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Citizens For Progressive Transit November 2018 Newsletter

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Citizens for Progressive TransitA world-class city needs world-class transit. And let’s face it, a rail system that runs the limited places it does like MARTA, does not a world-class city make. 

Citizens For Progressive Transit

Most can agree that is one of the major reasons that the recent hunt to land the Amazon’s HQ2 did not end up in Atlanta. Our transit just doesn’t take you many places. But what we DO have makes one want to consider where they live to have access to the MARTA. Cities we cover like Doraville, Chamblee, Brookhaven, Buckhead and Midtown all have transit stations.

We always read, and like to share the Citizens for Progressive Transit newsletter to our readers and website visitors. It has some great information. 

The November, 2018 issue goes further into the new ATL regional transit authority. All 16 Board Members are in place, but the face a complicated task…for sure. Coordinating a transit system between some 13 counties in the Metro Atlanta region. That is just plain…YIKES!

How many non-MARTA counties will pass a sales tax required to participate in the plan? (After my 45 minute ride to Midtown this morning in bumper-to-bumper traffic starting BEFORE Clairmont Road…you’d think all of them, right?) But I’m going to guess there will be some that say No to Rail. And one can’t say how sad that really sounds. 

Here is a link to the November, 2018 issue of Citizens For Progressive Transit Newsletter. 

Atlanta software company FullStory moves to Brookwood

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FullStory Relocates Atlanta HQ to BrookwoodFullstory, a rapidly growing Atlanta software company is going to double its workforce, and move their Atlanta headquarters from Armour Yards. 

Atlanta software company FullStory moves to Brookwood

Last year, FullStory raised some $15M to move forward on an aggressive R&D expansion that was projected to add up to 120 new jobs. 

FullStory will now build out and lease a 49,200 sq.ft. headquarters in the space that was formerly the Brookwood Kroger. It’s currently occupied by the retailer, Sam Flax. Located at 1745 Peachtree Street, the location will offer employees that want the urban lifestyle to choose from Buckhead to the North or Midtown to the South. Condominium buildings like Viewpoint Midtown or 1010 Midtown are just a couple of the options available in Midtown Atlanta. Meanwhile, in Buckhead, FullStory employees could look at places like Cosmopolitan or Eclipse. 

Transit options are a bit far for the location, but one could take MARTA to the Arts Center Station (if coming from the North) and Uber or Lyft back to the offices. But based on the location, there will most likely be ample parking to have employees in their own cars. 

The building itself, will be redesigned by the architect, Plexus r+d and will be a blend of the open spaces, but will have “nooks and crannies where employees can squirrel away and focus,” Bruce Johnson, co-founder and Chief Operating Officer told the Atlanta Business Chronicle. 

FullStory currently employs about 100 people in their current location at Armour Yards. 

As new employees come on board, MyMidtownMojo and Thomas Ramon Realty are here to help them find a new home in Midtown, Buckhead or beyond! Contact us using the form below and we can talk about what you are looking for in your Atlanta home! 

Sending

10 Questions To Ask Your Kids Instead of “How Was Your Day”

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Questions to ask Your Kid about How Was SchoolI personally don’t have any children. But I have loved the recent sensory overload on Facebook of my friends and family posting photos of their kids headed off to school. Whether, they are in 1st grade or a Senior in high school, the first day back is always a bid deal. I can remember those days when I was in school. If you had not seen kids all summer, it was all about how you looked, what you were wearing, did you get a different haircut, where did your family go on vacation, etc., etc. Remember? 

10 Questions To Ask Your Kids Instead of “How Was Your Day”

But as a parent of a kid today, there are so many forces at work out there. Kids have smart phones and social media to carry on the stories waaay past the lunch room or the playground. And when they come home from school, how do you REALLY know how their day was? Was it good? Did they learn something cool? Did they get picked on for the new glasses of the shirt they really didn’t want to wear but you made them wear it? 

There is a lot going on in the time they are at school. So maybe you need to consider asking them some different questions to see how their day went. So here are 10 Questions To Ask Your Kids Instead of “How Was Your Day?”

 

  1. What made you laugh today?
  2. Did you like your lunch?
  3. Rate your day on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being AWESOME!
  4. What was the hardest rule to follow today?
  5. Teach ME something I don’t know.
  6. Did you learn any new words today?
  7. What part of the school building do you like the least? The most?
  8. Who did you sit with at lunch?
  9. What was the best thing that happened today?
  10. Did anyone cry? Why?

By asking more specific questions, you learn more about what their day was really like and what happened~! 

We do the same thing in real estate. Ask questions so we have a better understanding of the kind of house or condo you may be looking for. Rather than “What kind of neighborhood/community do you want to live in?” we might ask more specifically, “Do you want to live in a neighborhood where you can walk to shopping or restaurants? Or, “Is a 1-story house better than a 2-story house?” by asking more specific questions, we get a much better idea of what and where you want to live. 

10 Questions To Ask your Kids Instead of “How Was Your Day”

Midtown Atlanta Real Estate

Citizens For Progressive Transit – July 2018 Newsletter

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Somewhere, somehow, I stumbled upon this organization and their monthly newsletter. 

