Brookhaven would pay $683,000 to provide city services to two areas that have asked to be annexed into the city, according to a recent report from the city manager.
The cost would cover compensation and equipment for five additional police officers needed to serve Executive Park and the campus of Children’s Health Care of Atlanta, as well as for one code enforcement officer.
The report does not distinguish between annual compensation costs, such as salaries, insurance and other potential benefits, and the ...more
Atlanta is taking a small but potentially significant step to aid blighted neighborhoods.
Inmates from the city jail will be deployed to board up buildings that are open and vacant, in cases where owners won’t secure them. The program aims to reduce the number of structures available to harbor vermin, disease, and criminals.
Blight has long been viewed as one of Atlanta’s major urban woes. A recent report commissioned by the city showed that 7,974 structures are vacant, or more than 6 ...more
Atlanta low-balled the event, but the city on Thursday hosted an industry forum that is an early step in the process of building a major park along the Atlanta BeltLine, at the old Bellwood rock quarry.
At the forum, Atlanta presented information to vendors who may want to help establish a water reservoir at the old quarry. While the reservoir is immensely important, the public’s attention has been more attracted to the prospect of a huge new park on the west ...more
Social media is enabling the Georgia Tech analysis of Memorial Drive to proceed at a startling rate of speed.
As various findings are presented on a Facebook page and other social media, interested parties are providing feedback to the Tech students in almost real time. Portions of a report presented Oct. 27 are already substantially out of date, Tech professor of practice Mike Dobbins said Tuesday.
The result is that the final report is likely to be much more comprehensive than originally ...more
The Atlanta BeltLine has a hand in two projects that could add 22-story structures next to the Historic Fourth Ward Park, and eight-story apartment buildings a half-mile north of Piedmont Park.
At Historic Fourth Ward Park, the BeltLine is seeking to rezone land to a classification that allows buildings up to 225 feet high. The site includes the Masquerade nightclub, located in a stone structure built in 1900.
The planned development is a five-story structure.
Near Piedmont Park, a developer is seeking permission ...more
Reducing the speed limit on Memorial Drive from 35 mph to 25 mph could improve safety, cut tailpipe emissions, boost the roadway’s capacity, and even reduce trip times.
Another startling discovery associated with the analysis of Memorial Drive, being conducted this autumn by Georgia Tech graduate students, is the high degree of buy-in from Atlanta city councilmembers who represent the area.
Councilmember Natalyn Archibong initiated the project and encouraged Tech to conduct the framework design studio.
Archibong provided about $13,000 from her council ...more
Less than 10 percent of those who applied for a job-training program initiated by Falcons team owner Arthur Blank passed the drug/alcohol test required for acceptance to the program, according to Atlanta City Councilmember Ivory L. Young, Jr.
Young cited the figure to illustrate the challenge of job training for individuals who have troubles past or present. Of 160 applicants, 18 were accepted, he said.
The issue of jobs-training is again becoming relevant in Atlanta, as the new Falcons stadium creates jobs ...more
One of the more photogenic parks planned for the Atlanta BeltLine is also the largest, and plans for moving it forward may be starting to shape.
The old Bellwood Quarry is soon to be the sole subject of a redevelopment review committee to be formed by the Atlanta City Council, according to legislation led by Councilmember Michael Julian Bond. The council is slated to approve the proposal as part of the consent agenda on Oct. 20.
Of political note, Bond omitted council ...more
Atlanta’s workforce training program should help residents learn the skills needed to get jobs in Atlanta’s film industry, an Atlanta councilmember with a unique perspective said Tuesday.
“The movie industry is hot in the city of Atlanta,” Atlanta Councilmember Joyce Sheperd said in a meeting of the council’s Community Development and Human Resources Committee.
Sheperd made her remarks following a presentation by Michael Sterling, who described the administrative changes he has made since taking the helm of the Atlanta Workforce Development Agency. ...more
The city of Atlanta is “showing signs” that it is rebounding from the recession, according to a new report from Moody’s Investors Service.
Among the signs Moody’s identifies: The tax base is inching up; foreclosures are down to pre-recession levels; the unemployment rate is still stuck above 10 percent, but is attributed to people moving here to look for work rather than to locals unable to find a job.
The report could be a guide in gauging the economy in other parts ...more
