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Photos: First new Atlanta BeltLine section of 2024 has arrived Josh Green Tue, 04/02/2024 - 12:09 Longtime Atlanta BeltLine observers and general fans of alternate transportation have reason to rejoice this week: Traveling from the edge of Grant Park to the southern rim of Buckhead entirely on paved and protected multi-use pathways—avoiding streets altogether—is now possible.

That’s thanks to a small but important new trail the BeltLine has declared officially open, bringing down locked fences in recent days.

The BeltLine piece in question is the first phase of the Northeast Trail’s Segment 1. Previously called the Carriage Trail, it connects to paved pathways around Piedmont Park's meadows and wends up beside the Atlanta Botanical Garden to points north, alongside the banks of Clear Creek.

Immediately north, the Carriage Trail section now links to the Northeast Trail piece that debuted to great fanfare last fall. 

The Northeast Trail's Segment 1 (in purple) is being implemented in three phases; the recently opened Carriage Trail is at top. Atlanta BeltLine Inc.

Overview of the new pathway near Atlanta Botanical Garden. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Opened ahead of its initial construction schedule, phase one replaces what used to be a cracked, asphalt path beside the creek. It provides a lighted, landscaped, and smoother connection with security cameras between Midtown and destinations such as Ansley Mall, the Armour District, and south Buckhead. The BeltLine reports that all components have been installed.

But heads up: Temporary barriers do remain, in places, while BeltLine crews await permanent handrails that will help protect patrons from a steep ledge.

The paved section means BeltLine patrons in the area won’t have to detour onto an interim gravel trail in Piedmont Park as Segment 1 construction continues.

New plantings installed beside the Northeast Trail Segment 1's initial phase. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Meanwhile, along Segment 1’s second phase from near Piedmont Park’s dog parks to Park Tavern, work on grading, wall installation, and stormwater continues, but trail installation has yet to begin.

Phase three includes pedestrian safety upgrades at the intersection of 10th Street and Monroe Drive; permits for that work have been applied for as logistics for minimizing traffic impacts are fine-tuned and BeltLine officials meet with neighborhood groups.  

All three pieces of Segment 1 through Piedmont Park remain on schedule to be completed sometime this fall, the BeltLine reports.

In the gallery above, find a photo tour illustrating how the first finished BeltLine section of 2024 turned out. 

An updated map showing planning and construction status of all trail segments around the 22-mile BeltLine loop. The Northeast Trail segments in question are shown at top right. Atlanta BeltLine Inc.

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• Midtown news, discussion (Urbanize Atlanta) 

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Beltline Atlanta BeltLine Northeast Trail Ansley Golf Course Morningside Lenox Park Lindbergh Lindbergh MARTA Piedmont Road BeltLine Construction Georgia Power Armour Yards Trees Atlanta Atlanta Trees Plantings Ansley Mall Segment 1 Atlanta Botanical Garden photo tours Visual Journeys Piedmont Park

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We begin on the recently repaved trail network next to Piedmont Park's Six Springs Wetlands, just north of the dog parks. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

The new trail passing under a bridge near Atlanta Botanical Garden's entry. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Heading north toward Ansley Mall and Buckhead. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Steps up to the park's Promenade and splash pad area. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Protective fencing remains in place while guardrail installation is pending. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Where the north end of the former Carriage Trail ends today. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

A few yards away, the repaved Carriage Trail links with the new Northeast Trail segment behind Ansley Mall. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Heading back south, the fencing, at left, helps keep patrons from plummeting into Clear Creek below. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

New plantings installed beside the Northeast Trail Segment 1's initial phase. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Overview of the new pathway near Atlanta Botanical Garden. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Where grading, wall installation, and stormwater work continues on the Northeast Trail Segment 1's second phase, looking toward Park Tavern. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Segment 1 will link the former Carriage Trail to Monroe Drive—and once intersection improvements are implemented, the Eastside Trail. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

We conclude with the already popular Piedmont Park entry to the new trail, as seen from above. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

The Northeast Trail's Segment 1 (in purple) is being implemented in three phases; the recently opened Carriage Trail is at top. Atlanta BeltLine Inc.

Subtitle Getting from Grant Park to Buckhead on paved, protected pathways is now possible

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Fresh renderings: Restaurant planned atop Atlanta’s tallest building Josh Green Mon, 04/01/2024 - 13:15 At street level and way above, more public-accessible functionality is bound for the tallest building in the Southeast.

That’s according to a new Bank of America Plaza marketing package obtained by Urbanize Atlanta. It promises visitors will “see Atlanta’s tallest tower in a whole new light” as part of an ongoing, $50-million capital improvement project that’s updating the 1992 landmark.

Notable changes will include a swanky restaurant and lounge space on the top floor—55 stories up—plus another new restaurant at street level, with a more inviting public plaza built along West Peachtree Street, on the western side of the block, according to marketing materials.

The 55th-floor lounge and restaurant space promises spellbinding views of Atlanta. CP Group/SRS Real Estate Partners

Those changes will join a jewel-box restaurant in the works at the building’s base near North Avenue, along with substantial interior upgrades at the lobby level.

Building owner CP Group, a Florida-based commercial real estate and management firm with a substantial Atlanta portfolio, started construction on the upgrades last summer as part of the building’s “The South Star” rebranding efforts. We’ve reached out to leasing officials with SRS Real Estate Group for more information and will update this story with any additional details that come.

