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Infill in Atlanta


Newnan

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My favorite watering hole is across from Lindbergh City Center, so I'm over there every week or so. The good news is the retail spaces are being built out - they look great, and are finally ready for tenants. ALSO, a Taco Mac sign just went up two weeks ago on the end of the building that wraps around the parking deck behind Longhorn & Chilis. It would appear they are taking 2 floors, and there is a nice balcony off the 2nd story. The residential is coming along rapidly that is going in almost on top of the station, and they look decent.

The spot where Longhorn and Chilis went in was originally supposed to be a Marriott - but the market just isn't ready. I have to admit, they did do a good job on the two restaurants. Built right up to the street with wide sidewalks, seating areas, etc. All parking is in the big deck.

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  • 1 month later...

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I went by the Lindbergh Plaza the other day and I have to say it looks really nice. It basically wraps Home Depot/ Target /Best Buy and parking with street level retail on Sidney Marcus and Morosgo. If the phase II residential fronting Piedmont is done right, I would give this one a :thumbsup:

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Creative Loafing has this interesting story on the suddenly hot Memorial Drive corridor near downtown.

Memorial Drive, rising

The stretch of Memorial Drive just east of downtown, long a wasteland of seedy warehouses, vacant lots and unsightly auto-repair shops, has suddenly become hot. Make that blazing hot, with developers furiously snatching up old parking lots and empty industrial buildings for prices upward of $2 million an acre.

By most accounts, the flash point for the Memorial corridor was the long-awaited start of construction on Capitol Gateway, a $200 million development on part of the former site of the Capitol Homes public housing project that will include more than 900 mixed-income townhouse apartments, neighborhood retail and restaurants on 33 acres.

Now, if all goes as planned, the Memorial/MLK corridor between the Downtown Connector and Oakland Cemetery will be zoned for mixed-used six-story condo blocks along the street, with shops and cafes on the ground floor. Along the north side of MLK Drive, close to the MARTA tracks, property owners would be allowed to build residential towers up to 17 stories tall.

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I went by the Lindbergh Plaza the other day and I have to say it looks really nice. It basically wraps Home Depot/ Target /Best Buy and parking with street level retail on Sidney Marcus and Morosgo. If the phase II residential fronting Piedmont is done right, I would give this one a :thumbsup:

While I still think this area has a ways to go, I am inclined to agree with you. Sembler's developments have been somewhat vilified on these message boards for not being urban enough, but there a damn sight better than your typical suburban-style strip mall. I truly believe that they can and will improve their product over time. Right now they are held back by retailers and financiers that don't get it. Sembler's Lindbergh development is far better than the old dilapidated K-Mart shopping center that used to sit there. At least the parking lot is on the inside and the retail and future residential component address the street.

I hope that Sembler's development, the Lindbergh Center development by MARTA, and the other residential projects in the area will give the Piedmont Corridor a boost - There is still some really shabby looking stuff nearby.

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I hope that Sembler's development, the Lindbergh Center development by MARTA, and the other residential projects in the area will give the Piedmont Corridor a boost - There is still some really shabby looking stuff nearby.

I agree, Eric. Unfortunately it's hard to think of any area in Atlanta that doesn't have a bunch of really shabby looking stuff nearby.

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I agree, Eric. Unfortunately it's hard to think of any area in Atlanta that doesn't have a bunch of really shabby looking stuff nearby.

Thats exactly what I was thinking. Sometimes because of the rapid reawakening going on in the city, we forget that this is a city that's been in decline for several decades. And that decline was only reversed a few short years ago.

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Thats exactly what I was thinking. Sometimes because of the rapid reawakening going on in the city, we forget that this is a city that's been in decline for several decades. And that decline was only reversed a few short years ago.

Oh, I realize that. It's just when I see the new development going in and then look across the street at the old Shoney's (now some dilapidated Chinese Restaurant), I just wish that the good things would go ahead and spread.

On an upside, when I think of the city on a macro-scale there are a LOT of good trends. I like to simplify this on the kind of grading you see in Newsweek's CW chart. They use up, down, and side-to-side arrows to indicate positive trends, negative trends, and neutral trends respectively. I think if you look around the city there have been a lot of places where a property that was a big drain on an area (essentially a down arrow) has been replaced with a development that is a positive influence.

A few years ago, the most we were getting was eliminating negatives with neutral developments (car-oriented, poor design). We were only getting half-way there. Now with things like Atlantic Station and Lindbergh Center, we're getting a much bigger improvement. Plus, the momemtum is building. When I went to Tech, there were a few developments in Midtown, but there was still so much blight. Now, there has been enough investment (from Tech, Novare, and others) that the pockets of blight are smaller, and less intimidating.

I think we're just beginning to see a long period of growth for in-town Atlanta. What will be interesting, will be what smaller developers do with smaller pockets of development between the big stuff.

