Atlanta News

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!

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(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.

From WABE Local News:

A National Guard solider appeared in federal court Monday charged with murder in a weekend shooting that left a man dead and triggered a lockdown at a Georgia military base. […]

From WABE Local News:

Longtime friends turned business partners, Clifford W. Knights II and Steve Vixamar grew up with a lack of health care. Now, it’s their mission to provide resources through HealthyMD. The […]

From the Saporta Report:

The Atlanta business community and Mayor Andre Dickens expressed concern about the state of MARTA, and they vowed that the transit agency would be a top priority in 2025. MARTA was a focus of the Dec. 13 meeting of the highly influential Atlanta Committee for Progress (ACP), an organization that includes top business, civic and […]

The post Mayor Andre Dickens says fixing MARTA will be a ‘big push’ in 2025 appeared first on SaportaReport.

From the Atlanta Daily World:

Kevin Kelley is dedicated to making the world better. And that is not as much a cliché as it is a statement of fact. Kelly, an accomplished attorney of 22 years is not only distinguished for his remarkable win record in court, but also for his flair for fine dining and his unimpeachable culinary palette. … Continued

The post Kitchen + Kocktails Brings Ultimate in Cuisine and Culture to Atlanta Foodies and Influencers appeared first on Atlanta Daily World.

Developer: Chamblee project to reserve homes for teachers, first-responders Josh Green Mon, 12/16/2024 - 14:41 A sizable downtown Chamblee project five years in the making is again going back to the drawing board—but for a good cause, according to developers.

Windsor Stevens Holdings is moving forward with a redesign of The Frazier at Olde Towne Gordon that will more than double its number of apartments in an ITP area that’s seen a surge of multifamily growth in recent years.

The seven-story, Class A development at 3553 Chamblee Dunwoody Road will now feature more than 300 apartments—up from the 144 units in four stories most recently planned, according to developer Rod Mullice of Windsor Stevens.

Notably, 20 percent of the apartments will be reserved for teachers and first-responders, with rents capped at 80 percent of the area median income, as Mullice tells Urbanize Atlanta.

Renderings released in June showing The Frazier at Olde Towne Gordon project as previously designed with 144 units. Windsor Stevens Holdings; designs, Niles Bolton & Associates

Windsor Stevens purchased the .4-acre property next door in 2023 that included a 1980s auto repair building to increase The Frazier’s size. Mullice says his firm recently closed on financing to start a redesign process with Niles Bolton Associates architects that maintains earlier design standards. Plans call for a retail component at ground level along Chamblee Dunwoody Road.

“The footprint is larger so the [apartment] floorplates will be more efficient,” Mullice noted via email. “The facade will be all brick, and we’ll maintain the arches for the retail bays and apartment windows.” 

The project’s revised construction schedule calls for groundbreaking in the fourth quarter of next year and delivery in 2027, according to Mullice.

Initial plans called for The Frazier (formerly “The Gordon”) to be for-sale condos, with construction scheduled to start in March 2020, just before COVID-19 lockdowns interfered. According to a sales push early that year, the initial phase of 24 homes was going to be priced from the $200,000s, with condos ranging from 501 to 1,098 square feet.  

The Frazier project's combined 3535/3553 Chamblee Dunwoody Road location in relation to the rest of downtown and Chamblee's MARTA hub. Google Maps

Earlier project designs. Windsor Stevens Holdings; designs, Niles Bolton & Associates

Should it move forward as planned, The Frazier would join a groundswell of recent multifamily investment around Chamblee’s historic downtown.

Earlier this year, the Lumen Chamblee project debuted across the street, and another nearby multifamily development, City Heights, has more recently started opening. Collectively those developments have brought more than 560 apartments to the district.

Other perks of the project—described as a Transit-Oriented Development, with the Chamblee MARTA station just 1/4 mile away—will include Google Technology in the building, a pool deck, EV chargers, and immediate access to Chamblee’s planned Rail Trail expansion route, per developers.  

