Atlanta Community Discussion Thread

[trainiac]

Originally Posted by smArTaLlone

I've heard Waffle House is taking the former American Apparel space at Tech square so Midtowners won't have to go far to get waffles 24/7.

Sweet

Anybody know about what's going on across Bankhead Hwy from Maddox Park? There was a bunch of earthmoving going on and they had shored up that section of the Beltline including some temporary railings near the bridge. I wonder if the project is Beltline-related or just sewer work?

Also the new Ivan Allen bridge over the tracks is open. What a difference that makes.... only half the lanes are finished so far.

Oooh, one more thing. The BP in Emory Village (Oxford/N.Decatur) has been completely leveled. Any idea what's going there? According the overlay plan it could be four stories. Yippee

[ATLaffinity]

Originally Posted by trainiac

Sweet

Anybody know about what's going on across Bankhead Hwy from Maddox Park? There was a bunch of earthmoving going on and they had shored up that section of the Beltline including some temporary railings near the bridge. I wonder if the project is Beltline-related or just sewer work?

Also the new Ivan Allen bridge over the tracks is open. What a difference that makes.... only half the lanes are finished so far.

Oooh, one more thing. The BP in Emory Village (Oxford/N.Decatur) has been completely leveled. Any idea what's going there? According the overlay plan it could be four stories. Yippee

i thought waffle houses were freestanding.

waterhaven really can't survive. so we need to plan for that space as well.

is that emory project the Barnes & Noble "bookstore"?

[jnihiser]

Originally Posted by ATLaffinity

i thought waffle houses were freestanding.

waterhaven really can't survive. so we need to plan for that space as well.

is that emory project the Barnes & Noble "bookstore"?

I can confirm that the Waffle House IS going in at the AP space.

[trainiac]

Originally Posted by ATLaffinity

i thought waffle houses were freestanding.

Not all of them... the one they opened earlier this year in the Underground isn't freestanding.

waterhaven really can't survive. so we need to plan for that space as well.

Yeah. That wasn't a good fit. It would be a great place for a Fellini's pizza joint I think.

is that emory project the Barnes & Noble "bookstore"?

No, that's on Oxford on the campus side of N.Decatur

[cybele]

Getting a new Waffle House is a huge win! Especially a walk-in one.

[popewiz]

Originally Posted by jnihiser

I can confirm that the Waffle House IS going in at the AP space.

AP space? Do you mean American Apparel?

[cybele]

"Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me," NPR's popular news quiz show, is coming to the Cobb Energy Center in December.

Regardless of whether you're an NPR fan, it's certainly a recognition that our town is increasingly becoming part of the national cultural scene.

[cybele]

GSU expert: Economic pain easing, but slowly

Dhawan declined to forecast when the economy will turn toward growth -- or whether it already has. “Whatever the ending date, it is going to be the same thing -- bouncing along the bottom.”

The national economy will probably grow this quarter -- but at less than 1 percent -- then shrink at a similar pace in the fourth quarter, he said.

Georgia’s unemployment rate will likely rise to 11 percent next year, from 10.3 now, while the state will shed 43,800 jobs, Dhawan said.

That’s because the usual growth engines remain weak, he said. The drop in housing sales hurts consumers, who spend less. That drags down business profits, causing layoffs, holding back raises and pulling the plug on new investments.

Dhawan sees tepid job growth in 2011, but by then, he said, the state will have lost 360,000 jobs, or roughly one of every dozen payroll positions.

However, he does not expect a national “double-dip” recession, in which the economy briefly expands and then falls again. “The chances are not that high,” Dhawan said. “I would say that the probability is 20 to 30 percent.”

[(four 0 four)]

From Google Images

Hot off the presses at The Atlanta Preservaton Center...

On August 25, 2009, Mayor Franklin approved the ordinance designating Crum and Forster as a Landmark Building. This ends the legislative process. Any further action would be in the court system.

Thanks to anyone on SSP who has lent their support for this very worthy building!

Info sent last week...

Also, you may recall that the building's owner, the Georgia Tech Foundation, began the application process for a demolition permit in April 2008, and the City denied the Foundation's SAP (Special Administrative Permit) in July 2008. The Foundation appealed that decision and was denied by the Board of Zoning Adjustment in March 2009. However, on April 9, 2009, the Foundation filed a lawsuit in Fulton County Superior Court seeking to have that decision overturned. We do not yet know when that suit will be heard.

[dante2308]

Originally Posted by cybele

GSU expert: Economic pain easing, but slowly

His numbers are quite exact. Too bad they are erroneous. I really wish people would justify their positions mathematically instead of simply reporting them like they are established.