Citizens For Progressive Transit

Atlanta Streetcar…their website seems to be a tad behind…I’m sharing the July, 2018 newsletter with you here, and the website has April, 2018…so the best way to keep up with them would be to subscribe to receive the newsletter. But the highlights of July are:

Marta Takes Over Atlanta Street Car –$1 Fare Continues

The Atlanta Streetcar was turned over to MARTA on July 1. But they opted to keep the $1 fare, which has been blamed for the dramatic drop in ridership. It should probably be included in your regular MARTA fare, and you could transfer to the Streetcar. 

I’ll give Atlanta credit for trying, in getting the Streetcar started. (You remember the plans called for it to run from Downtown to Buckhead on Peachtree Street, but the funding was not there, along with some lack of interest, challenges with it being on Peachtree, etc, etc.) But, to go from Centennial Olympic Park to the King Center….not much service there. 

ARC Grants to Expand Suburban Bus Service

Douglas County (that’s way out West for us In-Town folks) will get its first fixed-route bus service, and Cobb and Gwinnett will get to expand, due to new federal funding by the ARC. 

Bond Money to Go For GA 400 Bus Service

Gov. Deal announced that recently approved bonds to raise $100M will be used in North Fulton County to facilitate MARTA bus service along GA400. 

A Faster Path to Regional Rail (THIS one caught my eye big time!)

We’ve talked about regional passenger rail. And talked. And studied. And talked and studied…..but nothing. Yet North Carolina has launched a fourth daily round-trip on its state-funded Amtrak line, running from Charlotte to Raleigh. The three round trips carried 427,000 people last year. HELLO GEORGIA? It’s the 21st Century…and we can’t keep widening roads or adding cars. 

This is why I love reading the Citizens For Progressive Transit newsletter….it keeps me informed.

You can read the entire newsletter here. 

You can JOIN CFPT, and subscribe to the newsletter HERE. 

July 2018 Newsletter Citizens For Progressive Transit

 

Embassy Suites Atlantic Station Moves Forward

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Once upon a time, lodging options in the Midtown area were pretty sparse. You either went luxury or almost nothing else. Fast forward to 2018, and you have numerous hotels to choose from, and several new options on the horizon. Embassy Suites Atlantic Station will be one of those new options. 

 

Site of proposed Embassy Suites Atlantic StationEmbassy Suites Atlantic Station Moves Forward

Horizon Hospitality Management has filed a permit application with the City of Atlanta for a 10-story high rise building, next to The Atlantic Condominiums at 200 17th Street. The photo to the right shows what I think will be the location of the property, based on the renderings provided in an article at WhatnowAtlanta.com. There is a possibility the site could be next to the tennis courts that are alongside The Atlantic. 

Details mention 175 rooms taking up some 145,020 square feet and potentially a “high end steakhouse” fronting 17th Street. Hmmmm…steak. Designed by Mike Clifford of the Atlanta-based firm of LPBC, the project could break ground later this year and be ready for guests by 2020. (Remember, 2000 and we thought how is that possible, and now we are talking about 2020!!!!)

While North of the campus, this hotel would be another option for guests and parents visiting Georgia Tech.

Below is a rending of the proposed Embassy Suites Atlantic Station, as well as a couple site photos I snapped today. We’ll be keeping an eye on this one!

Currently, the only other hotel at Atlantic Station is the Twelve Hotel. 

 

Atlantic Station Embassy Suites

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New Embassy Suites Atlantic Station

Will Atlanta See A Regional Transit System

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That’s the billion-plus dollar question for sure….

Will Atlanta See A Regional Transit System

Atlanta needs a Regional Transit SystemIf you are fortunate enough to live in Midtown, you may get more use out of the current MARTA system than others due. If you think about it…if you live in John’s Creek for example, by the time you would drive your car to the Doraville (Or Chamblee) MARTA station, park, and then continue your commute to work via transit, you probably would get there in the same amount of time if you just stayed in your car. 

And…what if you live in Duluth, and work in the Cumberland area? Well, you’re just plain out of luck. 

I came across this article in the Saporta Report. It talks about the challenges I’ve known for a long, long time. There are to many people (in this case jurisdictions) involved to get anything done on a regional basis. The need for a TRUE regional transit authority and system is really a key to the future of Atlanta. It’s future being you don’t spend 3 hours in your car each way to work if you have to live in the suburbs. 

As Brian says in the article, ” Currently a transit line from the Cumberland Business District to Duluth would require crossing four different counties and three different transit systems. First, state funds should be prioritized for regionally-important projects that serve multiple jurisdictions. Even with these bills, the majority of transit funding will continue to come from local sales taxes, and individual counties are unlikely to prioritize projects that span multiple jurisdictions. A transit line from Cobb County to Gwinnett County is incredibly important to the region, but none of the four counties involved can build the project on their own. The ATL should ensure that sufficient funding is available for regionally-significant projects.”

And I’m not forgetting the way-out areas either. Imagine high speed rail from places like Columbus or Macon where people would have a option (and a quick one) to get to Metro Atlanta for work, without having to pay the cost of living in this city. Ah….one can dream right?

Will Atlanta see a Regional Transit System?

The article from Brian Gist, Senior Attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center can be found HERE. 

Thom Abbott

Associate Broker
905 Juniper Street, NE Suite 110
Atlanta, Georgia 30309
770.713.1505 Direct
404.876.4901 Office

 

Palmer House Properties