Chamblee has been "a beneficiary of explosive population growth within Atlanta, drawing new residents due to its proximity to the primary employment hubs in Buckhead and Midtown,” notes The Frazier marketing materials. “[The project] is embedded in an area with strong income statistics, population growth, and educational attainment, and will support competitive rents and consistent rent growth.”

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3553 Chamblee Dunwoody Road The Frazier at Olde Towne Gordon Rod Mullice Windsor Stevens Holdings The Frazier City of Chamblee Chamblee Development Chamblee MARTA station MARTA Transit-Oriented Development TODs Niles Bolton Associates Chamblee Apartments For Rent in Atlanta Eberly & Associates Southface Southface Energy Institute Low Income Investment Fund affordable housing Affordable Housing Clark Building Group

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The Frazier project's combined 3535/3553 Chamblee Dunwoody Road location in relation to the rest of downtown and Chamblee's MARTA hub. Google Maps

As seen in early 2023, the 3535 Chamblee Dunwoody Road auto property added to The Frazier's scope. Google Maps

Renderings released in June showing The Frazier at Olde Towne Gordon project as previously designed with 144 units. Windsor Stevens Holdings; designs, Niles Bolton & Associates

Earlier project designs. Windsor Stevens Holdings; designs, Niles Bolton & Associates

Subtitle Designs being tweaked again, scope broadening for The Frazier at Olde Towne Gordon

Neighborhood Chamblee

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From the Saporta Report:

Atlanta’s Center for Civic Innovation celebrated 10 years in business with its annual “Good Trouble” honors at a Dec. 12 ceremony at the Plaza Theatre. The nonprofit honored 10 individuals and organizations who have created “necessary good trouble” through their work in and around Atlanta. A decade ago, founder and executive director Rohit Malhotra created […]

The post Annual Good Trouble Honors brings ‘joy’ to Atlanta advocacy appeared first on SaportaReport.

From WABE Local News:

A Georgia judge on Monday denied a former prosecutor’s legal motion to halt her upcoming trial on charges that she illegally interfered with police investigating the 2020 killing of Ahmaud Arbery. […]

Best Atlanta Neighborhood 2024, 1st round: (4) East ATL vs. (13) College Park Josh Green Mon, 12/16/2024 - 12:52 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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(4) East Atlanta

ABV Gallery's airy main interior space.Photography by Dave Roland; designs, Kronberg Urbanists + Architects

Usually a tough out in year-end neighborhood tournaments, East Atlanta garnered enough reader nominations this year to land a big-boy No. 4 seed. Which makes sense, given the buzz around several EAV projects this year (and what could have been the most rollicking East Atlanta Strut festival to date in September). Celebrated artist Greg Mike transformed a 1980s church in the village to a modern-gothic temple to creativity, while commendably old-school designs for mixed-use development on a small scale came to light on a vacant East Atlanta corner. Elsewhere, frequent village investors Pellerin Real Estate are bringing an infill project with dozens of new homes to a site where little more than a void in EAV’s vibrancy existed before. Not too shabby. 

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(13) College Park

The institute's revised facade at 3605 Main St. in College Park today. The Promise Career Institute; photos by Noel Mayeske

Marking its first tourney appearance since 2022 (when it was unceremoniously booted in the first round by Howell Station), prideful College Park has traditionally fared better in these criteria-free contests, especially when haters rally around the fact it’s not a neighborhood but a city. (ITP cities are allowed, as always.) Development wins this year included a $40-million school renovation with tons of heart and purpose, The Promise Career Institute, which revived the former College Park High School to become a vocational launchpad. Previous nominators have described this contender best: “College Park is like a little Mayberry, but close to downtown… Diversity, arts, greenspace, affordability, accessibility, opportunity, amenities—we have all that plus a close-knit community that's like family for myself and others who have been here for years.” 

Tags

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

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

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Arts Atlanta:

Atlanta actor Donna Biscoe was pleasantly surprised when Tyler Perry himself invited her to star in his new Netflix film about a little-none slice of Black history. :: Auditioning is a non-negotiable part of most actors’ lives, and one that has kept Atlanta-based Donna Biscoe busy throughout much of her long career. Every film and...