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Oh, I realize that. It's just when I see the new development going in and then look across the street at the old Shoney's (now some dilapidated Chinese Restaurant), I just wish that the good things would go ahead and spread.

On an upside, when I think of the city on a macro-scale there are a LOT of good trends. I like to simplify this on the kind of grading you see in Newsweek's CW chart. They use up, down, and side-to-side arrows to indicate positive trends, negative trends, and neutral trends respectively. I think if you look around the city there have been a lot of places where a property that was a big drain on an area (essentially a down arrow) has been replaced with a development that is a positive influence.

A few years ago, the most we were getting was eliminating negatives with neutral developments (car-oriented, poor design). We were only getting half-way there. Now with things like Atlantic Station and Lindbergh Center, we're getting a much bigger improvement. Plus, the momemtum is building. When I went to Tech, there were a few developments in Midtown, but there was still so much blight. Now, there has been enough investment (from Tech, Novare, and others) that the pockets of blight are smaller, and less intimidating.

I think we're just beginning to see a long period of growth for in-town Atlanta. What will be interesting, will be what smaller developers do with smaller pockets of development between the big stuff.

I agree 100%. After I posted what I did, I realized its actually the other way around. Because we are now seeing things revitalize, its making us realize how bad things had gotten. We are truly fortunate that the city turned things around and is now heading full speed ahead in the right direction.

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Thats exactly what I was thinking. Sometimes because of the rapid reawakening going on in the city, we forget that this is a city that's been in decline for several decades. And that decline was only reversed a few short years ago.

Martinman, I don't think of the city in general as having been in decline for several decades. Downtown certainly began to slip in the mid-1980's, but at the same time there was tremendous growth in Buckhead, Midtown, and in new edge cities such as Cumberland and Perimeter. The growth of the metro area has of course been stupendous.

My perception is that it's not so much a reawakening from a period of decline as it is an entirely new kind of development for Atlanta. The main thrust seems to be an effort to move away from absolute dependence upon the automobile to more urban forms which include at least some other options for mobility.

Piedmont is a good example of this. It has long been one of Atlanta's main north-south thoroughfares but until recently it was auto oriented all the way from downtown to Roswell Road. Even in the heart of downtown it was flanked by businesses like car dealerships, motor hotels and strip centers. In the 80's stretches of Piedmont -- in Midtown, in Buckead north of Peachtree, and in downtown near Georgia State and North Avenue -- began to take on the character of a more urban boulevard, and I think what we see around Lindbergh is a continuation of that process.

The evolution has been far from perfect and it's far from over. I doubt that we'll ever see an Atlanta that doesn't rely heavily on private cars. Nonetheless, I do think the city can become a more sophisticated urban environment with a high quality of life.

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Martinman, I don't think of the city in general as having been in decline for several decades. Downtown certainly began to slip in the mid-1980's, but at the same time there was tremendous growth in Buckhead, Midtown, and in new edge cities such as Cumberland and Perimeter. The growth of the metro area has of course been stupendous.

My perception is that it's not so much a reawakening from a period of decline as it is an entirely new kind of development for Atlanta. The main thrust seems to be an effort to move away from absolute dependence upon the automobile to more urban forms which include at least some other options for mobility.

Piedmont is a good example of this. It has long been one of Atlanta's main north-south thoroughfares but until recently it was auto oriented all the way from downtown to Roswell Road. Even in the heart of downtown it was flanked by businesses like car dealerships, motor hotels and strip centers. In the 80's stretches of Piedmont -- in Midtown, in Buckead north of Peachtree, and in downtown near Georgia State and North Avenue -- began to take on the character of a more urban boulevard, and I think what we see around Lindbergh is a continuation of that process.

The evolution has been far from perfect and it's far from over. I doubt that we'll ever see an Atlanta that doesn't rely heavily on private cars. Nonetheless, I do think the city can become a more sophisticated urban environment with a high quality of life.

I'm talking more in broader terms of this being a functional city. It's been a sort of disguised decline because the city has seen pretty much constant development in certain pockets and a significant amount in downtown during this time period. But even with the development that's happenned in Midtown and Buckhead, the population was declining and disproportionately poor and we see an infrastructure that has been negelected for decades, even in Buckhead.

I do agree that the new kind of development is a key to the tranformation we are seeing now.

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I would like to see each NPU (Neighborhood Planning Unit) have its own architectural style and unique sidewalk & lamp post designs. This would allow neighborhoods like VaHi & Candler park to become more distinct from each other over time. They already have a different feel but more or less look the same. It would be kind of like taking the idea of the different neighborhood 'crest' that's on top of many street signs and running with it.

