Metro Atlanta’s prospects for winning Amazon’s second headquarters may have been dinged by a report from the Brookings Institution that highlighted the region’s comparative scarcity of college-educated millennials. Baltimore officials think their city may have lost out for that very reason.
Tag: Development
Posted inColumns
Overcoming the affordable housing funding challenge
By Guest Columnist MIKE DOBBINS, a professor of the practice of planning at Georgia Tech’s College of Design and and a longtime advocate for housing affordability
The city is making constructive strides toward addressing its ever-growing affordable housing needs. Researchers are pretty much in agreement that a stable, safe, and affordable home provides the fundamental and essential grounding for families to make their way into better education, improved health, higher incomes, and a quality of life that holds out hope.
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Amazon HQ2: Virginia county’s top LEED certification nets high readership from Amazon site
It’s not just tea leaves that folks are reading to guess where Amazon may locate its second headquarters. The folks at a news site in Arlington, Va. are tracking readers and found that a story about the county’s Platinum LEED certification drew high readership from a group believed to be Amazon insiders.
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Transit legislation: Rebrand MARTA, 50-cent tax on taxies, transit line to Braves stadium
Metro Atlanta residents are likely to see three changes fairly soon if state lawmakers vote for a hybrid of the two transit bills pending at the Capitol: MARTA vehicles and property may be rebranded; a new 50-cent tax could be applied to each trip in cab, limo or shared ride; and there may be a push for a sales tax in South Cobb County to provide a train, trolley or dedicated bus line to the Braves ballpark and nearby destinations.
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Final meetings on five library renovations in Atlanta; Central Library’s redesign continues quietly
The Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System has scheduled its final round of meetings to provide information about construction projects at seven library branches. Five branches in this round of renovation work are in Atlanta and construction on some is to begin in April.
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Georgia recognizes three companies for environmental stewardship
Two timber companies and Georgia Power were honored Wednesday by Gov. Nathan Deal for their environmental stewardship and land management practices. The Forestry for Wildlife Partnership recognizes the importance of private landowners in preserving the state’s wildlife and landscape.
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Struggle over East Atlanta development heads to Council committee
Atlanta’s Zoning Review Board voted a moment of relief to some of the folks in an East Atlanta neighborhood yesterday, when board members recommended the city deny a developer’s rezoning plan that envisions building 20 houses in a place known as “Ormewood Forest.”
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Atlanta receives $60 million to spur development, create jobs in low-income areas
Atlanta received more federal tax credits to spur development in the round of awards announced Tuesday than it did in the previous round, awarded in 2016. Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms heralded the latest award as one of the largest in the country.
Posted inColumns
Hollowell Parkway: Atlanta’s next possible development hotspot avoided fall into decay
When homebuyers start looking to purchase a place in the communities to be built over the next five years along Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway, they’ll discover a corridor that didn’t fall as far as some others and is already on a path toward recovery.
Posted inColumns
Atlanta’s Westside: Townhome project first to bring hope to blighted U.S. 78 corridor
The street frontage is less than 400 feet, but the transformational potential is enormous for a future townhouse development along Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway. This is the first major private investment west of the Mercedes Benz Stadium that isn’t part of the redevelopment program for stadium neighborhoods.
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Real estate disruptor expands in Atlanta, Gov. Deal cuts ribbon on new office space in Midtown
You know a disruptor is in town when Gov. Nathan Deal and the Metro Atlanta Chamber’s top leader cut the ribbon on an office leasing location that charges tenants as little as $250 a month. And so it was Monday morning, as WeWork opened the second Midtown location of a company backed by a recent $4.4 billion investment from a Tokyo-based tech and telecom firm.
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Metro Atlanta leaders react to Amazon choosing region for HQ2 shortlist
Metro Atlanta’s civic, business and elected leadership were among those who on Thursday expressed some strong reactions after learning Thursday morning that Amazon had included the region in its short list of 20 regions where the company’s second headquarters would be located. Here is a collection of the responses:
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Amazon puts metro Atlanta on short list for HQ2
Amazon has placed metro Atlanta on the short list of 20 cities it is considering as the site for its second headquarters, the company announced Thursday morning.
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DeKalb County’s foreclosure recovery program shows high returns from fairly small investments
The most eye-popping result of a DeKalb County program to address the devastating number of homes foreclosed amid the Great Recession is how much good can come from a relatively small investment.
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U.S. energy boom fuels demand for Cousins’ latest office tower, in Austin
Atlanta-based Cousins Properties announced Tuesday that it will develop in Austin an office tower that’s already fully leased. The announcement follows the company’s Jan. 4 reported closure of a $1 billion unsecured credit facility to help fund future investments.
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City seeks to demolish four houses along BeltLine as market doesn’t warrant their upkeep
Crytocurrency doesn’t have a thing on real estate along the Atlanta BeltLine when it comes to the adrenalin rush of speculative investing. The city’s proposal to demolish four derelict houses reminds of that, along with the tatty condition of some dwellings in BeltLine neighborhoods that are supposed to be poised for a gold rush.
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Georgia expanding cyber facility near Augusta as part of build-up by military, industry
Georgia’s role in enhancing the nation’s cyber security was underscored by the groundbreaking last week for the state’s second cyber range in Augusta. The expansion of the state’s footprint is underway as the U.S. Army is developing the Cyber Center of Excellence at nearby Fort Gordon and at least one industrial partner has built a cyber facility.
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Stonecrest to unveil guerrilla digital program on Wednesday to woo Amazon
The DeKalb County city of Stonecrest is doubling down Wednesday morning on its nationally recognized bid for Amazon’s second headquarters, with the unveiling of a guerilla campaign to deliver its marketing message directly to every mobile device in Amazon’s offices in Seattle.
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Buckhead CID’s executive director refutes parts of story about Ga. 400 park project
Jim Durrett, executive director of the Buckhead Community Improvement District, strongly refuted Tuesday the notion that plans are afoot to tax condo owners in Buckhead to raise money for a planned park above Ga. 400, as reported in SaportaReport. Durrett also said the park’s financial model has been made public.
Posted inColumns
Taxing condo owners in Buckhead to pay for a planned park to be built above Ga. 400?
As preparations advance for a park that’s to be built over Ga. 400 in Buckhead, indications are emerging that backers may ask the Georgia Legislature to authorize a new property tax on condo owners in Buckhead to help pay for the project – priced at $250 million and mounting.
