ATLANTA | Development Thread V

[cybele]

Originally Posted by kamden99

Close to 200 new jobs! That's great!!! Finally some good news!

Wonder how much those carwash jobs will pay?

[boomtown]

Where's Philip Starke when you need him?....this place is screaming for the ultimate boutique makeover.

Clermont Hotel Heading to Auction?
Globest.com
By Carl Cronan
ATLANTA-A grassroots effort is under way locally to save the Clermont Motor Hotel, known more for its entertainment value than historic status, from foreclosure. The 129-key structure, which occupies just over an acre along Ponce de Leon Avenue, is currently scheduled for a July 7 auction at the Fulton County Courthouse.
Locally based Inman Park Properties, which bought the 85-year-old hotel in 2003 and is now in default on its loan with New York City-based Fairway Capital, has had the Clermont on the market for the past few months at $6.5 million. Both sides are reportedly negotiating an agreement that will remove the property from the foreclosure rolls.

"The owner and lender are working together to try to take it off the auction,” Gene Kansas, an Atlanta broker and developer currently marketing the property, tells GlobeSt.com. “Certainly it’s in the owner’s best interest.”
John Mansour, an attorney with Atlanta-based Ayoub & Mansour LLC who represents Fairway Capital, says there is “a good chance” of holding off foreclosure on the 88,000-square-foot hotel. Efforts to reach Inman Park were unsuccessful.
The Clermont, a no-frills hotel offering room rates as low as $35 per night, is likely better known for its basement strip club and an adjoining bar featuring live music and deejays. Celebrities visiting Atlanta are as likely to stop in as local residents, and the club has been featured in Playboy, Esquire and Stuff magazines.
The pending auction isn’t necessarily hurting Kansas’ efforts to market the hotel, he says. Publicity is growing and a documentary on the Clermont is already in the works.
“I think it helps because you’re going to have a more motivated seller from a time perspective and more people know about it,” Kansas says. “We may be able to consummate a deal more quickly.”
Furthermore, Kansas has launched a design competition for the Clermont, inviting artists and architects to decide what should become of the hotel. A $1,000 cash prize and other giveaways are being offered, with the winner to be announced during a party July 30 at the hotel’s lounge.

[scania]

Originally Posted by alleystreetindustry

yeah, i agree with the travel habits. but i was speaking in general. a majority of the people i know [that live intown, of course] still walk to run errands, for general recreation, use marta for work, etc.... but they also drive, most of the time. its a mutual relationship between ones car and ones feet.

however, it seems to me that almost every single citizen of buckhead still neglects to walk (other than the typical jogger). but i also dont spend enough time in the neighborhood to act as if i know from experience. so maybe its not my place. its just what i observed, 95% of the pedestrians are low/middle wage workers from the malls and hotels, tourists, or the couple of white collar workers that cross the street during lunch break.

Give me a break. I can tell you on a personal expeirence that most people who live in Midtown drive their cars. Stop with the BULL. The ONLY place that has pedestrian traffic is downtown Atlanta. The same kind of people that walk in Buckhead, is the same as Midtown. Some people on here just make up BULL, like Viewpoint is rumored to have a Barney's....such crap a lot of you say. Midtown is a great place without all of the things some of you might want to be or to have...

[briantech]

Originally Posted by scania

Give me a break. I can tell you on a personal expeirence that most people who live in Midtown drive their cars. Stop with the BULL. The ONLY place that has pedestrian traffic is downtown Atlanta. The same kind of people that walk in Buckhead, is the same as Midtown. Some people on here just make up BULL, like Viewpoint is rumored to have a Barney's....such crap a lot of you say. Midtown is a great place without all of the things some of you might want to be or to have...

I live in midtown, and walk/ride marta to my work in downtown. So does everyone I work with that lives in midtown.

[pdpmishap]

Originally Posted by scania

Give me a break. I can tell you on a personal expeirence that most people who live in Midtown drive their cars. Stop with the BULL. The ONLY place that has pedestrian traffic is downtown Atlanta. The same kind of people that walk in Buckhead, is the same as Midtown. Some people on here just make up BULL, like Viewpoint is rumored to have a Barney's....such crap a lot of you say. Midtown is a great place without all of the things some of you might want to be or to have...