According to the marketing package, the eye-catching standalone restaurant space will highlight the new plaza area that faces Peachtree Street. It’s described as a “high-end… culinary destination... with colorfully landscaped walkways and covered seating.”

How the Peachtree Street plaza currently looks and functions, as seen in November. Google Maps

New visuals for a planned restaurant space facing Peachtree Street on the tower's revised plaza. CP Group/SRS Real Estate Partners

As for the 55th-floor concept, it’s being called “a brand-new amenity perched atop the tower’s highest floor [with] space to lounge, dine, celebrate, and more—all with unbeatable views of Atlanta as a backdrop.”

Find a closer look and more context in the gallery above.

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• Midtown news, discussion (Urbanize Atlanta) 

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600 Peachtree Street NE Bank of America Plaza The South Star The CP Group SRS Real Estate Partners Atlanta’s Tallest Building Midtown news Midtown restaurants Peachtree Street Postmodern Atlanta Skyscrapers Postmodernism Restaurant Space Space for lease Shorenstein Properties Gensler Atlanta Architecture Atlanta Renovations Art Deco worCPlaces Holder Construction Kevin Roche Atlanta Restaurants

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The 55th-floor lounge and restaurant space promises spellbinding views of Atlanta. CP Group/SRS Real Estate Partners

New visuals for a planned restaurant space facing Peachtree Street on the tower's revised plaza. CP Group/SRS Real Estate Partners

How the Peachtree Street plaza currently looks and functions, as seen in November. Google Maps

Restaurant interiors for a concept marketed as "high-end." CP Group/SRS Real Estate Partners

CP Group/SRS Real Estate Partners

CP Group/SRS Real Estate Partners

CP Group/SRS Real Estate Partners

First look at a potential overhaul of landscaped plaza space where North Avenue meets Peachtree Street, on the westernmost side of the block. CP Group/SRS Real Estate Partners

The plaza at North Avenue and West Peachtree Street today. Google Maps

Subtitle Plus new glimpses at base level of Bank of America Plaza's $50-million revamp

Neighborhood Midtown

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Best OTP Downtown: Suburban Smackdown Final Four is set! Josh Green Mon, 04/01/2024 - 11:31 The people of metro Atlanta have spoken, and the Suburban Smackdown Final Four for 2024 is officially set!

Round 1 action saw more than 520 votes stream in, with the top four vote-getters advancing this year. All three top seeds—as determined by reader nominations—made the cut, with a feisty No. 16 seed also in the March Madness-style mix.

To recap, the reigning Best OTP Downtown champ from 2023, Alpharetta, appears to be on a warpath to glory once again. The north Fulton city tallied 180 votes—or 34 percent of all voting.

That was followed by instant dark horse Trilith, the growing southside mixed-use and TV/film studio hub, which raked in nearly one-fourth of all voting.

Rounding out the Final Four mix are Roswell (50 votes) and Marietta (32 votes), both strong contenders with historic, destination-grade downtown districts.

(Despite having a terrific OTP “Olde Town” in Rockdale County, Conyers was the only contestant to receive zero votes in the first round. Apologies.)  

The competition will resume in about 48 hours, with the top finishers in the Final Four earning a spot in the Championship, to be crowned early next week.

Thanks to all who’ve participated so far. Onward!

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Suburban Smackdown Best OTP Downtown Best OTP Downtown 2024 Trilith Town at Trilith Alpharetta Alpharetta City Center Alpharetta Development Fulton County City of Roswell Roswell Downtown Roswell Historic Downtown Roswell OTP Cobb County City of Marietta Marietta Marietta Development Urbanize Polls Urbanize Tournament

Subtitle It's a battle between top seeds, a dark horse in '24

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Local NIMBY inadvertently opposes own home expansion Josh Green Mon, 04/01/2024 - 08:01 In a display of intense neighborhood activism like few observers had ever seen, a Grant Park resident speaking out against an influx of new housing near his block accidentally convinced an influential governing board on Friday his own home expansion plans should be denied.

Roughly 65 meeting attendees who witnessed the dramatic episode before the Grant Park Zoning Authority described the actions of retiree Terry Lancaster as unchecked preservationist fervor and NIBMYism at its most vile, loud, and boneheaded.

Lancaster, 68, was briefly hospitalized after the meeting but has since been released to recover at home.

The mix-up started when Lancaster, by his own admission, spent too much time prior to Friday’s monthly zoning meeting “pregaming” at a Memorial Drive coffee shop. He drank espresso until a manager informed him it was against company policy to serve him another caffeinated beverage. According to employees, Lancaster squealed his Ford F-250 tires in the parking lot while leaving.

Since retiring as a history professor from Central Georgia State College, Lancaster has been a fixture at neighborhood zoning meetings, an outspoken opponent of change in general.

He’s rallied against plans for a townhome community on a former urban dump, a fire station expansion funded by donors, and an Earth Day celebration that would have added 27 oak saplings next to sidewalks near Lancaster’s 1918 Arts & Crafts bungalow. (He decried the plantings as “a desecration of perfectly empty grass.”) He founded in 2021 the nonprofit RAAHD, or Reasonable Atlantans Against Housing Development, which has accumulated nearly 700 anonymous members with big online personalities but no record of attending in-person meetings. Critics say Lancaster is known to spend his evenings “poisoning” the online review sections of new Grant Park businesses—including a daycare built in a vacant storage facility—and Habitat for Humanity.

