Atlanta News

Peachtree Road hotel project moves forward on long-vacant lot Josh Green Thu, 05/22/2025 - 13:38

Days appear to be numbered for a void in the commercial landscape of Atlanta’s marquee street. 

The design and development team for a planned Buckhead hotel concept at 1875 Peachtree Road filed for commercial land development permits this week as another step toward construction. 

Plans call for the long-vacant lot to become a 174-key Home2 Suites by Hilton, an extended-stay chain, where other infill ideas have gone bust over the years. 

Filings indicate the hotel will stand eight stories over its parking infrastructure, lobby, and valet area. 

Looking north, the 1875 Peachtree Road site in the context of Piedmont Hospital's main campus. Google Maps

The proposed Peachtree Road facade of the Home2 Suites by Hilton. HC Architecture; 1875 Peachtree St. LLC/submitted

According to this week’s filings, the total footprint of the project will be .67 acres, and the scope of infrastructure work calls for streetscape improvements, in addition to stormwater and utility work. 

Situated just north of Midtown, the site was cleared of a small retail building and SunTrust ATM in 2016 and served as a paid parking lot for several years thereafter. Longtime Atlantans might remember it as a Harry's in a Hurry location—way back when.

Earlier this year, Hilton representatives also filed paperwork with Atlanta’s Department of City Planning for a Special Administrative Permit to move the hotel forward. Those plans were later approved. 

A decade ago, the parcel in question was planned to be part of a much larger office and retail complex from Cornerstone Development Partners that never took off.

The site is situated today between Peachtree Laundry & Cleaners and a drive-thru Starbucks.  

The 1875 Peachtree Road site (in red, at bottom) and nearby commercial and medical landmarks. Google Maps

A rendering filed with the SAP application indicates Phoenix Development Partners and architecture firm Pappageorge Haymes Partners, both based in Chicago, are putting the hotel project together. (A more recent rendering provided to Urbanize Atlanta indicates local firm HC Architecture is also involved.) The hotel would rise just south of Piedmont Hospital’s artfully curved, 16-story Marcus Heart and Vascular Center.

According to the SAP application, the hotel “will be an integral part of the medical ecosystem in the immediate area” and “will help service patients and families of patients receiving care in the nearby medical facilities.”

The building's single point of access along the busy thoroughfare would be a right-in, right-out arrangement along the hotel’s Peachtree Road frontage, earlier filings state. Surface parking would also be situated at the rear of the property, per filings.

The hotel would join a significant medical-use growth spurt in the immediate area, highlighted by the new 16-story Arthur M. Blank Family Residences and nearby Marcus Center for Advanced Rehabilitation building.

The site, situated between Peachtree Laundry & Cleaners and a drive-thru Starbucks. Google Maps

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• Buckhead news, discussion (Urbanize Atlanta) 

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1875 Peachtree Road NE Ross Hotel Partners Phoenix Developer Home2 Suites by Hilton Phoenix Pappageorge Haymes Partners Atlanta Hotels Peachtree Road Buckhead Hotels Buckhead Development Atlanta Development Atlanta Land Phoenix Development Partners HC Architecture

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The 1875 Peachtree Road site (in red, at bottom) and nearby commercial and medical landmarks. Google Maps

Looking north, the 1875 Peachtree Road site in the context of Piedmont Hospital's main campus. Google Maps

The site, situated between Peachtree Laundry & Cleaners and a drive-thru Starbucks. Google Maps

The proposed Peachtree Road facade of the Home2 Suites by Hilton. HC Architecture; 1875 Peachtree St. LLC/submitted

Subtitle Plans near Piedmont Hospital call for Home2 Suites by Hilton, valet parking

Neighborhood Buckhead

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Home2 Suites by Hilton

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From WABE Local News:

On a warm and breezy Georgia spring day, Susan Pavlin walks through Decatur’s Legacy Park, past brick buildings and down a shaded boardwalk.  She opens a creaking gate that reveals […]

Arts Atlanta:

For many people, summertime means reading, whether it’s a school reading list or a relaxing page-turner on the beach. This summer, Atlanta’s got a lot to offer its readers.  Throughout Atlanta and much of the state, libraries are taking part in the Color Our World summer reading challenge, which runs from June 1 to August...

