Interesting Stories Archives

Palmer House Properties | Atlanta’s Top 100 Fastest Growing Private Companies

April 28, 2013 by Thom Abbott

When you are looking to buy or sell your Midtown Atlanta condominium, what difference does it make which COMPANY you select? After all, is it not all about the relationship you have with a particular real estate agent? Well, Yes…and no. Let me explain.

Palmer House Properties Atlanta’s | Top 100 Fastest Growing Private Companies

The COMPANY that a real estate agent chooses to align themselves with makes a difference for the agent and how they can conduct their business. I’m not going to call out ANY real estate companies here. Some companies may have a better relationship with major relocation companies that move people around the country. An agent that wants to work in that market may choose a particular company. And of course, many agents feel that brand recognition is important for them to sell real estate.

About 2 years ago, I joined Palmer House Properties, headed up by CEO and Founder, Kevin Palmer. For me, it was about their business model and how it allowed me to be more financially productive as well as just easier to conduct my business, which in turn, is marketing to Buyers and Sellers of Midtown Atlanta condos. A “paperless system” allows me to be anywhere and access important documents as they relate to your real estate transaction, be you the Buyer or the Seller. I can be out of town, and have easy access to forward a Seller’s Disclosure Statement to a potential Buyer.

And the growth of a company is a clear indication of what it’s like to be affiliated with them. Since joining Palmer House Properties, I believe the company has grown from 300 agents to probably 1000 by now! That means other real estate professionals see the value I saw in associating Thomas Ramon Realty and MyMidtownMojo.com with the Palmer House Properties name.

When deciding to buy or sell a Midtown Atlanta condominium, you want to pick the agent that knows the market, is familiar with your building and floor plans and knows the neighborhood in general. But it’s also good to know that somebody’s “got their back” when it comes to some of the behind the scenes work that needs to happen.

It’s no wonder Palmer House Properties was named again to Atlanta’s Top 100 Fastest Growing Private Companies. And Thomas Ramon Realty and MyMidtownMojo.com are proud to be a part of this company.

SoNo (South Of North) Midtown Sees Burst of Construction

April 25, 2013 by Thom Abbott

An area of Midtown Atlanta that has seen minimal development is SoNo (South of North) But those times, they are a changing!

In January, construction (or demolition of existing buildings) started on 131 Ponce de Leon Avenue, a 280 apartment mixed-use project on a 2.5-acre property bounded by Juniper Street, and Ponce de Leon, North and a portion of Piedmont avenues. The site — located at 131 Ponce — sold last year for $6.5 million and includes the entire block except for St. Paul’s Presbyterian Church, which many will remember as the former, well-known Abbey restaurant.

The property includes famed architect I.M. Pei’s first office building, the former Gulf Oil Building, which until being closed, had been used as office space by various small businesses.

The buyer was a joint venture between Sereo Group and Faison Enterprises Inc. Both companies are located in Charlotte, N.C. and are now constructing the $50 million apartment building that will include 3,800 square feet of street front office space. The garden-style apartments will be six stories. (Just goes to show that developers do not always see the need to reach for the sky in Midtown!)

About 80 percent of the apartments will be Studios or one-bedrooms apartments will make up about 80 percent of the building units, and the 393 internal parking spaces will hidden from street view by the apartments.

About one-third of the “Pei” building near the intersection of Ponce and Juniper will be retained/restored and will include many of the project’s amenities including a leasing office, fitness club, pool, lounge and business area.

Meanwhile, across the street, they will soon break ground on a state-of-the-art, $225 million, 115,000 square-foot cancer-treating proton facility on a 2.39-acre property bounded by Peachtree St., North Ave., Juniper St., and Ponce de Leon Ave. Some may remember this corner as the site of the old Wachovia building that was imploded not to long after 9/11 (I was there to see this….) and this was also going to be the site of the Fox Premeire Plaza condominium building…that never happened.

The Georgia Proton Treatment Center at 615 Peachtree St., the state’s first proton therapy facility and just the 10th in the country, is a joint venture by Emory Healthcare and Advanced Particle Therapy, LLC of San Diego. When completed, it will employ approximately 110 professionals and treat around 1,900 patients annually.