Lancaster, who is divorced and lives alone, filed plans with the city in December to expand his four-bedroom bungalow. According to permit applications, he intended to tack on a 1,500-square-foot wing that would primarily house “knickknacks” and various “large bovine collectibles” he’s accrued over occasional antiquing binges since 1979. The architecture plans alone had cost Lancaster $59,000, per the filings.

At January’s zoning meeting, Joey Bronson, head of pro-housing advocacy group More ATL Housing Yesterday, pointed out the “vicious irony” in Lancaster’s request, given his track record of “frothing, berserk opposition” to altering Grant Park’s housing stock in any way. Especially when proposals involve secondary housing units in backyards, Bronson said.

Lancaster has defended his home expansion quest as a “lifestyle necessity that’s been sufficiently earned” because he was there first.  

As Friday’s zoning meeting unfolded, Lancaster appeared agitated and slightly red in the third row, donning a grey patterned blazer and gold-tinted spectacles. Zoning board member Tasha Miller quipped to a colleague—as was caught by her microphone, unbeknownst to her—that “our most obnoxious NIMBY” appeared to have been “a bit geeked out.”

The first agenda item to draw Lancaster’s wrath was a proposed mulch donation from Arborist Enhancements Group that would have circled the tallest trees around Grant Park’s largest meadow with fresh wood chips. Lancaster, speaking from the dais, lambasted the idea as a “monumental waste of road space, to get this stuff there” and strangely threatened to “call FEMA.”

Befuddled zoning board members trying to make sense Friday of Lancaster's FEMA threat. Shutterstock

Lancaster also spoke briefly against a proposal to paint playground equipment in preparation for summer months. And a community garden project on a United Baptist Church side yard. Lancaster ripped the fourth agenda item—a bakery’s request to replace two parking spaces with outdoor seating—as being “the moral equivalent of smut in a historically protected vehicle district.”

Next came a new proposal from developers Maximum Equity Bros. to build a triplex where a dilapidated 1980s dwelling stands today on Bottoms Avenue. (Later, Bronson, the pro-housing advocate, described Lancaster’s reaction to the triplex news as “pants-shittin' nuclear” after medics had cleared the zoning board chambers.)

Luke Beauregard, Maximum Equity’s chief extraction officer, said the triplex is fully financed, and if approved for multifamily zoning would break ground in June. He was declining at length to estimate what units might cost—until a physical struggle to keep Lancaster from the dais microphone erupted.

After a few seconds, the espresso-jacked sexagenarianprevailed. Lancaster told the zoning board the triplex was offensive in that it would stand within 400 yards of his upstairs closets and could impact “historic view corridors” from one of those rooms.

“Look, we’ve all been here, living and breathing history, for at least six years,” Lancaster told the board. “It’s important that, at some point, we have to reach behind us, grab the knob, and shut that proverbial door before these lots are all gone. If we don’t, we’ll find ourselves oozing multiplexes, tiny Zoomer shacks, and seriously affordable housing.”

When Miller, the councilmember, suggested Lancaster’s opinion was based in “xenophobic delusions,” the chronic naysayer was so furious and triggered he threatened a lawsuit. In a fury, while he had the room’s attention, he also preemptively objected to all remaining proposals on the agenda—including the expansion of his own home.

Given the outburst, and the applicant's self-inflicted rejection, the zoning board leapfrogged several agenda items in order to promptly, unanimously deny Lancaster’s personal project. (Miller noticeably snickered.) Bronson, also laughing, jogged to the podium to thank the board for standing up to “resistance run amok.”

At that point, Lancaster murmured several derogatory terms for young people, fainted, and dropped to the carpet. His cellphone, face up on the floor, was open to a Google search: “Where to buy lets go brandon flag.”  

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• Other April 1 indecent proposals (Urbanize Atlanta) 

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Indecent Proposals NIMBY Nimbyism Grant Park April Fools Grant Park Zoning Authority

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Befuddled zoning board members trying to make sense Friday of Lancaster's FEMA threat. Shutterstock

Subtitle Observers blame "resistance run amok" for consequential error before Grant Park Zoning Authority

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BeltLine: Eastside Trail has grown too much for Lantern Parade Josh Green Fri, 03/29/2024 - 15:21 For better or worse, the days of a full-blown Lantern Parade on the BeltLine’s Eastside Trail appear to be a thing of the past. 

On the bright side, the luminous Atlanta tradition—one of the city’s longest-running events now, in fact—is set in stone for early May in Southwest Atlanta, with a more eventful, celebratory schedule than ever.

Described as a “beloved Atlanta celebration of creativity, community, and light" with giant glowing puppets and marching bands, the grassroots parade had humble beginnings in 2010, when a few hundred creative souls marched with LED lanterns down the shoddy dirt railroad corridor that’s become the Eastside Trail—with no spectators on the sidelines. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Lantern Parade was drawing estimated crowds of 70,000 annually to the Eastside Trail, solidify itself as a unique local tradition alongside the Dogwood Festival, Streets Alive, and Inman Park Festival, among others.

The pandemic paused the parade for two years, but in 2022 it reemerged on the flipside of town, illuminating a section of the BeltLine’s Westside Trail beginning in Adair Park. That’s where it will return May 11.

The Lantern Parade's Eastside Trail takeover. Shutterstock

When asked this week if the Lantern Parade might one day return to the BeltLine’s most patronized stretch of pathway, a project representative provided the following statement: “The Eastside Trail has grown significantly since the Lantern Parade was created in 2010, as has the parade itself, which currently attracts tens of thousands,” reads an email to Urbanize Atlanta. “To maintain the integrity of the event while also considering the daily activity and traffic of the highly traveled Eastside Trail, the event has transitioned to the Westside Trail.” 

