Intown Atlanta Real Estate Archives

Flashback Fotos: Aerial Atlanta, the city from above 1905-1988

January 22, 2014 by Thom Abbott

See on Scoop.it – Midtown Atlanta Conversations and Condos

Atlanta’s landscape is ever-changing, and that’s not a recent development. It seems that nothing stays the same for very long in our city and you can see that in these photos taken from above, some from airplanes, some from tall buildings.

Thom Abbott‘s insight:

If you new to Atlanta in the last few years, you might appreciate these photos that show some of the changes Atlanta has gone through over the years. Probably the most dramatic are those in 1961 of the I-285 construction and the then simple clover-leaf that is now Spaghetti Junction! Amazing photos! The red arrow on the lead in picture is the 10th Street Bridge! WOW!

See on www.myajc.com

Happy New Year 2014 Midtown Atlanta!

December 31, 2013 by Thom Abbott

Ah yes…..another year comes to a close.

This is always the time we reflect back on the year and think of what has happened, what we have accomplished, or in some cases, what we did NOT accomplish.

But, with the arrival of the New Year, we somehow get to “wipe the slate clean” and start the year fresh. If you are in any type of job or business, you usually have new goals for the New Year. Indeed, here in real estate and at MyMidtownMojo, we have our goals for the New Year! Helping as many people as we can realize the dream of home ownership! Maybe we will be helping you, or someone you may refer to us.

Whatever your plans are, be safe and careful! If your attending a party at a friends condo, or a Midtown restaurant, remember to have a designated driver to get you home safe and sound. Maybe make a night of it….and get a room at one of the many available hotels in Midtown!

We look forward to seeing you in 2014!!

Happy New Year 2014!

Atlanta Before and After Photographs

December 30, 2013 by Thom Abbott

As part of my real estate blogging, I’ve become quite the photographer.

I certainly don’t mean in the professional sense, although I have to say I’ve got some pretty neat photos of everything from cocktails to condos! It’s just fun to take pictures. At last count…I think there was something like 28,000 of them on my hard drive. (Yes, I’ve wised up to cloud storage, and they are slowly moving there!)

As this post is written, the balcony doors of the condo I’m staying at in Miami Beach are open…and I can hear the sound of the waves rolling in on the beach. I think back to a time, long, long ago when I worked here in Miami Beach. Holy crap! This is NOT the Miami Beach I remember from back then! All of the new construction and condo buildings is truly amazing, and I wish I had pictures of my time back then. (It was pre-digital, let’s just say that!)

But at least I’ve got quite a few of the Atlanta Before and After of Atlanta and Midtown as it’s “grown up.” It’s certainly nothing like happened here in Miami Beach, but then again Atlanta is a far cry from the international destination that Miami and Miami Beach have become.

With all the copyright issues with photos, I’m pretty cautious on what I post now days. But a recent article appeared in Curbed Atlanta that has some great Before and After photos. Here is the link to that story.

And I’ve shared a couple of my Before and After shots here as well. If you’d like to be a part of Midtown history, let’s get you into one of the many living options we have, and you can have your camera ready to capture the changing skyline!

One Museum Tower – A Midtown Atlanta Condo Building Reborn!

December 23, 2013 by Thom Abbott

Back before the market crash, I think I had a bit of a “crystal ball” moment. I used to look at all the new buildings going up (and proposed) and said, “This is awesome, all this new construction, but who is going to fill all these buildings?” Well, we know what happened in Midtown Atlanta, and many other cities as well. But times, they do change, right?

One Museum Tower – A Midtown Atlanta Condo Building Reborn!

An article in the Atlanta Business Chronicle states the longtime Atlanta developer John Wieland has brought back One Museum Tower to Peachtree Street, across from the High Museum. On the right is actually a photo I took from INSIDE the High Museum, looking across Peachtree Street to the then vacant site back in 2007. At that time, the site had already been sitting there for well over a year.

At Midtown Alliance’s Development Review Committee last week, the building was introduced again, in a much smaller version. The original plans were for a 23-story building with some 90+ homes starting around $2 Million! (I wondered THEN where THOSE kinds of buyers were coming from?)