From WABE Arts and Culture News:

Musical scores enrich the content they accompany, whether in film, television or even video games. Composers write music to support or enhance emotional moments and to help establish an overall […]

From WABE Arts and Culture News:

Five hundred million years of evolutionary innovation is on display in Fernbank Museum’s new exhibition, “Armored Animals.” The spectacular body defense displays of dinosaurs – spines, plates, horns and helmets […]

From the Atlanta Tribune:

Few stories are as gripping and notorious as the tale of Ruby McCollum and Dr. Clifford Leroy Adams Jr., a physician and senator-elect who never made it to take his elected seat. He never took office in Florida because he was shot dead by McCollum, a Black woman who pleaded to a jury that she […]

The post 72 Years Ago Ruby McCollum Murdered The White Doctor Who Raped Her, Now Her Story Is Being Retold In Detroit appeared first on Atlanta Tribune.

Arts Atlanta:

Atlanta’s music scene in 2024 included everything from hip-hop to Handel and heavy metal, jazz, blues and indie-punk. Classical music lovers attended concerts at Symphony Hall, the Schwartz Center for Performing Arts, Spivey Hall, Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center, Pullman Yards, Piedmont Park, Sandy Springs’ Byers Theatre, the Carlos Museum and sacred spaces such as...

From the Saporta Report:

By Jared Teutsch, Executive Director Last month, Birds Georgia was excited to launch a new conservation program called the Habitat Stewardship Program. An offshoot of our popular Wildlife Sanctuary Program for residential properties, the Habitat Stewardship Program is geared towards larger public and private lands of 10 acres or larger. The goal of the program […]

The post Celebrating the Launch of the Habitat Stewardship Program appeared first on SaportaReport.

From the Saporta Report:

The Corporate Volunteer Council (CVC) of Atlanta recently announced 2024 recipients of the Carol D. Reiser Youth Service Award, recognizing and celebrating extraordinary youth volunteerism and community engagement. The award is named in honor and memory of Carol Reiser, CVC co-founder and past president, who enjoyed a long career with Rich’s/Macy’s and established the company’s […]

The post Corporate Volunteer Council of Atlanta Names 2024 Carol D. Reiser Youth Service Award Winners appeared first on SaportaReport.

From the Saporta Report:

By Natallie Keiser, executive director, HouseATL One of the basic expectations we have for our government is that it will help us as a society to care for those who cannot fully care for themselves. The Georgia Housing Voucher Program is a strong example of how a government can effectively do that – if it […]

The post Wondering what could help address chronic homelessness? appeared first on SaportaReport.

Arts Atlanta:

Every week, ArtsATL asks a member of the Atlanta arts community to share 11 things on their mind. We hope you enjoy getting to know these people better. Cultural producer and arts activist Oronike Odeleye has been Artistic Director of the National Black Arts Festival since 2022 and has been working in Atlanta’s cultural scene...

From the Atlanta Daily World:

Historic Black Theater Group Partners with City of South Fulton Department of Cultural Affairs Offering Inspiring Educational Events for the Community. Kenny Leon’s True Colors Theatre Company announces a partnership with the City of South Fulton Department of Cultural Affairs to serve as theater company in residence at the Southwest Arts Center during 2025. Since … Continued

The post True Colors Named Theater in Residence at Southwest Arts Center appeared first on Atlanta Daily World.

From the Atlanta Daily World:

Quincy Jones conducts an orchestra in Rome in May 2004. Frank Micelotta/Getty Images by Philip Ewell, Hunter College Quincy Jones, who died on Nov. 3, 2024, at the age of 91, was one of the most influential musicians in U.S. history. You might think such a notable figure would factor prominently in American music classrooms. Yet … Continued

The post Why Quincy Jones should be prominently featured in US music education − his absence reflects how racial segregation still shapes American classrooms appeared first on Atlanta Daily World.