From WABE Local News:

While Atlanta and Savannah are two of the most recognized cities in the Peach State, some have Johns Creek on their minds instead. After all, the city, just north of […]

Arts Atlanta:

Swallow this book down — it’ll feel so good swimming in your stomach. :: A conversation with Megan Volpert opened with a declaration that she loves Buddhism and witchcraft — two practices she says have kept her looking young and relate, if indirectly, to her writing. The Decatur resident’s latest book, Why Alanis Morissette Matters,...

From WABE Local News:

Before planning your trip to Lake Lanier in Georgia this Memorial Day weekend, check to see if your favorite site may be closed. Citing “staffing shortfalls,” the Mobile district of […]

From WABE Arts and Culture News:

For devotees of musical theater, it’s Broadway all the way, including sideways. Voices of Note, Atlanta’s LGBTQ+ vocal ensemble collective, is presenting a new musical concert showcase, “Broadway Sideways,” with […]

Atlanta keeps climbing in national, annual ranking of city parks Josh Green Thu, 05/22/2025 - 08:38

When it comes to urban park systems around the United States, Atlanta’s climb this decade from “meh” to “not too shabby” has been impressive, but work remains to be done. 

Trust for Public Land officials announced this week The City in a Forest has placed 21st on its annual ParkScore index for 2025. (Just four years ago, Atlanta ranked 49th of 100 major cities studied, according to TPL metrics.)

Atlanta’s 2025 placement is the city’s highest ever and four spots ahead of last year, continuing a recent pattern of improvement. The ParkScore index found that 82 percent of Atlantans now live within a short walk of a park, following greenspace additions in places such as Old Fourth Ward. 

But what really moved the meter was the city’s recent district-wide decision to open schoolyards for public use when schools aren’t in session, according to TPL. 

Piedmont Park on the evening of May 4, 2025. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Quick park access in Atlanta climbed from 79 percent of residents last year and beats the national ParkScore average of 76 percent. 

New greenspace amenities—Ashview Heights and the PATH Foundation’s Woodall Rail Trail come to mind as recent examples—also factored into ATL’s rise on the parks chart. 

In terms of park investment, Atlanta also continues to shine, now logging $272 per person on parks. That’s more than double the national ParkScore average of $133, per TPL. (Forthcoming public greenspaces in places such as Buckhead and Chosewood Park, among others, should soon help the ranking.) 

“Atlanta’s ParkScore ranking has risen sharply over the past five years,” notes a summary of the analysis. “The city first cracked the top 25 last year and now seems poised for a run at the top 20.” 

Atlanta rocketed up 22 spots on the 2022 ParkScore Index—the biggest mover of that year—following a monumental year in 2021 for new urban greenspaces. Those included the sprawling Westside Park (now Shirley Clarke Franklin Park), Cook Park in Vine City, and a park-topped parking garage in Grant Park, among others.

Still, there’s room for improvement. Atlanta’s ranking puts it between Boise and Buffalo, respectively, and TPL found that just 8 percent of the city’s land use is for parks and recreation, when the national median is 15 percent. 

Atlanta's most popular greenspace earlier this month. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

The City of Atlanta currently counts 518 parks. Among them is a relative abundance of “destination” parks, but the city is lacking in terms of median park size, TPL found. 

TPL’s methodology ranks the 100 most populous U.S. cities by comparing five park categories: acreage, equity, access, investment, and amenities. The ParkScore system is widely considered the gold standard for park evaluation, per TPL officials.  

Coming in atop the 2025 list for the fifth consecutive year is Washington, DC, where a whopping 21 percent of land is reserved for parks. 

Irvine, Minneapolis, Cincinnati, and St. Paul rounded out the top five, respectively. 

The 10 highest-ranking park systems in the United States. Atlanta's 2025 score is 67.3, according to TPL.Trust for Public Land

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• Analysis declares Atlanta No. 1 'smartest city' in U.S. for 2025 (Urbanize Atlanta)

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Atlanta Parks Trust for Public Land ParkScore Index Cook Park Westside Park St. Paul Washington D.C. Mayor Andre Dickens Park Pride Atlanta Greenspace Atlanta Greenspaces Cincinnati

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Atlanta's most popular greenspace earlier this month. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

This graphic illustrates where park spaces around Atlanta exist (green) and where they're most needed (purple), according to 2023 TPL research. Trust for Public Land/ParkServe; 2023

Piedmont Park on the evening of May 4, 2025. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

The 10 highest-ranking park systems in the United States. Atlanta's 2025 score is 67.3, according to TPL.Trust for Public Land

Subtitle ParkScore index finds 82 percent of Atlantans now live within short walk of a park

Neighborhood Citywide

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From WABE Politics News:

House Republicans stayed up all night to pass their multitrillion-dollar tax breaks package, with Speaker Mike Johnson defying the skeptics and unifying his ranks to muscle President Donald Trump’s priority […]

From the Saporta Report:

Cancer is the second leading cause of death in Georgia, and the American Cancer Society estimates that there will be more than 66,200 new cases diagnosed and 19,000 deaths in our state due to cancer this year. In 2001, Georgia was among 46 states that began receiving millions of dollars per year from the tobacco […]

The post We need more cancer prevention and research funding to save lives — not less appeared first on SaportaReport.