That doesn’t mean the Eastside Trail will see no lanterns in 2024.

Sometime this fall, the BeltLine will present the second incarnation of “Where the Weird Things Are.” That’s described as a smaller lantern event, also created and curated by Chantelle Rytter and her Krewe of the Grateful Gluttons, that will occupy a portion of the Eastside Trail. The date for that event, according to BeltLine reps, will be announced soon. 

The Lantern Parade's Westside Trail debut in 2022. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Meanwhile, the 14th installment of the full Lantern Parade (yes, 14 years), will step off at 8:45 p.m. May 11 at Adair Park I (742 Catherine St. SW). It’s being sponsored by the Lee + White district, and its developers and owners Ackerman and Co. and MDH Partners.

Expect five marching bands this year and a large crowd; an estimated 15,000 spectators and participants came in 2023, per the BeltLine.

The parade will end in the parking lot of Lee + White for what’s being billed as an“All-Band-Puppet-Jam,” where everyone’s encouraged to dance with the bands and take photos with the Krewe’s towering puppets.

The BeltLine recommends taking MARTA to the nearby West End station, biking, or using ride-share to attend the Lantern Parade, as parking will be limited.

Find more details on puppet-making workshops for the general public, the parade route, and more over here.

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Westside Trail Beltline Atlanta BeltLine West End Westview Oakland City Lantern Parade Chantelle Rytter and her Krewe of the Grateful Gluttons Lee + White MDH Partners Ackerman & Co. Ackerman and Co. Atlanta Traditions Atlanta Festivals What to do in Atlanta

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The Lantern Parade's Westside Trail debut in 2022. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Crowds before step-off in 2022. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

A much smaller procession in 2013—the first parade year after the Eastside Trail’s initial section was completed.Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

The grassroots arts initiative had grown to an event with 70,000 spectators before the COVID-19 pandemic. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

The Lantern Parade's Eastside Trail takeover. Shutterstock

Subtitle Luminous ATL tradition will return to Westside Trail in May, with smaller fall event planned for eastside

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Images: Modern refresh in works for Buckhead Village street Josh Green Fri, 03/29/2024 - 13:38 From an aesthetic standpoint, big changes could be in store for one of Buckhead’s main shopping corridors.

A project that would redesign and combine several storefronts in the 3000 block of Roswell Road into a single showroom space is scheduled to come before Buckhead’s SPI-9 Development Review Committee during its monthly meeting Wednesday.

Plans submitted by Fathom Architecture principal Kevin Plenge show modifications to both the front and back of commercial spaces along a row of mostly vacant storefronts that face Charlie Loudermilk Park at 3084 Roswell Road.

Formerly home to Peachtree Bikes and Temmer marble’s “slab gallery,” among other businesses, the retail strip today houses quartz dealer Cambria and One on One Matchmaking, described as an “ultra-exclusive, boutique matchmaking service for single clients.”

Facades in the 3000 block of Roswell Road today (top), facing Charlie Loudermilk Park, versus future plans at bottom. FATHOM Architecture; via Buckhead DRC

Location of the Roswell Road project in the context of Buckhead Village. Google Maps

According to Fathom’s drawings, the spaces will be combined for a large Construction Resources showroom called CR Design Studio.

Construction Resources, which operates a smaller showroom along the retail strip in question now, forecasts the studio will open later this year on its website.

The larger, modernized space “will offer designers, architects, and retail customers everything that Construction Resources has to offer from luxury countertops, smart appliances, high-end lighting, and so much more,” reads a description. “[The studio] is prominently positioned amongst high-end shops and designer showrooms for you to shop the best building products in town.”

Full view of the modernized showroom storefront planned at 3084 Roswell Road. FATHOM Architecture; via Buckhead DRC

We’ve reached out to Fathom reps for a timeline on when construction might move forward, and we’ll post any additional information that comes.

Elsewhere in Atlanta, Fathom has designed a remake of Ford Fry’s longtime King + Duke restaurant space at 3060 Peachtree Road in Buckhead, and in Capitol View, a modular-built residential project a few blocks from the BeltLine’s Southside Trail.

FATHOM Architecture; via Buckhead DRC

Changes planned behind the row of Roswell Road buildings. FATHOM Architecture; via Buckhead DRC

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3084 Roswell Road Valentino and Associates Buckhead DRC Buckhead Development Review Committee Fathom Architecture Atlanta Architecture Buckhead Village Roswell Road Charlie Loudermilk Park CR Design Studio Construction Resources Temmer

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Location of the Roswell Road project in the context of Buckhead Village. Google Maps

Facades in the 3000 block of Roswell Road today (top), facing Charlie Loudermilk Park, versus future plans at bottom. FATHOM Architecture; via Buckhead DRC

Changes planned behind the row of Roswell Road buildings. FATHOM Architecture; via Buckhead DRC

Full view of the modernized showroom storefront planned at 3084 Roswell Road. FATHOM Architecture; via Buckhead DRC

FATHOM Architecture; via Buckhead DRC

Subtitle Roswell Road project calls for combining several storefronts

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People-friendly redo of iconic ATL bridge finally moves forward Josh Green Fri, 03/29/2024 - 11:53 At the beginning of the year, Urbanize Atlanta readers voted the Jackson Street Bridge’s people-friendly overhaul as one of the very top “wish list items” across the city.