(Drawing/photo compliments of Midtown Patch/ABC)

Fast forward to this week, and we now have a very scaled down One Museum Tower… FIVE story building with only 48 homes, ranging in price from $700,000 to $2.5M. (I again have to wonder, are there that many condo buyers out there for this price point of a condo? Another building, Seventh Midtown has also been announced, pricing to start at $600,000 and go to $1M)

While it’s great to see the wheels of construction begin to turn, I hate to see a prime piece of Peachtree Street not see it’s potential when it comes to a high-rise building. Mind you, I’m sure the residents of Ansley Park (just behind this site) are jumping for joy at a smaller project with out the height!
Let’s see what happens with the new and improved One Museum Tower!
Below is the building proposed about 7 years ago!

Midtown Atlanta Condos | Is There Guest Parking In Midtown Condos?

December 7, 2013 by Thom Abbott

As I show Midtown Atlanta condos on a daily basis, I’m almost always assured to be asked the question, Is there guest parking in Midtown Condos? The answer to that question is NOT a simple Yes, or No. More like…Maybe? Or depends on the building?

Midtown Atlanta Condos | Is There Guest Parking In Midtown Condos?

Probably the best answer IS it depends on the building. Some of the Midtown Atlanta Condo buildings have paid retail parking space, which allows for your guests to park in the retail parking area, for a fee. One building in particular, 1010 Midtown does NOT allow this. Visit a few of the restaurants in the 12th and Midtown area, and decide to take a cab home to avoid a DUI? You’ll find a $150 boot on your car the next morning. (Very unfortunate and really don’t understand why they do this?) Yet another building, Plaza Midtown has NO guest parking. All of the retail parking is just that…for retail, and there is no overnight parking allowed either.

Buildings like Metropolis, Spire and Viewpoint have the paid retail parking. Park Central DOES have guest spaces, available on a first-come, first-served basis. But at least they have them, and they are free.

So you say, there must be a better way? Indeed, you see all these parking lots around Midtown, but they too cost money, and may not be all that secure for an overnight stay. So along comes SpotShare!

SpotShare, developed back in 2003, is an online parking registration site that can be used by condominium residents. It allows residents to donate and request parking spaces in their own building’s residential parking area. Imagine, you have a 2 bedroom condo with 2 spaces, but only one car. You can offer up that extra parking space when you are sure you won’t need it, and help out a neighbor! How cool is that? And really, this can be a life-saver for many of our Midtown Atlanta condo residents.

If your Midtown Atlanta condo building does not offer SpotShare, mention it to your Property Manager or a Board Member. There is a cost to the association (I’m not sure how much) but not only will it make your life a bit easier for you AND your guests, it is a great selling tool when you are looking to sell your condo!!

Atlanta’s Lost Spaces Abound | Riverwalk Atlanta and Hartsfield Incinerator

November 21, 2013 by Thom Abbott

I suppose every city (well maybe not New York or Los Angeles) have lost spaces, waiting to be re-discovered. As a real estate broker, I find myself in many a place that most Atlantan’s have never even been, much less heard of. And then, I even learn about a place I knew nothing about.

A story popped on my Facebook wall this morning and it sent me off in search of exactly where the Hartsfield Incinerator might be located. Well, without a visual drive, I’m guessing, but, maybe where the check mark is on the map below?

The“Riverwalk Atlanta” project would be a 100-plus-acre park on the Chattahoochee River, with the derelict Hartsfield Incinerator site perched at the main entrance like a reminder of Atlanta’s industrial past, says Josh Green in the article from Curbed Atlanta. The incinerator site includes property along the river owned by Georgia Power, which has already granted a conservancy easement, so that’s why I’m thinking this may be the location since it shows a Georgia Power plant along the river.

The Curbed Atlanta article has drawings of what the eventual park could look like, as well as a shot of the overgrown incinerator.

An additional search found the website, RiverwalkAtlanta.org and it has some great information about this project and others along the Chattahoochee River.

Another “lost space” in this area that has already been pegged for redevelopment as part of the Atlanta Beltline is the Bellwood Quarry. I’ve been to this location on a Beltline tour…and it’s hard to imagine this is “hiding” within eyesight of West Midtown and Midtown Atlanta.

If you are new to Atlanta, and might be around for another 20 years…you are going to have some impressive additions to the city in the years to come!

One Museum Tower – A Midtown Atlanta Condo Building Reborn!

Midtown Atlanta Condos | Is There Guest Parking In Midtown Condos?

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