From WABE Politics News:

The Atlanta Braves’ game Wednesday at the Washington Nationals was rained out and will be made up as part of a split doubleheader on Sept. 16 as the middle two […]

From WABE Politics News:

The case of a Georgia woman declared brain dead but being kept on life support because she is pregnant is raising complicated legal questions about restrictive abortion laws in Georgia […]

Fresh images for Centennial Yards' mixed-use future bubble up Josh Green Wed, 05/21/2025 - 15:55

New marketing materials for Centennial Yards paint a clearer picture of what’s being called a “generational transformation” for the former dead zone that was downtown Atlanta’s Gulch. 

The fresh renderings come as part of a Centennial Yards Company leasing package that illustrates how the megaproject’s two standing towers will relate to an under-construction sports and entertainment district and smaller structures both long-planned and conceptual.   

Centennial Yards reps confirm to Urbanize Atlanta the images are accurate and updated. Two proposed buildings of note shown within them include a boutique hotel along Elliott Street near Castleberry Hill and an infill, mid-rise apartment stack along Mitchell Street. 

Despite recent permitting activity for the Elliott Street project, Centennial Yards reps say both buildings remain in planning phases with no construction timelines set. 

Looking north across the former Gulch, the planned boutique hotel (bottom left) and mid-rise apartment building (bottom) are shown along Mitchell Street. At center is another mixed-use, mid-rise building that doesn't yet exist. Courtesy of Centennial Yards Company

Fresh perspective on forthcoming retail components at Centennial Yards entertainment district. Courtesy of Centennial Yards Company

The new visuals continue a busy month for the 50-acre downtown venture, which is expected to bring more than 2,000 residential units (at least 200 of them deemed affordable), more than 2,000 hotel rooms, and roughly one million square feet of retail across a decade of development. 

Last week, Centennial Yards Company officials announced they’ve signed a long-term lease with entertainment giant Live Nation to bring live music and events to the under-construction entertainment and sports section, situated across the street from both State Farm Arena and Mercedes-Benz Stadium. 

That venue is expected to have a 5,300-person capacity, larger than the Fox Theatre’s seating capacity (4,665 seats) and nearby Tabernacle’s (2,600). It’s slated to open sometime in 2027. 

Overview of Centennial Yards' standing towers and planned buildings, including a boutique hotel near Castleberry Hill at bottom right. Courtesy of Centennial Yards Company

Scope of a planned hotel and retail component at Centennial Yards' under-construction entertainment and sports district. Courtesy of Centennial Yards Company

The music venue will also neighbor the third Cosm venue in the U.S., a three-story immersive entertainment concept that started going vertical this month. 

Centennial Yards’ first two towers—the 292-key Hotel Phoenix and a 304-apartment building The Mitchell, both 19 stories—are nearing the final phases of construction. The apartments are on pace to debut this summer, followed by the district’s first hotel sometime this fall. 

Courtesy of Centennial Yards Company

Courtesy of Centennial Yards Company

Centennial Yards facets that have already opened include adaptive-reuse projects Centennial Yards South and Wild Leap Brewery. The connected, pedestrians-only Steele Bridge now hosts tailgating parties before large events with live music, food offerings, and other activities for fans and families. 

Centennial Yards Company—a partnership between an affiliate of CIM Group and another group led by Atlanta Hawks owner Tony Ressler—is serving as the project’s master developer.  

All told, Centennial Yards is expected to cost $5 billion and span some 8 million square feet of mixed uses, described by its financial backers as one of the largest public-private partnerships in the U.S. right now. It's all backed by a nearly $2-billion tax-incentive package, a record for Atlanta. 

