Atlanta News

Best Atlanta Neighborhood 2024, 1st round: (7) Cabbagetown vs. (10) Buckhead Josh Green Tue, 12/17/2024 - 17:04 As part of ongoing Best of Atlanta 2024 coverage, Urbanize’s fourth-annual Best Atlanta Neighborhood tournament is kicking off with 16 places vying for the prestige of being called the city’s greatest. (Note: Seeding from 1 to 16 was determined by reader nominations this month—so no pitchforks, please.)

For each Round 1 contest, voting will be open for just 24 hours. Please, let’s keep the tourney fun and positive, as one neighborhood rises above the rest in very public fashion. The eliminations begin now!

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(7) Cabbagetown

How the new Memorial Drive two-way cycletrack functions next to the iconic walls of Oakland Cemetery. GDOT/Pond; via Propel ATL

In this battle of David versus Goliath, or PBR versus Prada, Cabbagetown’s diminutive size shouldn’t be underestimated, because its sense of pride is so big. On the sensible urban-planning front, this year saw a two-way, protected cycle track added through Cabbagetown that provides a better connection to both the Beltline’s Eastside Trail and west toward downtown.

Otherwise, apart from infrastructure fixes in the Krog Street Tunnel, major changes in Cabbagetown were as few and far between as actual homes for sale. (Precisely three C-town properties are on the market right now, all of them priced north of $730,000.) That speaks to the charming neighborhood’s cachet—and locals’ unwillingness to leave.

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(10) Buckhead

Buckhead's 18-story The Dillon condo project in August, as landscaping was being prepped for the amenity level. The Dillon Buckhead/Kolter Urban; Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby's International Realty

Yes, Buckhead is technically a vast patchwork of neighborhoods, but we’ll follow the lead of nominators this year and consider them all together. And what a big year 2024 was—all across Buckhead. On the high-rise residential front, The Dillon project is turning out to be a condo success story, while nearly 500 luxury apartments continue climbing over Buckhead Village, and another condo tower starts lumbering through the pipeline.

This year also saw too-cool people bridge projects start coming together—one on PATH400, another on the Beltline loop—that should make Buckhead more of a multi-use trail destination. Add a new public park project, Atlanta Opera’s $45-million plans, and new Peachtree Road-fronting medical buildings with a charitable purpose to the mix, and yes, it’s been a notable year indeed.  

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Best of Atlanta 2024 Atlanta Neighborhoods Where to Live Atlanta Where to Rent Atlanta Polls Urbanize Polls Urbanize Tournament Best Atlanta Neighborhood Best Atlanta Neighborhoods Cabbagetown Buckhead

Subtitle Who should advance to the Elite Eight? Cast your vote now!

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From the New York Times:

But mass shootings remain a rare occurrence. Only a small fraction of the nation’s nearly 130,000 schools report gun incidents each year.

From WABE Local News:

Rosalyn ‘Roz’ Grimes, who considers herself a lifelong fan of “Good Times,” was around five or six when she first watched the pioneering television show. She says she and her […]

From WABE Local News:

The Civil Rights Cold Case Records Review Board reviews civil rights cold cases — racially motivated crimes from Jan. 1, 1940, through Dec. 31, 1979, that were unresolved but still […]

From WABE Politics News:

 Jill Biden has closed the book on her teaching career at a Virginia community college. The first lady, who has spent the past 40 years teaching in classrooms, announced Monday that she had […]

Best Atlanta Neighborhood 2024, 1st round: (8) West End vs. (9) Poncey-Highland Josh Green Tue, 12/17/2024 - 14:32 As part of ongoing Best of Atlanta 2024 coverage, Urbanize’s fourth-annual Best Atlanta Neighborhood tournament is kicking off with 16 places vying for the prestige of being called the city’s greatest. (Note: Seeding from 1 to 16 was determined by reader nominations this month—so no pitchforks, please.)

For each Round 1 contest, voting will be open for just 24 hours. Please, let’s keep the tourney fun and positive, as one neighborhood rises above the rest in very public fashion. The eliminations begin now!

…

(8) West End

Broader look at proposed mid-rise construction and a new through-street where Mall West End currently stands. Prusik Group/BRP Companies; One West End

First up in this grapplin’ match among stone-cold Atlanta classics is West End, which has notched a relatively seismic year as major development proposals go. The 800-pound gorilla in that room is, of course, the redevelopment of Mall West End. After three false starts, the mall’s extreme makeover appears to have finally found its footing (with city backing) to turn 12 acres of parking lots into about 900 units of mixed-income housing, 125,000 square feet of retail (with a grocery store), and much more, beginning as soon as next year.

