Atlanta News

Analysis: Atlanta is top 3 best city in U.S. for renters right now Josh Green Tue, 07/01/2025 - 14:59

For Atlanta, a durable local economy and fabled quality of life have lifted the city among the best U.S. options for renters looking to get a leg up in 2025, according to a new national analysis. 

Atlanta edged out 148 other places in the recently published “Best Cities for Renters to Live in 2025” report, as compiled by national apartment search website RentCafe.com. 

With its robust economy, status as an “entrepreneurial haven,” relatively favorable cost of living, and plentiful (and relatively large) renting options, the City of Atlanta landed at No. 3 this year, among an analysis of 150 cities. Only cities with at least 10,000 apartments were considered. 

Southern cities swept the entire top 10, and the top 50 was dominated by the Southeast and Texas. Elsewhere in Georgia, Marietta (No. 23), Athens (36), Macon (59), Columbus (64), Savannah (66), and Augusta (106) also made the cut. 

RentCafe’s methodology examined factors such as economic strength, apartment quality, traffic, air quality, and natural amenities, which were then grouped into three categories: quality of life, cost of living and housing, and local economy.

Growing skylines of Midtown and downtown Atlanta, as seen in 2023. Shutterstock

The City of Atlanta actually slipped one spot from last year’s No. 2 rank, but analysts still determined it to be the highest-ranking mid-size city in the land. 

Only Dallas suburb McKinney, TX (No. 1, with a population of 202,000) and Sarasota ranked higher than ATL this year. Those two cities—both considerably smaller than Atlanta—scored better for school quality, natural amenities, and air quality. 

So where’s Atlanta shining in ’25? 

The decidedly Southeast-heavy rundown for 2025's top finishers, according to RentCafe. (Note: Atlanta was mistaken for, maybe, Bainbridge in this graphic? And Knoxville is slipping.)

According to RentCafe’s findings, renter income growth in the Big Peach has shot up by more than 44 percent over the past five years—one of the strongest increases among mid-sized U.S. cities. 

With an average of 968 square feet, Atlanta chalked up the largest apartments—and the highest share of high-end apartments, 70 percent—among all cities considered mid-size. 

Atlanta’s entrepreneurial spirit owes to the fact that 475 business applications were logged last year for every 10,000 residents. “That’s double, even triple the number of business applications you’d find in any other city with a population between 450,000 to 550,000,” as reps noted in an email to Urbanize Atlanta.   

In terms of housing and living costs (Atlanta ranked ninth overall), the city’s cost of living lands at 4 percent below the national average. That’s less expensive than the two cities that bested ATL this year. 

Another highpoint, per the analysis, is that roughly 44 percent of Atlanta’s rentals are located in “desirable locations” near transportation, entertainment, and shopping. 

Among its mid-size peers, only Raleigh ranked higher, with about half of its rental in locales considered top tier.  

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The decidedly Southeast-heavy rundown for 2025's top finishers, according to RentCafe. (Note: Atlanta was mistaken for, maybe, Bainbridge in this graphic? And Knoxville is slipping.)

Subtitle Status as “entrepreneurial haven,” income growth, apartment sizes, cost of living lend ATL top marks

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From WABE Politics News:

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For over a decade, Lois Reitzes made City Lights a welcoming home for Atlanta’s artists. Now, we’re opening the doors even wider and carrying on her legacy with a chorus […]

From the Atlanta Tribune:

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The post Healthcare Shouldn’t Be One Size Fits Profit appeared first on Atlanta Tribune.

From WABE Politics News:

Utility regulators on Tuesday approved a plan for Georgia Power Co. to freeze base power rates through the end of 2028, although opponents argue that customers could face risks later if costs […]

Two years later, Juniper Street overhaul reaches new phase in Midtown Josh Green Tue, 07/01/2025 - 12:06

Two years after work began, a project designed to upgrade mobility across a wide swath of Midtown is entering the home stretch of construction. 

One of the final steps before completion, repaving work, has begun for the Juniper Complete Street Project, largely concentrated now toward the project’s northern end between 12th and 14th streets, as Midtown Alliance officials tell Urbanize Atlanta this week. A barrier-separated bike lane is also being installed in that area.  

Following a city moratorium that prohibits construction on the July 4 holiday (from noon July 3 to 9 a.m. July 7), construction of a Juniper Street bike-lane separation median is scheduled to move south, from 12th to 10th streets, next week. 

Erosion work and traffic-control maintenance is continuing along the project’s full 12-block scope on Juniper Street in the meantime. 

Contractors expect work on the complete-street overhaul to finish by late summer this year, barring any delays caused by weather, material shortages, concurrent work in the roadway by other contractors, or other factors, according to Midtown Alliance spokesperson Brian Carr. 