A mid-rise apartment venture planned for years along Mitchell Street has no definitive start date right now, according to project reps. Courtesy of Centennial Yards Company

Courtesy of Centennial Yards Company

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95 Centennial Olympic Park Drive Centennial Yards Hotel 250 MARTIN Luther King Jr. Drive SW Centennial Yards apartments Cooper Carry Gulch Stevens & Wilkinson CIM Group Centennial Yards Castleberry Hill South Downtown South Dwntn Ted Turner Drive Foster + Partners Brian McGowan Atlanta Construction Atlanta Development Good Van Slyke Architecture Perkins & Will Perkins&Will TVS SOM Design Skidmore Owings & Merrill Atlanta Hotels World Cup World Cup 2026 Cosm Tony Ressler Downtown Development downtown construction Gensler Live Nation Atlanta Music Venues Atlanta Music

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Overview of Centennial Yards' standing towers and planned buildings, including a boutique hotel near Castleberry Hill at bottom right. Courtesy of Centennial Yards Company

Scope of a planned hotel and retail component at Centennial Yards' under-construction entertainment and sports district. Courtesy of Centennial Yards Company

Looking north across the former Gulch, the planned boutique hotel (bottom left) and mid-rise apartment building (bottom) are shown along Mitchell Street. At center is another mixed-use, mid-rise building that doesn't yet exist. Courtesy of Centennial Yards Company

Fresh perspective on forthcoming retail components at Centennial Yards entertainment district. Courtesy of Centennial Yards Company

Courtesy of Centennial Yards Company

A mid-rise apartment venture planned for years along Mitchell Street has no definitive start date right now, according to project reps. Courtesy of Centennial Yards Company

Courtesy of Centennial Yards Company

Courtesy of Centennial Yards Company

Subtitle New perspectives on “generational transformation” underway in downtown’s former Gulch

Neighborhood Downtown

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Centennial Yards - 125 Ted Turner Dr SW One Centennial Yards

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From WABE Local News:

Councilmembers in College Park voted to fire and immediately replace the city manager during a city council meeting earlier this week. The city fired Dr. Emmanuel Adediran on Monday. He […]

From WABE Local News:

The smoke that filled the cabin of a Delta flight as it took off from the Atlanta airport in February was so thick that the lead flight attendant had trouble seeing past […]

After five years, construction wraps on new Morningside community Josh Green Wed, 05/21/2025 - 13:57

Situated along a popular connector route between Midtown and Buckhead, a Morningside development that erected a large batch of townhomes in place of 1950s apartments has wrapped construction that spanned nearly half a decade. 

One home remains unsold at national developer Toll Brothers’ Beckham Place at Morningside, a community of long townhome rows along a curving section of Piedmont Road, a few blocks north of Piedmont Park near Fat Matt’s Rib Shack.

Development of Beckham Place began during the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic with demolition of the 11-building Oak Knoll Apartment Homes, which had been built in 1951. 

Over subsequent years, Beckham Place delivered 60 townhomes total in the 1700 block of Piedmont Road. 

Example of interior imagery provided with the last unsold Winn Contemporary floorplan. Courtesy of Toll Brothers

A 2024 aerial image of the Beckham Place at Morningside project, looking southwest toward Midtown and downtown. Courtesy of Toll Brothers

Eric White, Toll Brothers division president in Georgia, tells Urbanize Atlanta the last unsold townhome is move-in ready. That floorplan, the Winn Contemporary, includes four bedrooms and three bathrooms in just over 2,000 square feet, plus a two-car garage. The asking price is now $648,995. 

“The home is in a prime location close to the incredible community clubhouse,” noted White via email. 

Beckham Place is considered a gated community, with amenities that include an onsite pool and greenspace. All townhomes stand four stories with garages and roof terraces, but none include elevators. 

The development team has called the location strategic for its access to Atlanta’s marquee greenspace, nearby shops and restaurants, and Morningside’s top-flight schools.

Back deck off a main level. Courtesy of Toll Brothers

The Beckham Place at Morningside site plan, with the lone remaining unsold unit at top right. Courtesy of Toll Brothers

Pennsylvania-based Toll Brothers, billed as the nation’s top builder of luxury homes, acquired longtime Atlanta homebuilder Thrive Residential in early 2020. 

The deal included nearly 700 infill lots that Thrive had accumulated throughout Atlanta and Nashville, including the Morningside parcel that became Beckham Place.   

Head up to the gallery for more Beckham Place context and photos. 