Just around the corner, an eye-catching apartment proposal has emerged near West End’s MARTA stop, while a pickleball emporium and more is in the pipeline along a new (and needed) Beltline stretch now in planning. Bonus points to West End in ’24 for joyously welcoming Atlanta Streets Alive back to SW ATL—not once, but on three different occasions.

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(9) Poncey-Highland

Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

A nominator named “SC” astutely described Poncey-Highland as follows for an earlier competition: “It’s a nice mix of the more residential, quiet Virginia-Highland with the youthful, almost cosmopolitan, Beltline-laced PCM area.” That made no mention of another new Chick-fil-A, but Poncey-Highland design standards have ensured the chicken empire’s latest standalone Ponce installation is as brick-clad and urban-friendly as they come.

Other neighborhood happenings in 2024 included the rebirth of historic 1920s Highland Inn into a mixed-use concept, Otto’s Apartment Hotel, where people can actually live (from around $1,200 per month). A block away (and much more expensive, but way larger), the sleekly modern Freedom Townhomes project finally delivered this year, filling an empty lot near a main commercial corridor. On the non-development front, bonus points to Poncey-Highland for supporting and completing a show-stopping art installation (and chill hangout spot) on a prominent corner.

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Best of Atlanta 2024 Atlanta Neighborhoods Where to Live Atlanta Where to Rent Atlanta Polls Urbanize Polls Urbanize Tournament Best Atlanta Neighborhood Best Atlanta Neighborhoods West End Poncey-Highland

Subtitle Who should advance to the Elite Eight? Cast your vote now!

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From WABE Local News:

The parents of an environmental activist who Georgia state troopers fatally shot near the site of a planned Atlanta-area police and firefighter training center filed a lawsuit Tuesday against three law enforcement […]

From WABE Arts and Culture News:

Where do you go to find a poignant exploration of spirituality, beauty, and the archetypes of Black womanhood? Where do you find a film that accomplishes those things and also […]

Arts Atlanta:

Atlanta crossed a Rubicon in 2024, or perhaps it went through a looking glass. In any case, 2024 marked the year that the global art world turned its attention to Atlanta in an unprecedented way. Atlanta Art Fair in October was the city’s first truly international, large-scale commercial art fair, which put the city in...

From WABE Politics News:

The Senate Supporting Safety and Welfare of All Individuals in Department of Corrections Facilities Study Committee approved a list of recommendations last week they intend to help improve conditions for […]

Arts Atlanta:

The small town of Palmetto, Georgia, has long been defined by old Southern social ways. A new artist and a new mayor look to shake things up. :: Pull into Palmetto, Georgia, and it’s tempting to say it looks like a ghost town. Just a half-hour outside the noisy sprawl of the Atlanta metro area,...

From WABE Arts and Culture News:

Dr. Mimi Zieman describes herself as “an ordinary person given an extraordinary opportunity.” Her memoir, “Tap Dancing on Everest: Young Doctor’s Unlikely Adventure,” released this year through Falcon Press Publishing, […]

From the Atlanta Tribune:

Sponsored by JPMorganChase Homeownership has long been a symbol of the American dream. Our homes often represent far more than just shelter—they’re central to family life and building strong communities. The economic impact of homeownership can’t be overlooked either. Homes are the largest source of wealth for Americans, which makes buying a home one of the […]

The post Building a path to generational wealth through homeownership appeared first on Atlanta Tribune.

From the Atlanta Tribune:

While some state officials maintain that the 2024 Election went on without a hitch, there were multiple bomb threats in Georgia that disrupted proceedings. Sen. Raphael Warnock is seeking an investigation on the bomb threats that occurred on Election Day in the state and across the country. Most of the precincts impacted were from majority-Black […]

The post Sen. Raphael Warnock Calls For Investigation Of Bomb Threats On Election Day Which Impacted Majority-Black Precincts appeared first on Atlanta Tribune.

Arts Atlanta:

Nutcracker ballets abound in Atlanta this time of year, but the grandest of them all is Yuri Possokhov’s lavish, high-tech production the Atlanta Ballet has performed annually since 2018. From the fun opening scrim to the huge video projections of stars and the Northern lights, from tipsy partygoers to fearsome mice, this ballet gives audiences...

No work on horizon for southside's largest project, developers report Josh Green Tue, 12/17/2024 - 08:17 Throughout 2024, residents and other stakeholders on Atlanta’s southside have occasionally asked for updates on the largest development proposal near the Beltline’s southern crescent, following what appeared to be the beginnings of construction permitting activity in fall last year and again in January. Some nearby real estate listings have cited the promise of that project, Sawtell, as a key selling point.

