanta’s ‘once in a lifetime’ project
It’s the kind of project that happens once in a city’s lifetime. Ten city blocks, 58 buildings, 16 acres and one developer all working to revitalize a historic piece of downtown. South Downtown – nicknamed SoDo – is one of Atlanta’s most ambitious projects. Piece by piece, the development team aims to turn dilapidated storefronts […]
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Invest Atlanta greenlights $2 million for Andrew Young ‘peace institute’ in Vine City
On April 16, Invest Atlanta approved a $2 million Westside TAD grant for critical relocation work on the Vine City site of the planned Andrew Young International Institute for Peace and Reconciliation. It’s an essential step for the $100 million project. The grant will pay for the relocation of sewer overflow pipes on the property, […]
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Midtown Alliance unveils plans for ‘Midtown Green,’ a ‘layered civic landscape’
One year after announcing plans to purchase the long-vacant lot at 98 14th Street, the Midtown Improvement District unveiled its vision for “Midtown Green” at the annual Midtown Alliance Meeting. Despite the working project name, it’s no run-of-the-mill greenspace. The neighborhood coalition aims to turn the four-acre site into a park, public and performance space. […]
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Key Virginia-Highland strip set for multimillion dollar makeover
A key stretch of Virginia Highland commercial space is set for a makeover, according to early plans from Atlanta-based development company Third & Urban. The aptly named “Atkins Park Collection” includes 61,120 square feet of retail along North Highland Avenue in the Atkins Park area. Third & Urban began acquiring buildings in 2024, and now […]
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CAP rebrands as Downtown Atlanta, Inc. at annual meeting
“Downtown Atlanta is back, y’all.” Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens declared the urban core’s revival at the largest-ever annual Central Atlanta Progress and Atlanta Downtown Improvement District meeting and awards celebration on Mar. 11. The annual meeting came with plenty of updates about the state of downtown Atlanta, and one major announcement: The group known as […]
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The Center for Civic Innovation brings the TAD talk to new series of town halls
Are Tax Allocation Districts the key to solving Atlanta’s economic mobility issues? Or are they the force behind inequality itself? Well, the answer depends on who you ask. But the questions are core to the looming debate around Tax Allocation Districts (TADs) as the mayor’s office tries to extend the city’s eight existing TADs until […]
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Five years in Pittsburgh Yards is still fighting displacement
Five years ago, Pittsburgh Yards launched with an ambitious mission: create a community center and “job hub” to promote economic development for the city, and do it without displacing the neighborhood. Atlanta is no stranger to big, job-oriented development. As the World Cup looms closer, nearby neighborhoods like Downtown are getting major investment. Centennial Yards […]
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Atlanta Medical Center demolition kicks off with a bang
The Atlanta Medical Center is officially coming down. On June 30, Wellstar Health System and Integral Group kicked off exterior demolition of the long-standing hospital with a “symbolic” teardown of the Parkway Drive NE entrance. At the end of a public ceremony the crowd waved flags to kick off the work of an excavator and […]
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Exclusive: Photos inside demolished Atlanta Medical Center
Days before developers kicked off the exterior demolition of the long-shuttered Atlanta Medical Center, SaportaReport was given an inside tour of the property’s intact and cleared-out interiors. Integral President of Urban Program Management Eric Pinckney and Atlanta Demolition executive Barry Roberts led the tour on June 26 alongside Ferma Corp. officials and amid demolition workers. […]
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Neighbors opposed to Amsterdam Walk project are primed for City Council meeting
Residents near Amsterdam Walk say they’re prepared to speak out against a large-scale redevelopment project during Monday’s Atlanta City Council meeting. While public comment rules limit what they can say, they plan to make their concerns clear, warning that the proposed redevelopment plans by Portman Holdings are too large for the surrounding neighborhood and would […]
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Roswell OKs $15M deal for parking deck to keep Canton Steet a destination
Roswell has signed a construction team to build its long-anticipated parking deck, which is part of an effort to keep pace with neighboring cities in attracting dining and entertainment. The north Fulton City awarded a nearly $15 million contract to Winter Construction to build the Green Street Parking Deck. The triangular site is located at […]
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Invest Atlanta meeting tackles West Midtown closures, Beltline fears and Amsterdam Walk
The Invest Atlanta board addressed a list of concerns at a Feb. 20 meeting, including a roster of restaurant closures in West Midtown, funding fears for the Beltline and transparency on an upcoming Amsterdam Walk development. More than a dozen restaurants in West Midtown have shuttered in recent months. In January, eight establishments shut their […]