Construction progress this week along Juniper Street, south of 14th Street. via Ricky McGee/@McGeeRicky7

Work on the Juniper Complete Street Project at 14th Street on June 26. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

After more than a decade of planning, fundraising, and delays, the Juniper Complete Street Project broke ground in May 2023. It was considered a 20-month job from the outset.

Demand for access to Juniper Street from other entities with priority utility, construction, or filming permits was responsible for earlier delays, requiring the project’s contractor to temporarily pause work on certain blocks, officials previously said. 

Once finished, changes to Juniper Street will cover a dozen blocks, implementing a one-way, southbound cycletrack that starts at 14th Street near Colony Square and travels down to Ponce de Leon Avenue.

Vehicle lanes will be reduced to two, and dedicated parallel parking will be installed within a new buffer lane in places. 

Other additions will include bioswales, LED lighting, and street furniture. The broader goal is to create a more inviting, safer corridor for multiple forms of urban mobility in a key, growing section of Midtown. 

Depiction of the southbound, barrier-separated Juniper Street bike lanes, wider sidewalks, and more. Courtesy of TSW

The Juniper Street project was funded with a mix of city transportation impact fees, federal and state grants, and Midtown Improvement District funds. The idea was initially hatched back in 2010, when a TSW design team was hired. Midtown Alliance officials were once optimistic the project would be fully under construction by 2016. Behind the scenes, however, delays, dysfunction, and other messes involving the city’s procurement system under previous mayoral administrations were a hurdle.

In 2022, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens appointed a new procurement chief, and Midtown Alliance CEO and president Kevin Green has applauded the city’s revised procurement process as being more streamlined and sensible.

The complete-street overhaul will see non-drivers flowing south alongside car traffic in six to seven-foot bike lanes, protected by a system of raised planters and barriers at intersections. Trees and landscaping will be implemented as seasons and cooler weather allow, officials have said. 

Early phases of construction removed and preserved historic Juniper Street trolley tracks that had been submerged through the area.

Broader view of the Juniper Street project at 14th Street last month, with the state of Dewberry Capital's The Midtowne shown at right, more than five years after demo work began. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Project officials told Urbanize Atlanta in November the Juniper Street work remains on budget—estimated cost: $8.7 million—though the construction timeline had been extended. 

One block east, a 1.1-mile system of northbound bike lanes will similarly update Piedmont Avenue, stretching from Ponce de Leon Avenue up to 15th Street at Piedmont Park. Midtown Alliance lists that project as being under construction now, too. 

Below is a refresher showing sections of Midtown the Juniper Street bike lanes and other changes will cover: 

Scope of the one-way, southbound cycle track. Midtown Alliance

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Juniper Complete Street Project Juniper Street Midtown Alliance Bike Lanes Bike Infrastructure Atlanta Bike Infrastructure Alternate Transportation Alternative Transportation Atlanta Bicycling Bicycling TSW TSW Architects SD&C Middle Street Partners Dewberry Capital Campanile Campanile Building

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Construction progress this week along Juniper Street, south of 14th Street. via Ricky McGee/@McGeeRicky7

Work on the Juniper Complete Street Project at 14th Street on June 26. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Broader view of the Juniper Street project at 14th Street last month, with the state of Dewberry Capital's The Midtowne shown at right, more than five years after demo work began. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Depiction of the southbound, barrier-separated Juniper Street bike lanes, wider sidewalks, and more. Courtesy of TSW

Midtown Alliance

Courtesy of TSW

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Scope of the one-way, southbound cycle track. Midtown Alliance

Subtitle Repaving, bike-lane separation work underway for 12-block project across district

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From the Atlanta Tribune:

The City of College Park proudly announces that Mayor Bianca Motley Broom has been elected President of the Georgia Municipal Association (GMA), the organization’s top leadership position. Her election was confirmed during GMA’s annual convention in Savannah on Sunday, June 22, 2025. Mayor Motley Broom will lead the state’s preeminent municipal advocacy and support organization, […]

The post College Park Mayor Bianca Motley Broom of Elected President of Georgia Municipal Association appeared first on Atlanta Tribune.

From the Atlanta Daily World:

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The post College Park Mayor Bianca Motley Broom of Elected President of Georgia Municipal Association appeared first on Atlanta Daily World.

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From the Atlanta Tribune:

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From the Atlanta Daily World:

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Arts Atlanta:

Echo Valley doesn’t earn its talented acting ensemble; Mountainhead overestimates our tolerance for fabulously wealthy tech bros. :: Steve Murray’s monthly musings on TV in Atlanta and beyond. You might say it’s a low bar to clear, but Straw is one of the better movies written and directed by Atlanta’s media machine, Tyler Perry. (Yeah,...

