ATLANTA | Development Thread V

[Verge]

Originally Posted by A-town

Why does The Wall Street Journal insist on bashing Atlanta? If they're not talking about the number of speculative office buildings that have gone up recently, they're talking about our finest hotels being vacant. I was in Las Vegas recently and counted five projects on the Strip that were either bankrupt, or ran out of funds and construction halted. While there I dined at Capital Grille and noticed how empty the place was. So this isn't a problem unique to Atlanta alone, it's occurring all across the country. But yet the people who write these articles feel the need to single Atlanta out like we're the only city going through a recession. So if The Wall Street Journal is going to publish these articles be fair and do it for every city because we are not alone.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204482304574219911116453136.html

You would really have to be pretty sensitive to consider this article as 'bashing'--
very positive travel review... Sure most hotels and a LOT of restaurants are pretty empty now days-- Kind of like being offended by an article saying a lot of folks are unemployed in Atlanta these days-- well yes...

[sevensixtwo]

NEW 10th STREET RAMP TO OPEN TOMORROW


The Georgia Department of Transportation today announced the new ramp from I-85 South to 10th Street will open Thursday morning after rush hour, weather permitting. Motorists will be able to access the new ramp via Exit 84 (17th Street).

The new ramp is part of an ongoing project to replace the 14th Street Bridge over the Downtown Connector to relieve congestion at the 14th Street interchange. The improved bridge, on schedule to open later this year, will feature new turn lanes and pedestrian improvements such as wider sidewalks and lighting. The project also includes an additional exit ramp from I-75/85 northbound to 17th Street that is expected to open by spring 2010.

The new ramp is only for those traveling south on I-85. Motorists traveling south on I-75 will continue to access 14th and 10th streets via Techwood Drive, which will reopen concurrently with the 14th Street Bridge. Techwood Drive will remain closed until the bridge reopens.

[Student]

delete

[Student]

What do you guys think of the space directly west of 1010? Would you prefer more density or greenspace?

Excuse the poor editing

[jnihiser]

Even though skyscraper talk has slowed to a snail's pace, the amount of new mid-rise contruction in areas like old 4th ward are staggering. Because of the size of the city, it's easy to miss 700+ units coming online.

Heading west on Ralph McGill, these are on the right side of the road. They have even connected the street running parallel to north with two new side streets.

This project is big.

These are the finished ALTA apartments. Again, a huge project that spans a super block and reaches down into the Masquerade parking lots.



These are the new apartments across from civic center.

[ATLaffinity]

^ hopefully the new Old 4th Ward park will move along quickly. that will change the character of that whole area.

[briantech]

Originally Posted by Student

What do you guys think of the space directly west of 1010? Would you prefer more density or greenspace?

Excuse the poor editing

Absolutely keep those trees. Crescent street houses the densest collection of fun restaurants and night life in atlanta, IMO. It is very very hard to get that kind of atmosphere when everything is glass and concrete and bland.

I love street retail like in spire, viewpoint, and 1010 as much as everyone, but thats just cause its better than being empty or being a parking lot.

The area west of 1010 should absolutely remain tree'd up. Imagine even if they converted some of those gastly parking lots bordering west peachtree into a real intown park! How cool would it be to lounge around there literally surrounded on all sides by WALLS of skyscrapers.

[gttx]

Originally Posted by briantech

Absolutely keep those trees. Crescent street houses the densest collection of fun restaurants and night life in atlanta, IMO. It is very very hard to get that kind of atmosphere when everything is glass and concrete and bland.

I love street retail like in spire, viewpoint, and 1010 as much as everyone, but thats just cause its better than being empty or being a parking lot.

The area west of 1010 should absolutely remain tree'd up. Imagine even if they converted some of those gastly parking lots bordering west peachtree into a real intown park! How cool would it be to lounge around there literally surrounded on all sides by WALLS of skyscrapers.

A park might have a place there, but I think density would be infinitely better. Fill in a lot of those vacant or underutilized lots, focus active and restaurant development on Crescent, activate some of the other N/S streets, and definitely include a green space element (although one that is actually USED). This has the potential to be a HUGE redevelopment in Midtown, literally redefining the way this part of town looks and feels. I just hope it gets done right.

[gttx]

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[SfromVaHi]

Originally Posted by ATLaffinity

^ hopefully the new Old 4th Ward park will move along quickly. that will change the character of that whole area.

Does anyone know when the city will actually get moving on the O4W Park?

I know they had the 'ribbon cutting' last October, but it really doesn't look like anything significant has been done.

It was also my understanding that the first phase of the O4W Park had to be completed before Morsberger could start renovating CHE for the Ponce Park project. (Due to the fact that P1 of the O4W Park was acting as the area water basin runoff for CHE).

Does anyone know if that is indeed the case?

Of course the City has to move out of CHE before Morsberger could get started. Last article I read on the AJC not too long ago said that Morsberger had the financing for the project (amazing in this environment if true), and he was scheduled to start sometime in 2010.