Example of four-story facades at Beckham Place. Courtesy of Toll Brothers

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• Morningside news, discussion (Urbanize Atlanta)

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1791 Piedmont Road NE Beckham Place at Morningside Toll Brothers Atlanta Townhomes Atlanta Development Fat Matt's Rib Shack Lenox Park Midtown Piedmont Road Atlanta Construction Interior Design Townhomes for Atlanta Atlanta Homes for Sale

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The Beckham Place at Morningside site along Piedmont Road, north of Atlanta Botanical Garden. Google Maps

Example of four-story facades at Beckham Place. Courtesy of Toll Brothers

A 2024 aerial image of the Beckham Place at Morningside project, looking southwest toward Midtown and downtown. Courtesy of Toll Brothers

Example of interior imagery provided with the last unsold Winn Contemporary floorplan. Courtesy of Toll Brothers

The Beckham Place at Morningside site plan, with the lone remaining unsold unit at top right. Courtesy of Toll Brothers

Back deck off a main level. Courtesy of Toll Brothers

Secondary bedroom. Courtesy of Toll Brothers

Example of a Winn Contemporary floorplan primary bedroom. Courtesy of Toll Brothers

A loft area upstairs. Courtesy of Toll Brothers

Courtesy of Toll Brothers

Base floor of the lone remaining unsold Beckham Place at Morningside home. Toll Brothers

Second floor of the $649,000 Winn Contemporary floorplan at the new community. Toll Brothers

Third floor. Toll Brothers

Fourth floor of the Winn Contemporary floorplan. Toll Brothers

The fourth-floor roof terraces. Toll Brothers/Beckham Place at Morningside

Rendering depicting the pool and amenities area. Toll Brothers/Beckham Place at Morningside

Subtitle One unsold home remains at apartment-replacing Beckham Place at Morningside

Neighborhood Morningside

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Associated Project

Beckham Place - 1797 Piedmont Ave NE

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From WABE Local News:

The rapper known as Rod Wave faces more than a dozen charges, some involving a gun, after he turned himself in to sheriff’s officials in Georgia on Tuesday. Wave, whose […]

Arts Atlanta:

Claire F. Martin puts the work of women writers on stage. :: When the present and future are uncertain, we look to the past — to those who blazed trails before us. Belle Esprit, a burgeoning theater company spearheaded by writer and director Claire F. Martin, gives a voice to those trailblazers by creating theater...

From WABE Politics News:

House Republicans are getting closer to passing President Donald Trump’s tax breaks, spending cuts and beefed-up border security as Speaker Mike Johnson attempts to pass the package over unified Democratic opposition by […]

From the Atlanta Daily World:

MAY 21 1862—Mary Jane Patterson be­comes the first Black woman in U.S. History to be awarded a master’s degree. She earned it from Oberlin College in Ohio. 2009—NFL star quarterback Michael Vick is released from federal prison after serving 19 months of a 23-month sentence for financing a dog fighting ring. Formerly with the Atlanta … Continued

The post This Week In Black History May 21-27, 2025 appeared first on Atlanta Daily World.

From the Atlanta Daily World:

Western Governors University (WGU) announced today the appointment Rick Brown, M. Ed., to the Georgia Nurses Foundation (GNF) Board of Trustees. Brown serves as senior partner success manager furthering WGU’s commitment to expand access to higher education through online, competency-based degree programs. The Georgia Nurses Foundation is the charitable and philanthropic arm of the Georgia … Continued

The post WGU’s Rick Brown Brings Nursing and Workforce Development Expertise To Georgia Nurses Foundation Board of Trustees appeared first on Atlanta Daily World.

Arts Atlanta:

She is an Object of Beauty, a solo exhibition of paintings and sculptures by Toronto-based artist Phuong Nguyen is on view now at Johnson Lowe Gallery. In her work, Nguyen explores the feminine body and how it is “aestheticized, archived, and abstracted.”  Nguyen flips the script on the fetishization of Asian culture with works that...

Arts Atlanta:

Each week, ArtsATL curates a selection of the most exciting arts and culture events happening in Atlanta this weekend, highlighting nine must-see experiences.  :: Thursday MomoCon MomoCon is Atlanta’s annual celebration of anime, animation, comic books and gaming. This self-described “geek culture convention” is happening at the Georgia World Congress Center May 22 through May 25. Don’t...

From WABE Politics News:

Florida was the first state to pass a law regulating the use of cellphones in schools in 2023. Just two years later, more than half of all states have laws in place, […]

From WABE Arts and Culture News:

Of his Tony- and Pulitzer-winning stage play “Doubt, a Parable,” the playwright John Patrick Shanley has long said, “the last act… takes place after the play is over.” The provocative, […]