Beside Atlanta's largest park, more than 130 new homes underway Josh Green Tue, 07/01/2025 - 10:07

New housing options at the doorstep of Atlanta’s largest greenspace are set to increase soon. 

Another section of the West Highlands neighborhood—a project started in the 1990s that’s already one of the largest master-planned communities in the City of Atlanta—is fully underway with site development next to the main entrance of Shirley Clarke Franklin Park (formerly Westside Park). 

The next flank of West Highlands, a collaboration between homebuilder Brock Built Homes and Atlanta Housing, calls for 137 units total in the Rockdale neighborhood west of Midtown. 

According to reps with Brock Built, a prominent developer in the area for decades, the current park-adjacent project along Johnson Road will include 103 townhomes and 24 flats/stacks, all of them for sale and not rent. 

Construction progress on West Highlands' next phase along Johnson Road, as seen from over Shirley Clarke Franklin Park last month. Urbanize Atlanta

Construction next to the park's "dinosaur ribcage" entrance last month. Urbanize Atlanta

Townhomes will range from 1,300 to 2,600 square feet in three product lines (15, 21, and 24-feet wide). The condos will all have two bedrooms and one bathroom. 

The collaboration with Atlanta Housing means that 20 percent of homes will be reserved at rates deemed affordable for families earning at or below 80 percent of the area median income, according to the housing agency. 

Development of the site—formerly woods between Johnson Road and Proctor Creek Greenway—kicked off several months ago, and vertical construction is scheduled to begin before the end of 2025, according to Brock Built. 

Renderings for the project are still being finalized, per company reps. 

Overview of Shirley Clarke Franklin Park and location of new West Highlands construction, prior to tree-removal on site. Google Maps

Location of new home construction (at right) in relation to a main park entrance, as seen in March. Google Maps

Another new section of West Highlands with 65 for-sale townhomes is under construction on the flipside of the community, on property that formerly housed the 1950s Perry Homes housing projects. West Highlands counts more than 1,300 apartments and standalone homes today. 

The new housing will join the growing, 300-home townhouse project Park Vue as neighbors to Atlanta’s biggest park space, which opened its initial phase in 2021 and could see development of a unique bike park kick off later this year, as Beltline officials recently told Urbanize Atlanta. 

Find more context and recent drone perspectives in the gallery above. 

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• Photos: How big neighborhood next to Atlanta's largest park is turning out(Urbanize Atlanta) 

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1600 Johnson Road Park Vue by Ashton Woods West Highlands Atlanta Housing Homes in Atlanta Westside Shirley Clarke Franklin Park Westside Park Affordable Housing Atlanta Affordable Housing affordable housing Brock Built Brock Built Homes Atlanta Construction Atlanta Development Atlanta Condos Atlanta Condos for Sale Atlanta Townhomes townhomes

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Overview of Shirley Clarke Franklin Park and location of new West Highlands construction, prior to tree-removal on site. Google Maps

Construction progress on West Highlands' next phase along Johnson Road, as seen from over Shirley Clarke Franklin Park last month. Urbanize Atlanta

Location of new home construction (at right) in relation to a main park entrance, as seen in March. Google Maps

Construction next to the park's "dinosaur ribcage" entrance last month. Urbanize Atlanta

The new Park Vue by Ashton Woods townhome community (center) across the street from the park. Urbanize Atlanta

The construction site in relation to a main parking area. Urbanize Atlanta

Urbanize Atlanta

Totality of the West Highlands project, with under-construction new sections shown at far left and, along Johnson Road, at right. Atlanta Housing

Subtitle It’s a collaboration between Brock Built, Atlanta Housing at Shirley Clarke Franklin Park’s doorstep

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From WABE Politics News:

The fate of the sweeping GOP tax and spending bill hangs in the balance as senators continue to work on amendments and closed-door negotiations Tuesday morning following an all-night session. […]

From WABE Local News:

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — DeKalb County is delaying the implementation of a 10% water and sewer rate increase. The rate raise was set to begin on July 1, but has been […]

Arts Atlanta:

Each week, ArtsATL delivers a critic’s short list of the shows, exhibitions, concerts and events we recommend for the coming weeks within one discipline or venue type in the kaleidoscope of Atlanta arts and culture. Every week, we’ll present a different art form. :: In addition to the shows listed below, Atlanta boasts several venues where you...

From the Saporta Report:

As homelessness becomes more visible—and more complex—in communities across Atlanta, Hope Atlanta’s Summer 2025 Field Report offers a powerful window into both the challenges and the solutions. With family homelessness up 14% and chronic homelessness down 9%, the 2025 Point-in-Time Count reflects a shifting landscape—and a need for adaptive, data-driven responses. Hope Atlanta’s Field Report highlights how […]

The post Housing, Health & Hope: What Hope Atlanta’s Field Report Reveals – And why it matters appeared first on SaportaReport.