Midtown Atlanta Business Archives -

Midtown Mobility from Midtown Alliance

September 26, 2018 by Thom Abbott

Midtown Alliance is a non-profit membership organization and a coalition of leading business and community leaders – united in our commitment to Midtown as a premiere destination for commerce, culture, education and living. Governed by a 71-member board of the district’s top private sector leaders, our mission is to improve and sustain the quality of life for those who live, work and play here. The Alliance accomplishes this goal through a comprehensive approach to planning and development that includes initiatives to enhance public safety, improve the physical environment, and strengthen the urban amenities which give the area its unique character.

Guided by a visionary master plan – Blueprint Midtown – and in partnership with the Midtown Improvement District, Midtown has become a national model for urban excellence.

Midtown Alliance puts out various communications each month and throughout the year to keep residents and Midtown employers informed of what’s going on in the area. While you might find some of these things on their website, we wanted to share with you the September issue of Midtown Mobility from Midtown Alliance.

Biketopber — October 1-31, 2018

This is a month-long, FREE event also known as the Atlanta Bike Challenge. Biking, teambuilding, competition and prizes! Click on the link for more information about this event!

Measuring Foot Traffic

A key part of getting more retail (and maybe a couple less restaurants) is have feet on the street. While the Midtown population has grown, it’s certainly nothing like Midtown Manhattan! Midtown Alliance will look at the increase in foot traffic as well as car traffic. If you can imagine, technology that will measure pedestrian activity!! WOW! Data like this can be important to anyone looking to open a store front in Midtown!

Here is a link to the complete September Midtown Mobility newsletter.

Midtown Mobility | September, 2018

Atlanta software company FullStory moves to Brookwood

September 25, 2018 by Thom Abbott

Fullstory, 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!

New Hotel Proposed for Beltline in O4W

May 25, 2018 by Thom Abbott

There is never a lack of interest, or desire to live, work or build on the Beltline! That is evidenced by the recent announcement by Portman Holdings, LLC who has just purchased a prime little corner at Irwin Street and the Beltline!

New Hotel Proposed for Beltline in O4W

The company purchased the site, a little more than 1 acre for a mere $5.5 MILLION! It closed May 9th, according to a story in the Atlanta Business Chronicle. Portman, known for their major hotel construction will seek to build a “cool lifestyle boutique hotel” on the site. While still to early in the planning stages, 145-170 keys are being proposed. The company is talking to hotel brands not found in the Atlanta area, and the article also mentions a food an beverage and event space.

One might recall that a hotel was proposed for the site back in 2015, but that deal, with Beltway Investment International, Smart Hotels, LLC, and Hospitality Ventures Management Group never moved forward.

A second hotel ( or maybe it was first?) is also proposed as part of the New City LLC project that is next to the Historic Fourth Ward Park. That project could break ground later this year.

We’ll update this article with some on-site photos, but the photo BELOW shows the location of the new hotel.

Embassy Suites Atlantic Station Moves Forward

May 23, 2018 by Thom Abbott

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.

Embassy 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.

Coworking Spaces in Midtown and Downtown Atlanta

February 21, 2018 by Thom Abbott

You’ve probably noticed the rise in Atlanta of co-working spaces. The names We Work and Industrious might most ring a bell, but there are many other options in Midtown and Downtown Atlanta….even I was surprised!

Coworking Spaces in Midtown and Downtown Atlanta

As the article link below mentions, coworking has become very popular all over the country, but most recently we have seen quite the boom of these kinds of spaces all over Atlanta. While the article focuses on the Midtown and Downtown Atlanta areas, I know that We Work is opening at the Perimeter and Industrious has a Buckhead location.

Whether you are a single person looking to have an “office space” outside of your condo, to a startup company, these flexible work spaces can offer you much of what a normal office might offer, but for far less money because of the sharing of resources.

If you are considering a coworking space, be sure to check them out in person, and see what they are like. If you may need to meet clients, how accessible is the space for your guests? I know I looked at space in the Industrious offices at Ponce City Market before we opened our Midtown Atlanta office on Juniper Street. There were a few to many layers of security (at least at that location) that would have not made it user friendly for a real estate office. (And now we have a storefront anyways…so much better!)

But if you are considering living in Midtown or Downtown, and need office space not provided by your company, or your start-up NEEDS office space, check out the list in this article!

Coworking Spaces in Midtown and Downtown Atlanta

North American Properties Mark Toro

January 17, 2018 by Thom Abbott

Atlanta certainly has numerous “movers and shakers” when it comes to real estate development. My good friend Scott Selig, who recently passed, is one of them. Steve Baile, also with Selig Enterprises is another. But one individual that I have always been impressed with is Mark Toro from North American Properties.

If you’ve not seen Avalon in Alpharetta….hope in the car and go. A development that barely got started, and then the market crashed. North American Properties came in and it’s amazing what is there now.

Come a little bit closer to “home” and North American Properties successfully repositioned Atlantic Station, and has since sold the retail development to another group. Now, Mark and his team are working to transform Colony Square into the next great Midtown place to be!

Atlanta Magazine, in 2015, named Mark Toro as one of the “55 Most Influential Atlantans.”

Additionally, North American Properties has been tapped to develop a mixed-used project around the Infinite Energy Center in Gwinnett County, some 30 miles from Midtown Atlanta. This is a unique public/private project, being built on land Gwinnett County owns. (The parking lots around the Arena will become garages and mixed-use buildings!

Mark is a Midtown Atlanta resident, and serves on the Midtown Alliance’s Executive Committee.

Bisnow, a business publication recently published an interview with Mark Toro, which you can find HERE.

Thanks Mark, for all that you have done, and are doing for Midtown Atlanta and beyond!

Atlanta software company FullStory moves to Brookwood

New Hotel Proposed for Beltline in O4W

Embassy Suites Atlantic Station Moves Forward

Coworking Spaces in Midtown and Downtown Atlanta

Palmer House Properties