[NativeAtlantan]

I think Dawan is great...his numbers have ALWAYS been spot on.

Good job, Rajeev!

[dante2308]

Originally Posted by NativeAtlantan

I think Dawan is great...his numbers have ALWAYS been spot on.

Good job, Rajeev!

What are they based on?

[cybele]

Who would know more about this than the head of the Georgia State University Economic Forecasting Center? Those guys have analyzing the economy of Georgia and Atlanta for 35 years and are renowned for their amazing accuracy. Strictly non-partisan and non-profit, too. Unlike so many sources they truly have no ax to grind.

[dante2308]

Originally Posted by cybele

Who would know more about this than the head of the Georgia State University Economic Forecasting Center? Those guys have analyzing the economy of Georgia and Atlanta for 35 years and are renowned for their amazing accuracy. Strictly non-partisan and non-profit, too. Unlike so many sources they truly have no ax to grind.

I have simply lost all faith in economic forecasting is all. If it were possible, someone would have done it and we wouldn't be in this mess.

[smArTaLlone]

Atlanta Business Chronicle

The Westin Peachtree Plaza is getting a “reskinning,” almost 18 months after a tornado ripped through downtown Atlanta and shattered much of the 73-story hotel’s glass façade.

Global construction firm Skanska USA Building Inc. will lead the $22 million project, the largest exterior renovation of a hotel.

Work will take about 15 months to complete. All of the hotel’s 6,350 windows — enough glass to stretch 11 miles — will be replaced.

The work will begin on the top floor and proceed down the building, with a goal of replacing 15 pieces of glass a day. It should take a little more than a week to finish each floor.

Westin Windows

[dante2308]

That's rather odd. I did walk in and ask them about this and they told me as much. 15 months for windows.

[cybele]

Phase II of Peachtree upgrade to start soon

Scottie Greene, outgoing executive director of the Buckhead Community Improvement District, recently told the [CompanyWatch allows you to receive email alerts with stories related to your companies of interest. <p>You can watch up to ten companies at a time.</p>] Buckhead Hotel Council that construction for the project, which will run from the Buckhead MARTA station to East Roxboro Road, will begin in late December or early January.

No lane closings are expected during holidays, however, he said.

“This is not going to be a painless experience,” said Greene, who noted the second phase is ready to begin now that $16 million in easements along Peachtree Road from the MARTA station to East Roxboro Road have been purchased. “But after this is over, we will have a signature boulevard.”

The $52 million Peachtree Boulevard project seeks to transform about 1.5 miles along Peachtree Road through the heart of Buckhead. Phase I, which included raised medians and plantings, ran from Maple Drive to the Buckhead MARTA station. It was completed in fall 2007.

The second phase construction should take 14 months to 18 months, Greene said.

The project is being funded with $40 million in federal money and $12 million from the CID, Greene said. That includes $6 million in donated right of way, he said.

Full article

[(four 0 four)]

The High Museum is featuring an exhibit on John Portman from October 17th to January 17th! This will include information on both his architecture as well as artwork (he has several pieces in the lobby of SunTrust Plaza).
http://www.high.org/main.taf?p=3,2,1,15,1

[trainiac]

Originally Posted by (four 0 four)

The High Museum is featuring an exhibit on John Portman from October 17th to January 17th! This will include information on both his architecture as well as artwork (he has several pieces in the lobby of SunTrust Plaza).
http://www.high.org/main.taf?p=3,2,1,15,1

What a great idea! I really like some of his pieces at Peachtree Center. There is a SSP member who has a nice list of Portman art.... wonder if he would post that? Phantom? Where art thou?

[phantom]

Originally Posted by trainiac

What a great idea! I really like some of his pieces at Peachtree Center. There is a SSP member who has a nice list of Portman art.... wonder if he would post that? Phantom? Where art thou?

I wish my old list lived up to the memory. I just dug it up, and there's only two Portman sculptures on it.

- Outdoors in SunTrust Plaza is "Concord", which is pretty abstract IIRC.

- Also Portman's is "Ballet Olympia", a huge dancing figure whirling a ribbon.

- In the same plaza is "The Rites of Spring", a much more representational sculpture.

Portman has a couple more of his sculptures on display inside the SunTrust Plaza building.

I notice that the sculpture I always called "Severed Feet", but is actually called "New Endings", which sat outside the Westin Peachtree Plaza on Spring St. is being moved to the Candler Park end of Freedom Park.