“Just really need some rooftops over here,” a new Chosewood Park resident wrote to Urbanize Atlanta earlier this month. “I’m missing a walkable grocery store so bad!”

As the year winds down, Sawtell development leaders send word, in a nutshell, that nobody should hold their breath—but that 2025 could be different.

Veteran Atlanta-based developer Kaplan Residential partnered with private real estate fund manager Origin Investments to buy the 40-acre Sawtell parcel for $31.5 million in early 2022, forecasting a master-planned “village” would take shape across multiple phases. Project officials predicted at the time a groundbreaking would happen before the end of that year.

Kaplan officials referred all questions this month regarding Sawtell’s construction timeline, scope, and potential delivery to Origin. A spokesperson with Origin replied this week that “there is nothing new to report” on Sawtell’s plans and that no new permits are being sought.

“Origin is giving thoughtful consideration to the best path forward for Sawtell to meet the demands of the marketplace,” wrote the company rep to Urbanize via email. “They expect to have further details in the first half of 2025.”

Illustration of the 40-acre site when it was marketed for sale in 2019. LoopNet

The “catalytic” vision for the industrial infill site—named for its 500 Sawtell Ave. address—calls for more than 2,000 multifamily residences, up to 150,000 square feet of commercial space described as “diversified,” and a range of greenspaces such as pocket parks—eventually. Kaplan officials have predicted Sawtell will grow to become the largest mixed-use destination around the Beltline’s expanding Southside Trail corridor, in the vein of a southside version of Atlanta Dairies, Echo Street West in English Avenue, or Inman Park’s commercial core, only larger.

Permitting details from January indicated Kaplan’s first step would be to start smaller. On a 5-acre portion of the site, the scope called for building 86 residences described as townhome-style condos, plus roads, lighting, sewers, and other infrastructure, alongside parking for 181 vehicles. No commercial component was mentioned.

Overview of uses planned a half-mile south of the BeltLine. The Chosewood Park industrial property on Sawtell Avenue will eventually see 2,000 homes—and much more—across 40 acres, the development team says.Courtesy of Origin Investments, Kaplan Residential

The project is set to be funded by Origin’s $300 million Qualified Opportunity Zone Fund II, per Kaplan’s Sawtell project page. It sits within a Federal Opportunity Zone and could qualify for significant tax savings, according to previous marketing materials.

The site is located about a half-mile south of the Beltline corridor, across the street from Atlanta’s U.S. Penitentiary and just east of the downtown Connector. The property first came to market under the name “The Sawtell” in early 2019, when marketers issued a call for bids from developers.

Elsewhere in the metro, Kaplan is partnering with Brock Built Homes to build more than 230 rental townhomes across 20 acres next to MARTA’s last stop on the Blue Line. The developer also set a record for downtown multifamily building sales by offloading its 17-story Generation Atlanta complex for $126.9 million in 2021.

Origin has been involved with five multifamily projects around Atlanta over the past decade totaling more than 1,500 units, including the development of Olmsted Chamblee on the flipside of ITP Atlanta, as officials said in 2022, when the Sawtell partnership was finalized.

In blocks south of the Beltline corridor, the only project to rival Sawtell in terms of scope is Empire Communities’ under-construction Zephyr project, also in Chosewood Park. That calls for a mix of roughly 1,000 townhomes and condos to eventually rise across 34 acres along Boulevard.

The 40-acre Sawtell Avenue site in question on the southern edge of Chosewood Park. Google Maps

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The 40-acre Sawtell Avenue site in question on the southern edge of Chosewood Park. Google Maps

Illustration of the 40-acre site when it was marketed for sale in 2019. LoopNet

Overview of uses planned a half-mile south of the BeltLine. The Chosewood Park industrial property on Sawtell Avenue will eventually see 2,000 homes—and much more—across 40 acres, the development team says.Courtesy of Origin Investments, Kaplan Residential

Subtitle Years later, 2,000-home, "catalytic" Sawtell concept remains in limbo

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From the Atlanta Daily World:

 B.E.S.T. (Business Engineering Science Technology) Academy will honor civic and community leader, the late Thomas W. Dortch, Jr., by renaming the school “The B.E.S.T. Academy at The Thomas W. Dortch, Jr. Institute” on Tuesday. The school’s renaming ceremony will honor the contributions and legacy of Dortch, a longtime member and former chair of the 100 Black … Continued

The post B.E.S.T. Academy to Rename School in Honor of the Late Thomas W. Dortch Jr. appeared first on Atlanta Daily World.