It is expected to take about three years to build and open, and upon completion, will feature five treatment rooms, four with 270-ton rotational gantries.

The main pedestrian entrance to the project will be at the corner of Peachtree and North with retail space stretching along portions of Peachtree – the only retail space offered in the plans.

Nice to see some things happening in this area of Midtown!

Georgia Tech Robots Play Music

April 23, 2013 by Thom Abbott

I mean nothing against any other university anywhere else…but there is some pretty cool stuff that comes out of Georgia Tech. I’m always on the hunt for these kinds of stories…and love to share them.

Check out the video as these Georgia Tech Robots play music and even mimic gazelle’s chasing a lion! Pretty cool!

Makes you want one of your own, doesn’t it?

What Happens to a Website When the Owner’s Out of Town?

March 26, 2013 by Thom Abbott

If you are a regular visitor to MyMidtownMojo, you may notice an occasional “lapse” in new content appearing here in our Featured Articles section. Ever wonder what is the cause behind that? Or you might see three new posts in ONE DAY?

What Happens to a Website When the Owner’s Out of Town?

Well, it’s not really a very good excuse. Behind the scenes (it’s called our Control Center) we have the ability to set up posts in advance to have them appear here when we are busy doing other things….but of course, you have to have those posts written for that feature to work!

So shame on me…I’m in Miami on real estate business. But, I did want to share a photo I took of the Miami skyline last night. No, it’s not really clear, but that’s not the point of it. What I wanted to show you is the amazing skyline that has grown up in this city. And, unlike Atlanta where all of our construction is in apartment buildings, they ARE still building new condo buildings here! Amazing!

We’ll be back in full swing on Friday, and will have our February Market Report for Midtown out this weekend. Until then, if you have real estate needs, or questions, my cell phone is never more than a foot away from me!!

Midtown Traffic Alert — 10th Street Paving Starts TODAY!

March 22, 2013 by Thom Abbott

If you’ve driven some of our Midtown Streets, you know they could use a fresh coat of asphalt! There are many a pot hole to dodge (was not Mayor Franklin going to solve that problem?) and bad patches that have settled!

Well at least one street is about to change, but it will require a Midtown Traffic Alert as they start repaving 10th Street TODAY!

I was just there, and it is quickly becoming a traffic mess! Avoid getting off the Downtown Connector at 10th to head into Midtown or to Georgia Tech! Take the 14th Street or North Avenue exits and work your way around.

Paving will take place from today through next Friday, March 29th!!! No work is to be done after 4pm, but it will be a mess until then anyways!

What is Spring Fever?

March 19, 2013 by Thom Abbott

As we start to sneak out of the winter months, there is this thing that happens. It’s called Spring Fever. I thought to myself, “What IS Spring Fever?” Well of course, there is an actual definition…..which I found at Wikipedia….

Spring fever is a term applied to several sets of physical and psychological symptoms associated with the arrival of spring. In general it refers to an increase in energy, vitality and particularly sexual appetite, often particularly strong in those suffering from seasonal affective disorder (SAD)^[1] and thus experiencing lows during the winter months. It is this sense that inspires the use of the term as a title for several works of literature and entertainment. In some uses however it refers to the opposite, an unexpected loss of energy with the onset of spring.

I think it safe to say that most of us think of Spring Fever as that ever burning desire to get the heck out of the house (we’ve been cooped up by rain, snow, and cold temps) and enjoy the outdoors. As I walk, I can see the buds coming out on the trees, and yes, I’ve got Spring Fever.

Another “condition” of Spring Fever is also called Spring Cleaning. Maybe because we sat around for the last few months LOOKING at all that stuff and now we’ve decided we need to get RID of all that stuff! I started early with boxes of files and such, but there is plenty more to do.

I thought you might like some tips on Spring Cleaning to help you put your Spring Fever to good use….when you are not outside of course!

And once you’ve got that place all cleaned up, and maybe ready to move on, why not call me for your Market Analysis and we can discuss selling your Atlanta home!

Palmer House Properties Atlanta’s | Top 100 Fastest Growing Private Companies

What Happens to a Website When the Owner’s Out of Town?

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