Posted inDavid Pendered

Buckhead a study in contrasts: Mobility to improve as office market sags, construction slumps

Buckhead provides an interesting glimpse into the mixed bag that is metro Atlanta’s commercial real estate industry, a vital piece of the region’s economy.

The good news is two major transportation projects should improve access measurably in a region where prestigious buildings are surrounded by traffic congestion. One project involves MARTA’s Buckhead Station, while the other addresses the interchange of Ga. 400 and I-85.

The not-so-good news is the office market continues to drag. Buckhead was one of the region’s five submarkets that lost tenancy in fourth quarter 2012, though Buckhead showed an overall gain in the year, according to the latest vacancy report from Cassidy Turley, a commercial real estate services provider.

Posted inGuest Column

Hartsfield-Jackson provides runway for metro Atlanta’s growth

By Guest Columnist DARAKA E. SATCHER, partner and chief oprating officer at the Pendleton Group consulting firm

A few times a week, I have the privilege of working from a location where I have a great view of Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport on a clear day. I can see the whole expanse of it and – if I give myself enough time to pay attention for a moment – observe a few planes land or take off.

In other words, it is the ebb and flow of airport functions that can be seen at a number of places throughout the world. I’ve seen enough of that to not be too fascinated by it, but I often have a different reaction watching these run-of-the-mill activities occur at Hartsfield-Jackson. Because every now and then, I recognize that I’m actually watching the primary engine behind the phenomenon of world-shrinking.

Posted inDavid Pendered

Xpress bus service funded in Gov. Deal’s proposed FY 2014 budget

The Xpress bus service operated by GRTA will continue to operate through at least June 2014 if the Legislature leaves intact the operating funds recommended by Gov. Nathan Deal in his budget proposal for FY 2014.

Deal also made history by including Xpress funding in the state’s annual budget, rather than its supplemental budget. That’s significant because eliminating money from programs that are included in the annual budget has, historically, been much more difficult than eliminating funding that was provided in the amended budget, or supplemental budget, the Legislature adopts in the middle of a fiscal year.

Deal provided $8.1 million for Xpress operations in the budget he unveiled Thursday. The money would offset the loss of local and federal funds, according to the line item in the governor’s budget.

Posted inLatest News

City of Atlanta develops plan for spending its 15 percent of region’s transportation tax

By Maria Saporta

When metro Atlanta voters go to the polls on July 31 to vote on a one-penny regional sales tax for transportation for the next 10 years, they will be voting for two pots of money.

One pot — $6.14 billion (or 85 percent of what would be collected) — would go to a list a projects approved by the Atlanta Regional Roundtable, of which 52 percent will go towards transit projects.

The other pot is for the remaining 15 percent, which would total about $1.1 billion, would be distributed to the region’s local governments to spend on their own transportation projects.

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