Unfortunately, that year was 2022.

But with an injection of new funding lined up, signs are pointing to the needed redo of Old Fourth Ward's “selfie mecca” finally moving forward. 

Liliana Bakhtiari, Atlanta City Council member (District 5), tells Urbanize her office has recently put $300,000 toward the project “to get it full financed.”

As a next step, the Atlanta Downtown Improvement District is helping with the bidding process to find a construction company that would implement changes on the bridge and nearby streets, Bakhtiari said.

The Jackson Street Bridge has emerged as one of Atlanta’s most popular destinations for wedding photos, Insta posts, The Walking Dead tourism, and anything else involving skyline photography.

Initially floated in 2014, the idea for redoing the bridge has been refined with neighborhood input over the years. In 2019, Colorado-based advocacy group PeopleForBikes awarded Atlanta a $10,000 grant to help make the miniature park—or “parklet”—happen on the bridge, all dotted with shrubs, trees, and interesting, functional seating. Three years ago, city officials said the bridge work would be finished by the end of 2021. But the project never managed to break ground.

An early concept from 2014 that articulated some ideas for improving the popular destination.Department of City Planning; Atlanta City Studio

The revised Jackson Street placemaking plan that was once expected to move forward in 2021, per city officials.Department of City Planning; Atlanta City Studio

When construction might move forward—and how long it might take before the revised bridge is finished—isn’t yet clear. We’ve submitted inquiries this week with City of Atlanta and Atlanta Department of Transportation officials but had not heard back as of press time.  

As part of the Department of City Planning’s Placemaking Program, the project would reconfigure traffic and bike lanes along Jackson Street to increase safety and vibrancy. The bridge’s parklet would be a wide pedestrian area with seating, ADA access, an array of plantings in raised planters, and possibly bike racks, city officials have said. 

A new protected cycle track would extend from the PATH Foundation’s Freedom Parkway Trail to the Baker-Highland Trail, better linking Old Fourth Ward with downtown.

The project went through the permitting process in 2021 with both Atlanta’s and Georgia’s departments of transportation. Renew Atlanta funds are expected to foot most of the bill, officials said at the time.

In the above gallery, find a detailed look at the Jackson Street Bridge project’s evolution over the years.

Below, find before/after glimpses of what’s now planned, according ATLDOT’s most recent renderings, beginning just south of the bridge at Cain Street:

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Jackson Street Bridge Arcadis Georgia Department of Transportation PeopleForBikes Bike Lanes Atlanta Department of Transportation Highland Avenue PATH Foundation Freedom Parkway Trail Baker-Highland Trail John Lewis Freedom Parkway

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An early concept from 2014 that articulated some ideas for improving the popular destination.Department of City Planning; Atlanta City Studio

A 2018 concept with a small plaza, benches, and landscaping, plus narrowed vehicular travel lanes.David DiGioia rendering, via Department of City Planning; Atlanta City Studio

The revised Jackson Street placemaking plan that was once expected to move forward in 2021, per city officials.Department of City Planning; Atlanta City Studio

An overview of the city's most recent plans. Department of City Planning; Atlanta City Studio

Subtitle Old Fourth Ward “selfie mecca” Jackson Street Bridge scores city council funding

Neighborhood Old Fourth Ward

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24 photos: Closeup of Atlanta's latest TV/film studio wonderland Josh Green Thu, 03/28/2024 - 17:03 Like Trilith and Tyler Perry Studios before it, Doraville’s Assembly Atlanta has incorporated non-AI backlots alongside vast soundstages to create the illusion of backdrops from around the world beneath the Georgia sun.

Assembly Studios’ “lights, camera, action” phase officially kicked off last fall, following two years of planning and construction and owner Gray Television’s $400 million investment on what used to be Doraville’s General Motors plant. (Another facet: A 120-foot-tall LED tower near Interstate 285, lording over the center of the TV/film complex.)  

Assembly officials provided Urbanize Atlanta this week with glimpses of how it’s all come together, from intimate green rooms to full, faux city streets.

A backdrop designed to resemble New York City neighborhoods. Courtesy of Assembly Studios

Resembling a Los Angeles-style studio city, Assembly backlots have taken shape with distinctive facades designed to mimic brownstones in New York City, the streets of European capital cities, and even the French Quarter in New Orleans. The first phase, designed by Smith Dalia Architects and built by Gipson Company, includes more than 1 million square feet of film-production space—from warehouses to dining halls and bungalows for private production—across about 50 acres.

The AJC recently reported leasing at Assembly Studios isn’t meeting expectations ($1 billion in productions had been booked for 2024 alone), given turbulence in the industry related to workforce strikes. The complex houses 8 percent of all soundstage space available in the Peach State. Assembly reps say productions are active on site right now, and that NBCUniversal signed a long-term agreement to lease and operate Assembly facilities.

How a typical dressing room looks at Assembly Studios. Courtesy of Assembly Studios

The studios, with existing tenant Third Rail Studios included, occupy 50 acres of the full site, which covers 135 acres. Another phase-one section is a public-accessible greenspace called Assembly Commons, featuring a 2-acre central lawn and large retaining pond with water jets at the bottom that create fountain effects. Aspects of the project that have been delayed but are still eventually planned include housing, hotel rooms, eateries, and shops.

In the gallery above, find a thorough photo tour of Assembly’s beginnings—and where this first phase of a Southernfried La La Land stands today.  

