Atlanta Condos For Sale

Citizens For Progressive Transit January Newsletter

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Transit NewsletterWe know that transit is a major buzz word around Metro Atlanta (and the state of Georgia) these days. Sadly, city and state leaders have lagged behind in taking much action on this. But the time is now. 72% of Georgia voters want state funding to expand mass transit. 

I’ve attached a monthly newsletter from the organization Citizens for Progressive Transit. It has some GREAT articles. Like the mention of the decline of Georgia’s rural population and economy. TEN YEARS ago the GA DOT discussed regional passenger trains that would like these smaller cities to Atlanta. CAn you EVEN imagine being able to live 2 hours outside of Atlanta and ride a train into the city?

Transportation Camp South 2018

Also mentioned is Transportation Camp South which will take place February 24th at Georgia Tech. The annual event brings planners, scholars and activists together for a day of learning. You can find more information on their Facebook Page.

We plan to be there this year to keep a pulse on this important conversation for Atlanta AND Georgia.

You can find the January 2018 Citizens For Progressive Transit Newsletter HERE.

North American Properties Mark Toro

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North American Properties Mark ToroAtlanta 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!

Another Midtown Parking Lot Soon To Be Gone

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Parking in Midtown Atlanta is going to be a premium…..more so as the surface lots getting “eaten up” by new construction buildings. And Another Midtown Parking Lot Soon To Be Gone!

Another Midtown Parking Lot Soon To Be Gone

A 14-story dual brand hotel has been proposed for the parking lot just across Ponce de Leon Avenue from the Fox Theater. The hotel will consist of 154 rooms under the Marriott Courtyard flag and another four floors with 128 rooms in the Marriott Element brand. The hotel floors sit above five levels of parking with 185 spaces that will be accessible to the public. Automobile access to the building will be provided off Ponce with a circular drop-off area and internal ramps to the deck above.  The developer proposed a ground floor restaurant and lounge/bar at the corner with a second floor terrace overlooking this iconic intersection which is anchored by the Fox Theatre, Georgian Terrace and Ponce Condos.  

640 Peachtree Street Marriott Courtyard

Of course, many of the residents of Windsor Over Peachtree with North facing views will have….no more view. In fact, they will be looking right at a parking garage for those first 6 or so floors, depending on how the garage lays out. And the remaining floors will either be looking at the garage or the guest rooms of the hotel. Hmmmm.

I always work with my clients when showing Midtown Atlanta condos, and mention any possibilities of what could happen to a view, along with the statement, “no view is ever guaranteed.” And it’s true. Now, if a newer building has just been built, you may know what your view will be for awhile…but anything low-rise could be subject to a sale and a tear down. 

This location will certainly be helpful to out-of-town visitors in for an event at the Fox Theater, as well as the Emory Crawford Long Hospital is just two blocks South of this location. Access to the hotel without a car, will be easy as the North Avenue MARTA station is in the same block as the hotel. The address of the parking lot is 640 Peachtree Street and is shown on the map below.

 

Search Midtown Atlanta Condos For Sale HERE!

Food Halls and Apartments – Can Atlanta BE Creative?

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NOTE:  This is an editorial-type blog post….with my thoughts. 

Food Halls and Apartments – Can Atlanta BE Creative?

Food Halls in Midtown AtlantaI have numerous sources of information that I review daily. I find articles that I think MY readers will find of interest, and I use social media to share them….Facebook, Facebook Business, Instagram and Twitter. It’s not all about real estate, but about the lifestyle in the markets or communities I serve. I want you to know that I’m knowledgeable, but also that I can share with you the cool things about why you should, or would want, to live there.

Apartment Construction MidtownAnd I look at the big picture. Like the Midtown Skyline with its square buildings. Seriously!! Look at most of the buildings being built now. Square, glass blocks. Nothing creative. Well maybe NCR. But the rest of them. Certainly nothing to drewl over. Gosh, if I was a developer, I’d be asking my architect to design me a building that when people were driving the Downtown Connector and looking at the skyline, they would be saying, “WOW…look at that building!” 

Currently, Atlanta (in general) is all about Food Halls and Apartments. It’s our rage, if you will. A Food Hall will anchor the redevelopment of Colony Square. A Food Hall will be part of the CODA building near GATech. A food hall even way out in Alpharetta at some development who’s name escapes me at the moment. 

Everywhere you look…you see those cranes? 90% of them are building FOR RENT apartments, not anything you can buy. I always wonder what that does to a community? So many residents with no “roots?” Do you HAVE to own a home or condo to have roots in a community? I suppose not, but I certainly think you have a more vested interest in a community when you “own” a part of it. 

So when will Atlanta hit the “apartment crash?” I mean, it really has to be coming. It’s not like we have an Amazon moving to Atlanta every month….and so many jobs to provide the people to fill all these apartments? But, I guess the developers know better than I, right? Ah…not so fast. 