From WABE Local News:

Dozens of Georgians are part of the largest act of clemency in a single day in modern presidential history. President Joe Biden announced on Dec. 12 that he was commuting […]

From the Atlanta Daily World:

The Atlanta Falcons entered the “Monday Night Football” showdown seeking a win after losing four straight games. A trip to Las Vegas to face the (2-11) Raiders proved to be the remedy. It was also another opportunity for Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins to find his groove after throwing 0 touchdowns and 8 interceptions in the … Continued

The post Falcons Escape Raiders With 15-9 Win On ‘Monday Night Football,’ But Quarterback Play Remains A Concern appeared first on Atlanta Daily World.

From WABE Arts and Culture News:

Ready to follow the yellow brick road once again as the world welcomes a new installment of one of the most beloved stories in American history. “Wicked,” the highly anticipated […]

From WABE Local News:

Two men, including a dual Iranian American citizen, have been arrested on charges that they exported sensitive technology to Iran that was used in a drone attack in Jordan that killed three […]

From WABE Local News:

The Georgia Department of Corrections is receiving yet another slate of recommendations to improve its ability to operate secure and safe facilities. A Georgia Senate study committee said at its […]

Best Atlanta Neighborhood 2024, 1st round: (6) Summerhill vs. (11) Virginia-Highland Josh Green Mon, 12/16/2024 - 16:24 As part of ongoing Best of Atlanta 2024 coverage, Urbanize’s fourth-annual Best Atlanta Neighborhood tournament is kicking off with 16 places vying for the prestige of being called the city’s greatest. (Note: Seeding from 1 to 16 was determined by reader nominations this month—so no pitchforks, please.)

For each Round 1 contest, voting will be open for just 24 hours. Please, let’s keep the tourney fun and positive, as one neighborhood rises above the rest in very public fashion. The eliminations begin now!

…

(6) Summerhill

How the Ten 5 Summerhill project's Georgia Avenue facade turned out on a previously vacant corner. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Another year, another slate of big changes in historic, evolving Summerhill. Most notably, MARTA’s first new transit line in more than two decades—a five-mile bus-rapid transit route actually named for the neighborhood, MARTA Rapid Summerhill—has made progress in fundamentally noticeable ways throughout 2024, with a goal of welcoming its first passengers next year.

Elsewhere, Georgia State University’s planned baseball and softball complex got its ducks in a row this year, where Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium once stood, as another area landmark, the former Ramada Plaza tower, was green-lighted to become affordable senior housing. Meanwhile, the densification of Georgia Avenue continued with 10 stylish townhomes on a previously vacant corner, as other townhome product broke ground on a former church lot. Business as usual in Summerhill.

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(11) Virginia-Highland

Where the Northeast Trail meets the Park Drive Bridge. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

When it comes to urban planning and growth in tony Va-Hi, 2024 could be notable as much for what hasn’t happened as what did. Yes, the neighborhood welcomed an extremely functional stretch of the Beltline this year that provides a much smoother connection to Piedmont Park (woo!). One interesting, large-scale residential project after the next popped up, and the 42-unit Roycraft condo building continued to edge toward sellout status over the Eastside Trail.

Meanwhile, for better or worse, parcels that were integral to Portman Holdings’ blockbuster, cancelled redevelopment plans along Ponce de Leon Avenue officially moved on to Plan B early this year. And speaking of Portman, the developer's planned mini-city makeover of Amsterdam Walk was scaled back (17 percent smaller, in fact) but could still bring an injection of life to the neighborhood’s western fringes.  

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Best of Atlanta 2024 Atlanta Neighborhoods Where to Live Atlanta Where to Rent Atlanta Polls Urbanize Polls Urbanize Tournament Best Atlanta Neighborhood Best Atlanta Neighborhoods Virginia-Highland Summerhill

Subtitle Who should advance to the Elite Eight? Cast your vote now!

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From the Saporta Report:

While there are still some unchecked names on your holiday gift list, let’s talk about merch.

The post Political merch— it’s not just a side hustle appeared first on SaportaReport.

From the Saporta Report:

South side growth and redevelopment, and the Atlanta Beltline’s future connection to the Flint River Gateway Trail were the focus of the 10th annual State of the Aerotropolis event on Friday. A panel that included the chief operating officers of the Atlanta Regional Commission and Clayton County, as well as the mayors of East Point, […]

The post State of Aerotropolis: Game-changing futures for south Fulton, Clayton appeared first on SaportaReport.