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5801 Peachtree Road Assembly Atlanta Third Rail Studios Assembly Yards Chamblee Gray Television Warner Brothers NBC Warner Bros. Netflix Capstone South Assembly Integral Group General Motors Plant Dan Rosenfelt Smith Dalia Architects Georgia Film Office Peach State BAILEY CONSTRUCTION AND CONSULTING Bailey Construction Hilton Howell Gipson Company Lucie Content Trilith Tyler Perry Studios

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How the barren former vehicle production site looked prior to Assembly Atlanta development, spanning more than 130 acres. Courtesy of Assembly Studios

Where the Doraville General Motors plant, shuttered in 2008, had been cleared several years ago. Courtesy of Assembly Studios

Backlot facades under construction in September 2022. Courtesy of Assembly Studios

The studios' main gate nods to the site's industrial past. Courtesy of Assembly Studios; current photography by Lucie Content

Parking arrangements outside Assembly's 22 soundstages. Courtesy of Assembly Studios

A backdrop designed to resemble New York City neighborhoods. Courtesy of Assembly Studios

What's meant to stand in for New Orleans' French Quarter (minus obnoxious Saints fans). Courtesy of Assembly Studios

An office building designed to appear "futuristic" at Assembly Atlanta, used by production teams. Courtesy of Assembly Studios

Courtesy of Assembly Studios

Recent construction on the LED tower at the northern portion of the studios, near Interstate 285. Courtesy of Assembly Studios

Facades designed to mimic streets in major European cities. Courtesy of Assembly Studios

Courtesy of Assembly Studios

NYC in GA? Courtesy of Assembly Studios

How a typical dressing room looks at Assembly Studios. Courtesy of Assembly Studios

Example of an Assembly Studios green room. Courtesy of Assembly Studios

A hair and makeup room. Courtesy of Assembly Studios

An Assembly kitchen space. Courtesy of Assembly Studios

Office corridors for Assembly employees. Courtesy of Assembly Studios

Courtesy of Assembly Studios

An Assembly boardroom used by production teams. Courtesy of Assembly Studios

Example of voluminous soundstage interiors. Courtesy of Assembly Studios

Courtesy of Assembly Studios

Courtesy of Assembly Studios

In addition to I-285, Assembly is situated next to MARTA’s Gold Line, about 11 miles north of Midtown.Courtesy of Assembly Studios

Subtitle Inside Assembly Studios, a 50-acre stand-in for New Orleans, New York, European capitals, and more

Neighborhood Doraville

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Photographer Lucie Content

Photographer Link https://luciecontent.com/

New MARTA stations outlook; 1,600 units; big Avondale build Josh Green Thu, 03/28/2024 - 14:49 CITYWIDE—Advocates for a comprehensive Atlanta BeltLine light-rail system, it appears, can breathe a sigh of relief—probably. Collie Greenwood, MARTA CEO, told the Atlanta City Council transportation committee during a meeting this week the mayor’s plan to create four infill MARTA stations as a means of boosting ridership will not replace plans for extending streetcar services into the BeltLine corridor.

Following Mayor Andre Dickens' bombshell Monday announcement, MARTA is planning to explore how a combination of federal, state, and local funds—combined with revenue from mixed-use developments next to transit stations on MARTA land—could provide money needed to build four additional stops, as Axios Atlanta relays.

The only known infill station location would be near Murphy Crossing and the Westside Trail, creating an easy link between MARTA rail transit and the BeltLine. Greenwood told councilmembers MARTA is weighing the viability of other rail station sites that have been previously studied—including other stops along BeltLine trails, at points across town—but that conditions of today might call for different locations and implementation tactics.

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BANKHEAD—A nearly 16-acre slate of Bankhead warehouses and open post-industrial land could be home to a whopping 1,600 residential units and 700,000 square feet of commercial space, including BeltLine-adjacent offices, built by the Florida-based developer behind West Midtown’s growing Star Metals District. That’s according to reporting this week from Bisnow Atlanta that cites a recent rezoning request filed by The Allen Morris Company, which bought the 1060 Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway property for $31 million in May 2022.

The linear site in question along Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway. Brock Built's Ten29 West townhome project is seen at left, as construction began a couple of years ago. Courtesy of Allen Morris Company

Plans call for direct access to an under-construction segment of the BeltLine next door—the last unfinished segment of the Westside Trail, in fact—and a new parking garage for visitors and employees arriving by car. (Portman Holdings has been rumored to be somehow involved in the development deal, but Portman officials have said it's too early to comment.) 

Much of the property is vacant today, with the exception of a too-cool nonprofit facility and community organization called Village Skatepark ATL. According to the skatepark’s website, it’s conducting a 2024 fundraiser to help secure a new building and permanent location. 

BeltLine officials say construction on the Westside Trail’s adjacent Segment 4 is now expected to be finished in summer 2025.

The Donald Lee Hollowell industrial property in question. Google Maps

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AVONDALE ESTATES—Massive development plans are finally moving forward (sort of) on a long-empty site at the edge of Avondale Estates’ Tudor-rific downtown. Avila Development, the firm behind The Kirkwood and new Grant Park apartments fronting the BeltLine's Southside Trail, has received a permit for grading and demolition to transform 13 acres next to Avondale’s award-winning Town Green, according to Decaturish. The 136 Laredo Drive property—a huge expanse of barren concrete just north of Avondale’s downtown—has been in Avila’s portfolio since 2014. 