[plorenc]

Originally Posted by Student

What do you guys think of the space directly west of 1010? Would you prefer more density or greenspace?

Excuse the poor editing

Fill it in with mid-rise (3-7 floors) mixed use apartments and move the restaurants to the bottom. Preferably with quality traditional buildings. The density needs to be more context appropriate, and right now, that space is underused. Especially right across from 1010 Midtown, where there is currently a derelict suburban BoA.

We need more density around all of Atlanta, but no more super projects like 12th and Midtown. 3 to 7 floors adds just enough density, but not too much as to congest and strain the surrounding area. Mid-rises spread across a large landscape can do a lot to add vibrancy and livability to the area, as opposed to the unused space we have now (or vertical sprawl as in Buckhead).

Anyways, there are plenty of surface parking lots where density could be built before those restaurants would have to move, so let it stay how it is for now. I agree, it is quite charming, although a bit context inappropriate.

Also, a real park somewhere would nice.

[popewiz]

Originally Posted by plorenc

Also, a real park somewhere would nice.

What's that supposed to mean? Piedmont Park is 2 blocks away.

[plorenc]

Originally Posted by popewiz

What's that supposed to mean? Piedmont Park is 2 blocks away.

I realize that. Let me reiterate: a real pocket park. There are tons of random patches of modernist green space in Midtown (near Promenade II, IBM Tower, Peachtree AT&T Tower) but none of them function as true park space. They are mostly just filling space and are extremely underutilized. Building some active infill around these spaces and realigning them would improve them greatly.

[sevensixtwo]

Isn't that space next to 1010 is owned by Selig and sheduled for 12&M Phase IV?

Originally Posted by plorenc

We need more density around all of Atlanta, but no more super projects like 12th and Midtown. 3 to 7 floors adds just enough density, but not too much as to congest and strain the surrounding area.

Not wanting to strain or congest is the root of sprawl. We need strain and congestion to get major changes in walkability and public transportation. If Atlanta was more strained we could have had a Beltline by now. Instead we have burbs.

And why waste space in the center on 3-7 floors? Better to do nothing now and something sweet later than to just plop in something mediocre. That lot has so much potential as a taxable developed property that the plan for something light would never get approved.

[sabino86]

Originally Posted by sevensixtwo

Isn't that space next to 1010 is owned by Selig and scheduled for 12&M Phase IV?

Correct.

[mgdGT]

Originally Posted by sevensixtwo

Not wanting to strain or congest is the root of sprawl. We need strain and congestion to get major changes in walkability and public transportation. If Atlanta was more strained we could have had a Beltline by now. Instead we have burbs.
.

Right, since the 'burbs or a Beltline were the only two choices possible.

Don't tell anyone but I used to live in the Seattle MSA and we had this very big body of water on one side and the mountains on the other and we still had, gasp, suburbs!

What in God's name do you mean by your post?

[A-town]

Originally Posted by Verge

You would really have to be pretty sensitive to consider this article as 'bashing'--
very positive travel review... Sure most hotels and a LOT of restaurants are pretty empty now days-- Kind of like being offended by an article saying a lot of folks are unemployed in Atlanta these days-- well yes...

Everybody's entitled to their own opinion, I've already stated mines.

[sevensixtwo]

Originally Posted by mgdGT

What in God's name do you mean by your post?

Strain facilitates change.

[plorenc]

As we all know, there is no dearth of skyscrapers in Atlanta. What there is a lack of, however, is urbanism. If you have ever been to Buckhead (which I assume you have), you would know skyscrapers are not a necessary cause, but a sufficient cause for urbanism. Conversly, if you've been to Tech Square, you would know that mid-rises can achieve urbanism just as easily, if not more easily. Cities like Savannah and Charleston have arguably some of the best urbanism in the US, yet there are no skyscrapers to speak of. Smaller buildings have several advantages over skyscrapers:

1. Skyscrapers cost more time and energy to build due to increased equipment costs. This leads to cutting corners on design and construction, which then leads to lesser quality. Mid-rises can be built for less capital, and of a greater quality.

2. Skyscrapers are basically vertical culs-de-sac, congesting the surrounding area with traffic rather than spreading it over a larger area.

3. Skyscrapers tend to raise the property value of everything around them, making it more prohibitive to build out.

4. Skyscrapers have a higher operating and maintenance cost than mid-rises.

5. They also require greater volumes of parking in surrounding area. Mid-rises can compensate for parking by surround the parking deck with liner buildings (a.k.a Houston Donuts).

6. Mid-rises can be spread across a greater area of land, contributing to the urbanity of the area.


While skyscrapers are nice for skyline shots, I would much rather a developer focus his efforts on building mid-rises to fill in empty spaces than showy skyscrapers, which we have enough of in Atlanta. Building four quality 5 story buildings can contribute much more to an area than one single mediocre 20 story building.

Can it be possible for a city to be done "developing" and focus on enhancing the public realm? I believe so.

[johnandahalf]

So...still trying to find out if Five Guys is gonna open in Tenside. Any info?