I can remember standing on Peachtree Street looking North and saying, “all this construction is great, but where are all the people coming from to buy all these condos?” And a year or so later…well…you know how that story ended. 

How come we can’t create something unique? I read once that Yumbi was going to open a restaurant in a shipping container....never saw it happen. Are we becoming a boring place to be? I’d like to think not…with all the cool tech start-ups and all that are happening in Midtown. 

I just wonder where the next Food Hall or apartment building will be.

Colony Square Announces Plans for Main and Main

THE COLLECTIVE, ATLANTA’S LATEST FOOD HALL

Data Privacy OneTrust adds 500 Midtown Jobs

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The good news for jobs in Midtown just keeps on coming….as data privacy OneTrust adds 500 Midtown jobs! 

Midtown Atlanta OneTrust adds 500 jobsThe company has developed technology that helps business protect sensitive personal data of employees and customers. (Maybe they could cruise up Spring Street and visit the Equifax office…they seem to need some help!)

As part of a $5M expansion, the footprint of OneTrust’s Midtown office will double. They plan to lease an additional floor in the Midtown Heights office building on Spring Street. The company was launched March, 2016 and is co-headquartered in London. Their software is in demand as the European Union and other regulators are working to protect the privacy of citizens with new laws. 

Businesses are collecting more and more consumer data (seen those crazy ads pop up on Facebook right after you searched for a new car?) and this makes them cyber-hacking hot spots! Just ask Equifax, also located in Midtown…that just announced a massive data breach.

In the ABC article, “OneTrust’s growth is fueled by the macro trends of organizations collecting more personal data than ever before; IoT making this data even more sensitive; big data pressuring organizations to analyze and use the data in new ways; and consumer demand for additional privacy rights,” OneTrust CEO Kabir Barday noted. “All of this is putting pressure on organizations to think twice about how they protect the information they hold.”

OneTrust employees that may be relocating to Midtown Atlanta as new hires for the company will have numerous housing choices…from luxury apartments to high-rise condos.  The Midtown Heights Building is convenient to the Arts Center MARTA station. This area of Midtown is starting to see more construction that should bring dining options nearby. Those looking for more space in townhome living can look at exciting areas like Chamblee and Brookhaven for other options! Chamblee offers the most direct access to MARTA, making for an easy commute to Midtown. 

MyMidtownMojo and Thomas Ramon Realty are ready to help the new employees of OneTrust find just the perfect place to call home! Contact us today at 770.713.1505 or just fill out the Contact Form and we will be happy to answer any questions you may have!

 

 

Beware of CyberFraud in Real Estate

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CyberFraud in Real EstateIt’s a strange, and sometimes kinda sad world we live in these days. Seems like everyone is out to get you, or your stuff, or your identity anyway they can. And now you have to beware of CyberFraud.

You have to be careful in keeping your home and car locked. Watch where you sign on to the Internet and what personal info you do while in the unprotected environment. (I can’t imagine using some city-wide wi-fi and doing some banking transactions…..shreek!) 

Well, the fraud gig has found its way to a part of the real estate transaction. The MOST important part of it…and that would be the money part! In Georgia, our closings are coordinated through a closing attorney. They complete all the necessary paperwork, but they represent the LENDER that requires all those documents to be signed. And part of this process, is the wiring of funds for the closing. This is mostly on the Buyer side of the closing, but there can be times when the Seller would have to wire funds as well. Well, now, there seems to be a chance that your funds for closing could end up in the wrong hands! 

When you are getting ready for the closing, you will get communication from the closing attorney regarding the wiring of your funds to their account. You will never get that request from myself, or my real estate brokerage. This will always come from the attorney’s office. 

That said, we offer up this caution regarding Cyber Fraud:

 

Beware of Cyber Fraud.

Fake e-mails attempting to get you to wire money to criminal computer hackers are increasingly common in real estate transactions. Under this scam, computer hackers fraudulently assume the online identity of the actual mortgage lender, closing attorney and/or real estate broker with whom you are working in the real estate transaction. Posing as a legitimate company, they then direct you to wire money to them. In many cases, the fake e-mail is sent from what appears to be the authentic web page of the legitimate company responsible for sending the wiring instructions.

You should use great caution in wiring funds based solely on wiring instructions sent to you by e-mail. Independently verifying the wiring instructions with someone from the company sending them is the best way to prevent fraud. In particular, you should treat as highly suspect any follow up e-mails you receive from a mortgage lender, closing attorney and/or real estate broker directing you to wire funds to a revised account number. Never verify wiring instructions by calling a telephone number provided along with a second set of wiring instructions since you may end up receiving a fake verification from the computer hackers trying to steal your money. Independently look up the telephone number of the company who is supposed to be sending you the wiring instructions to make sure you have the right one.

 

So, as the info suggests, when you get a request to wire funds, search out the firm separate from the info provided in the email. Then call, and confirm the wiring information. 

You just have to watch out for the bad guys. They can be anywhere!

Thom Abbott

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

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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