The empty 13-acre, concrete parcel in question, in relation to Avondale's downtown and Town Green. Google Maps

Conceptual drawings from 2022 show a new residential district sprouting from the land with a mix of 602 apartments, townhomes, and live-work-play units across eight buildings. But don’t hold your breath, ye development wonks: The word is that Avila is merely ripping out concrete and implementing infrastructure upgrades such as erosion control and grading, for now.   

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ATL News Roundup MARTA Allen Morris Company The Allen Morris Company BeltLine Rail MARTA Stations New MARTA station Bankhead Avondale Estates; 136 Laredo Drive Avondale Estates Town Green Town Green Avila Development Avila Real Estate Westside Affordable Housing Westside Trail Atlanta BeltLine

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The linear site in question along Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway. Brock Built's Ten29 West townhome project is seen at left, as construction began a couple of years ago. Courtesy of Allen Morris Company

The Donald Lee Hollowell industrial property in question. Google Maps

Subtitle Real estate, architecture, and urban planning news from around Atlanta

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BeltLine-connected 'The Spur' trail has launched construction Josh Green Thu, 03/28/2024 - 13:01 After years of discussion, planning, and fundraising, The Spur trail is officially happening west of Midtown.

Called the Westside Paper Spur Trail for long, the .73-mile paved pathway will branch north from the Westside BeltLine Connector, providing a protected multi-use trail link between downtown and hundreds of residences and new businesses along the West Marietta Street corridor.

In between will be a 65-foot-long bridge that’s necessary for steep topography between properties in the Howell Station neighborhood, according to project officials. 

At the south end, The Spur will start where the Westside BeltLine Connector meets Joseph E Lowery Boulevard. It will pass directly next to the Puritan Mill district, expanded QTS data center facilities, and the new mixed-use Westside Paper district, a remake of 1950s warehouses, before ending near King Plow Arts Center.

Looking north, an overview of the .73-mile multi-use pathway, with the Westside Paper district ahead at right. PATH Foundation/Upper Westside CID

Broader context of The Spur's location near Westside Park, due west of Midtown. Google Maps

The Spur is considered a collaborative effort between the City of Atlanta, Upper Westside Community Improvement District, and PATH Foundation. It’s been on the radar of Atlanta alternate transportation enthusiasts since 2020, when business owners, stakeholders, and nearby residents pinpointed The Spur as a priority for boosting the area’s multimodal infrastructure. The Upper Westside CID also incorporated the trail into its Upper Westside Masterplan that year.

Elizabeth Hollister, Upper Westside CID executive director, noted in a groundbreaking announcement today that “forward-thinking property owners” donated all of the necessary easements for trail construction. The CID group picked Hasbun Construction to build The Spur following a public bidding process last year.

Funding for The Spur was sourced from the $750-million Moving Atlanta Forward program approved by voters two years ago, the Howell Station Neighborhood Association, the Upper Westside CID, and other sources.

Greta DeMayo, PATH executive director, said The Spur is part of a project portfolio her agency is aiming to deliver by 2026 “to make Atlanta a more connected and vibrant community” as a fundraising campaign called “Our PATH Forward… Continuing the Journey” rolls on.

Construction of The Spur is expected to move rather quickly, with its opening scheduled for May next year.

Upper Westside CID officials hope to eventually expand the pathway so that it ties into the new Brady Avenue cycletrack and the mainline BeltLine loop, located just to the west.

Here's an overview of what's officially under construction now: 

PATH Foundation/Upper Westside CID

Closer view of the bridge component. PATH Foundation/Upper Westside CID

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The Spur Westside Paper Spur Trail Upper Westside Community Improvement District Upper Westside CID Westside Paper Knight Park/Howell Station Knight Park PATH Foundation Puritan Mill King Plow Arts Center Hasbun Construction Atlanta DOT Atlanta Department of Transportation Atlanta Trails Westside BeltLine Connector Beltline Alternate Transportation Alternative Transportation

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Broader context of The Spur's location near Westside Park, due west of Midtown. Google Maps

Looking north, an overview of the .73-mile multi-use pathway, with the Westside Paper district ahead at right. PATH Foundation/Upper Westside CID

PATH Foundation/Upper Westside CID

Closer view of the bridge component. PATH Foundation/Upper Westside CID

Subtitle Features include 65-foot-long bridge near recent Howell Station developments

Neighborhood Howell Station

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Best OTP Downtown: Suburban Smackdown 2024 tourney begins! Josh Green Thu, 03/28/2024 - 08:11 March Madness is upon us, and that means it’s time to crown a college basketball champion—and to anoint one OTP downtown the best in metro Atlanta for the second year running.

Can last year’s winner, Alpharetta, be dethroned in this March Madness-style bout to determine the Best OTP Downtown? Who takes the Suburban Smackdown crown if so? Only time, and your votes, will tell.

But heads up—the format has changed since 2023.

Why? Because Urbanize Atlanta has changed since then (most notably, a paywall went live last month). And we’re trying to help ensure a fair and honest tourney.

A quick rundown of the rules this year:

• 1.The 2024 contest is comprised of the 16 OTP downtowns and city centersthat garnered the most pre-tourney NOMINATIONS last year. This gives each original contestant a fair shake, once again.
• 2.Voting for all Round 1 contests opens right now, with 16 options to vote for.
• 3.Round 1 voting closes promptly at NOON on Monday.
• 4. The four contestants with the most Round 1 votes will constitute the Final Four.
• 5.  The top OTP Downtown of 2024 will be crowned in early April, with thousands upon thousands of metro Atlantans watching.