I know that this is asking too much to have unique sidewalk designs for each hood when we can't even get adequate sidewalks in the first place. But just imagine a Victorian lace-like pattern pressed in the cement for Inman Park, Cabbage green-white gears for Cabbage Town, Marble edging for Inman Park, Brick for VaHi, images of King & his speaches for Sweet Auburn,,, The options should be endless.

Brad & Catlike... I couldn't agree more with both of you.

I can't think of something less original or appealing... These places grew organically, as cities do, over a period of years influenced by many events and many styles... the theming of these neighborhoods, as you describe, should be avoided at all costs... If I wanted to live in a Disney community I'd move to Celebration...

What I am for- is good, urban, innovative, contextural contemporary design in all of these places... the best of the 21st century to complement and reinforce the history of these places... not some watered-down psuedo-victorianism...

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Verge, I think that you took those comments a little too seriously. My own taste is for modern but I'm in the MLK historic district so I had to stick to the codes and go 'Disney'. I see nothing wrong with allowing historic districts to play up their history. That

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  • 2 weeks later...

The discussion of art deco buildings and what's left of bygone eras reminded me of a thought I had while downtown a few weeks ago. Maybe because it was a gorgeous spring day but I really think south downtown has a lot of potential. When we figure out how to breath life into that part of the city, I think Mitchell street with some thoughtful true infill could be a really cool area. Anyone know if any of these buildings are protected?

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The discussion of art deco buildings and what's left of bygone eras reminded me of a thought I had while downtown a few weeks ago. Maybe because it was a gorgeous spring day but I really think south downtown has a lot of potential. When we figure out how to breath life into that part of the city, I think Mitchell street with some thoughtful true infill could be a really cool area. Anyone know if any of these buildings are protected?

Well, Mitchell Street's Hotel Row (west of Forsyth) is a National Historic District.

Hotel Row

I don't know about the rest of the street. Obviously a lot of Mitchell serves as the boundary for the government complex (Richard Russell Building, Sam Nunn Center, Fulton County Administration and Courthouse complexes, City Hall, the State Capitol, etc.), and that represents a tremendous amount of momentum and stability for that area.

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  • 2 months later...

I thought I'd give some attention to something we don't talk about a lot on here.... lowrise infill in various stages of development in and around the city. Of course they're hard to keep up with as they don't often come with big announcements and slick websites.

Needless to say there is much more than whats on this list.

Ansley on the park - Midtown

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Tribute Lofts - Old Fourth Ward

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Cosmpolitan on Lindbergh - Buckhead

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Skyline @ Edgewood

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Inman Park Village

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240 Highlands - Inman Park

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The Mix @ 841

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Sager Lofts

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One Grant Park

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Townhomes at Candler Park

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Kirkwood Station

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The Artisan - Decatur

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Historic Westside Village

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Howell Mill Station

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Fair & Walker Lofts- Casstleberry Hill

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Bolton Village- Westside

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Duo condos- Castleberry Hill

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Ponce Park- Midtown

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Edge Lofts - Downtown

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Renaissance Walk - Downtown

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Great update martinman - also Oakland Park (no picture available) is under construction on Memorial @ Park Ave in Grant Park.

I saw that but I didn't know the name of the project. There are also several such projects along Moreland and every lot thats not under construction is for sale. Edgewood retail is causing a gentrification explosion on that corridor.

This also reminds of the discussion you guys were having about the city population. All of these developments going from empty lots or vacant businesses to 20, 40, 60 homes seems more than enough to compensate for lost population due to gentrification in single family homes.

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Martinman, great update! I've noticed there's a lot of infill going on in Brookhaven, too. Newport's doing The Park at East Paces (75 townhouses and 80 mid-rise condos), and along Peachtree John Willis is doing Brookhaven Manor (33 townhouses); Mays is finishing a midrise condo tower (13 units); there's another townhouse development under construction at Narmore, and Brunning & Stang is about to start a project. This is in addition to the several townhouse projects that have already been done in the last several years. Most of these are $1 million and up. I've heard they're getting close to starting another elderly highrise, too, across the street from the three midrise buildings that opened last year. And of course there are many other projects throughout that area.

They did 20 townhouses down on the other end of my street a couple of years ago and sold them all quickly for around $1 million. I would guesstimate they've added several hundred new single family houses in that price range, too. There must be a lot of people with big bucks in this town!

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  • 3 weeks later...

Two projects appear on this map that get me all kinds of excited!

1.

I would love to see the plan to cover "the gulch" with a new downtown community. The catalyst will be the multi-modal station. Do you think that the new Downtown West community will get built? I love how they envision it being centered on a radial street pattern.

2.

The other project on this map is the park over 85/75 connecting the Capitol District to Capitol Gateway. Do you think that the park over the interstates will get built?

The website for Downtown is a must to explore.

Go to the summary brochure at http://www.atlantadowntown.com/ImagineDown..._The_Vision.asp

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