For too long, growth in the Atlanta region has translated to the clear-cutting of mature trees – undisputedly one of our greatest natural assets in Georgia.
It happened again in early February.
Several groves of mature oaks and magnolias in front of Piedmont Atlanta Hospital on Peachtree Road were cut down to make way for the new Piedmont Atlanta Hospital Tower.
Rental rates for newly built apartments in Buckhead and Midtown now exceed $2.60 a square foot, and a new report from CBRE says the demand exists to fill the units. Meantime, the report observes gentrification and rising prices are concentrated east of Midtown/Downtown.
The ongoing effort to shape the redevelopment of Memorial Drive received a shot in the arm from the Atlanta Regional Commission, which provided a grant to fund further studies through its Livable Centers Initiative.
The pending sale of Pullman Yard has elicited more than interest from developers and politicians. The sales process prompted the state to release a trove of information about the site – including the reason behind a fire that burnt a hole through a roof last summer.
Newark is the latest city to plan its version of the Atlanta BeltLine. This being New Jersey, the arc toward an alt-transit oriented greenspace flanked by mixed use development traveled some gritty ground.
Atlanta has a long tradition of being open to testing new ideas in urban planning. The latest project – preserving affordable housing – continues the city’s record.
The end of the battle over Adair Park Elementary School is in sight. The Atlanta City Council is slated to vote Feb. 6 to hand the deed over to the Atlanta Public Schools. Mayor Kasim Reed is expected to approve the deal.
Each in its own way, the three major construction projects Gov. Nathan Deal has proposed in Downtown Atlanta will increase the vitality of its surroundings and promote greater connectivity to people who have activities in the buildings.
The board of the United Methodist Children’s Home voted Tuesday evening to sell its 77-acre campus in Decatur and use the proceeds to expand services in DeKalb and Fulton counties, and across north Georgia.
Efforts to improve opportunities for disadvantaged businesses to get contracts from the Georgia Department of Transportation haven’t leveled the playing field, according to comments made at meetings held around the state in 2016.
Editor’s note: This is the first of two stories that will examine a disparity report prepared for Georgia’s Department of Transportation. Part 2: Business owners comment on GDOT’s current practices.
Georgia’s Department of Transportation could be deemed guilty of racial and gender discrimination when it comes to the purchase of goods and services, according to a little-noted disparity report delivered to GDOT in August 2016. The Equal Access Committee of GDOT’s board is to get an update on the report at its meeting Wednesday.
The burgeoning field of e-commerce is creating opportunities for new businesses and warehouses to handle the skyrocketing amount of items that buyers return, according to a new report by CBRE, a global real estate company.
The state’s plan to sell Pullman Yard without any requirements to preserve any of the 11 buildings or land has prompted the Kirkwood Neighborhood Association to begin an effort to have historic conditions applied to the property before it is sold.
A lawyer for the state issued a tersely worded letter to Atlanta regarding the city’s efforts to protect the historic buildings and site at the state-owned Pullman Yard. Atlanta was advised to drop its preservation effort, or expect to square off with the state and its backing from Georgia’s attorney general.
MARTA plans to begin the second phase of development at its Lindbergh Center Station in 2018 with a grand opening as early as 2020. Some buildings along Piedmont Road could be as high as 225 feet, or about 20 stories, under current zoning.
By Guest Columnist MELODY HARCLERODE, who promotes significant historical, cultural, and natural sites as an architect, non-profit consultant, and writer
The city of Atlanta receives much press as the financial, cultural, and transportation hub of the metropolitan area, yet small cities in this region also offer amazing stories for the public to appreciate. Consider the city of Lithonia, a town with approximately 2,000 residents covering a radius of one square mile of land north of I-20 and outside I-285.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated with new photos by Kelly Jordan.
Emory University’s plans to partner with a developer to reopen the Briarcliff Mansion, once home to a Coca-Cola heir, as a hotel and event facility were approved Dec. 15 by Georgia’s State Properties Commission, according to a report by emory.edu
Atlanta may be preparing to open a third front in its price war against skyrocketing costs for rental homes in the city. The target would be Georgia’s law that bans rent control.
Atlanta City Councilmember Keisha Lance Bottoms talked Tuesday about her mother closing her West End hair salon when faced with a rent hike. Bottoms told the story while asking the Atlanta City Council to create zones where tenants and owners can’t be displaced because of rising property values.
President-elect Trump’s plan to spur $1 trillion in infrastructure investment may coalesce just as the finishing touches are made to the proposal for a high-speed railroad to connect Atlanta and Chattanooga.