Without further ado, here’s the hallowed bracket for ’24:

The top four vote-getters in Round 1 will advance to the Final Four in 2024. Shutterstock/Urbanize ATL

In short, expect three contests total. (Note: Our paywall allows for five free stories each month, which will permit proud OTP dwellers new to Urbanize Atlanta to vote in all three contests. Our new sign-in system should also help eradicate nefarious voting.) Nominations were open to any place within roughly a half-hour of the Interstate 285 perimeter.

Last year, after tens of thousands of votes, Alpharetta edged Duluth in the Championship to become the inaugural Suburban Smackdown victor.

Can another great OTP place rise up and snatch the title—and everlasting glory? The tourney begins now. We'll know soon. 

Let the eliminations begin!

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Suburban Smackdown Best OTP Downtown 2024 Polls Atlanta Suburbs Urbanize Polls

Subtitle Who shall advance to the Final Four? Vote now!

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Developer: Affordable rentals bound for ‘rapidly gentrifying’ area Josh Green Wed, 03/27/2024 - 15:15 A deal is moving forward to revive a long-vacant apartment complex and create attainable new residences in what developers call a “rapidly gentrifying” section of Atlanta’s Westside.

Backed by funding from Invest Atlanta, Atlanta Affordable Housing Fund, and Westside Future Fund, the joint venture by ARRC Capital Partners and Fifteen70 Development expects to begin construction soon at 385 Joseph E Lowery Boulevard.

Currently configured as 12 units, the brick-built apartments stand adjacent to Kathryn Johnston Memorial Park in English Avenue, about a mile west of the Georgia World Congress Center.

The apartments, which have been vacant for more than 20 years, will be expanded with additional stories to 32 units total. The new layout will cater to a mix of renters from students to families, according to Richard Taylor, ARRC Capital Partners managing partner.

The vacant 385 Joseph E Lowery Boulevard property today. Courtesy of ARRC Capital Partners, Fifteen70 Development

Proposed look of the expanded, renovated apartment property. Courtesy of ARRC Capital Partners, Fifteen70 Development

Plans call for 18 studio units to start at just 275 square feet, with the largest two options being 566-square-foot, two-bedroom apartments.

The project will be unique, per the development team, in that it will be majority-affordable, with rents capped at 30, 60, and 80 percent of the area median income, along with some market-rate units.

About one in five of the apartments will see rents starting at just over $530 per month, per developers.

A breakdown of unit sizes and projected rents ranging from market-rate to the most affordable. Courtesy of ARRC Capital Partners, Fifteen70 Development

Courtesy of ARRC Capital Partners, Fifteen70 Development

Taylor described the project as a “catalyst for health equity” that will deliver “deeply affordable housing” within an easy walk of greenspaces. Rodney Cook Sr. Park in Vine City is also located a few blocks east.

To finance this extreme makeover, the development team has received an acquisition loan from Atlanta Affordable Housing Fund (Community Foundation of Greater Atlanta), a Westside Future Fund construction loan, and an Invest Atlanta grant through its Westside TAD Resurgens Fund.

Taylor says community-building will be an important part of the development strategy, and that his group has already founded a parent-teacher association at the local elementary school, Hollis Innovation Academy.

The Joseph E Lowery Boulevard venture will mark the second in the area for ARRC Capital Partners.

The group’s first, 12Hundred Studios (also previously vacant), won the Atlanta Regional Commission’s Regional Excellence Award, and the Community Impact Award from CoStar, for its innovative approach to financing and community engagement.

Find a closer look at English Avenue plans in the gallery above. 

The project's 385 Joseph E Lowery Boulevard location, near two new Westside parks. Google Maps

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385 Joseph E Lowery Boulevard ARRC Capital Partners Fifteen70 Development Affordable Housing Joseph E. Lowery Boulevard Kathryn Johnston Memorial Park Cook Park Rodney Cook Sr. Park Atlanta apartments Atlanta Construction Invest Atlanta Atlanta Affordable Housing Fund Westside Future Fund Westside 12Hundred Studios

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The project's 385 Joseph E Lowery Boulevard location, near two new Westside parks. Google Maps

Courtesy of ARRC Capital Partners, Fifteen70 Development

The vacant 385 Joseph E Lowery Boulevard property today. Courtesy of ARRC Capital Partners, Fifteen70 Development

Courtesy of ARRC Capital Partners, Fifteen70 Development

Courtesy of ARRC Capital Partners, Fifteen70 Development

Courtesy of ARRC Capital Partners, Fifteen70 Development

Courtesy of ARRC Capital Partners, Fifteen70 Development

Proposed look of the expanded, renovated apartment property. Courtesy of ARRC Capital Partners, Fifteen70 Development

Example of the developers' previous work in Hunter Hills, an apartment rehab called 12Hundred Studios. Courtesy of ARRC Capital Partners, Fifteen70 Development

Interiors at 12Hundred Studios today. Courtesy of ARRC Capital Partners, Fifteen70 Development

Courtesy of ARRC Capital Partners, Fifteen70 Development

A breakdown of unit sizes and projected rents ranging from market-rate to the most affordable. Courtesy of ARRC Capital Partners, Fifteen70 Development

Subtitle English Avenue property has sat vacant for more than two decades

Neighborhood English Avenue

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