I work from home about 4 days a week in midtown and walk to class. I would bike if my offices weren't on Peachtree Parkway and I could find a route that was under 30 miles and wouldn't get me killed by angry commuters. My car averages maybe 50-100 miles a week depending on if I go visit my parents in Snellville or my brother in Buckhead. I generally walk to the grocery store or pick up stuff on the way home and I once made a tank of gas last almost 3 months. Buying an expensive new car was probably a bad idea. If I go down to the starbucks in the morning I usually run into plenty of neighbors headed to work on foot and I've seen plenty of cars collect months worth of dust including a Hummer that hasn't moved in the year I lived there (wondering if someone needs to go check on the owner). I've been trying to convince my g/f Marta isn't too bad (as long as she's not walking by the 8th st/Cypress dealers) and all of the half dozen or so pilots/flight attendants in my building take Marta.

Downtown is usually full of people w/o cars (usually tourists or homeless) and they tend not to drive out of necessity vs. choice. The people that live in Midtown to be able to walk/Marta to work generally do. It's the people that live in Midtown and work somewhere further out that tend to drive.

[sunking1056]

Originally Posted by pdpmishap

Downtown is usually full of people w/o cars (usually tourists or homeless) and they tend not to drive out of necessity vs. choice.

I have to disagree with this. Are you actually saying you think the majority of people downtown who did not drive to get there are either tourists or homeless? What about the tens of thousands of students and workers, many of whom take the train?

[pdpmishap]

Originally Posted by sunking1056

I have to disagree with this. Are you actually saying you think the majority of people downtown who did not drive to get there are either tourists or homeless? What about the tens of thousands of students and workers, many of whom take the train?

Well most of the time I spend in downtown is on my bike on weekends when the workers/students aren't around. Then it's only bums sleeping in every vestibule or sitting in the park and poor tourists getting harassed. I don't think a lot of the people that work downtown live there. I realize there are plenty of non-hobos during the week but I was more making the point that Midtown isn't exactly desolate after everyone drove 3-5 miles to work. Sure it isn't packed w/ the number of workers during the work week but Midtown actually has residents to fill the place on evenings and weekends.

My mom actually works downtown but she never leaves Peachtree Center and the Marta station or the various pedestrian bridges which is the case for most of her coworkers as well.

[scania]

I have friends that live in Spire, Metropolis, and Plaza Midtown. I myself only work 3 days a week. I can honestly tell you that most people at Plaza Midtown drives to work. This is also evident by going in the parking garage. The same is true for Spire and Metropolis. I also know about 15 pilots/flight attendants, all of them either walk or park their cars at a train station. That is the same for the 3 people I know who works for Marta. To mention people that work for an airlines as a mean to prove a point about people walking to Marta, is crazy.

[popewiz]

Originally Posted by pdpmishap

I've been trying to convince my g/f Marta isn't too bad (as long as she's not walking by the 8th st/Cypress dealers)

Generally the guys hanging around on that corner are not dealers, they're prostitutes. And to be honest, I lived on the corner of Peachtree and 8th for about 18 months and not once was I approached on that corner. I do think it would do a lot for the feel of the area for them to be gone, but they're not dangerous.

[jew4life4948]

Originally Posted by popewiz

Generally the guys hanging around on that corner are not dealers, they're prostitutes. And to be honest, I lived on the corner of Peachtree and 8th for about 18 months and not once was I approached on that corner. I do think it would do a lot for the feel of the area for them to be gone, but they're not dangerous.

8th/Cypress is a cakewalk compared to biking down Boulevard after the street lights come on, but this could go on and on.

[alleystreetindustry]

Originally Posted by scania

Give me a break. I can tell you on a personal expeirence that most people who live in Midtown drive their cars. Stop with the BULL. The ONLY place that has pedestrian traffic is downtown Atlanta. The same kind of people that walk in Buckhead, is the same as Midtown. Some people on here just make up BULL, like Viewpoint is rumored to have a Barney's....such crap a lot of you say. Midtown is a great place without all of the things some of you might want to be or to have...

calm down bruh. dont get worked up for no reason. i said myself that every atlantan has a relationship with the car, but a majority of the [shall we call them] intowners share a mutual relationship between their car and foot.

this is what i have noticed. drive to work? yes... a majority. but there are many that continue to walk/ride public transit to work/school. grocery store? everybody knows a majority of the customers @ the publix on spring come not by car, but by foot. i can say so myself, i was once employed there. other grocery stores? majority by car, but still pedestrian presence. restaurants and nightlife? almost EVERYBODY carpools or walks.

the same could be said for several other neighborhoods in atlanta, maybe not on the same level as midtown (except for downtown, of course). and of course, there is a growing bicycle presence in atlantas eastern area.

can you say the same things about the people of buckhead? dont think so...

and dont think im pulling this out of my a$$, ive been a member of midtown almost my entire life. you can find me @ the corner of 6th and glendale.

[plorenc]

Believe it or not, there are actually some Atlantans (such as myself) that see the negative effects of driving and go out of their way not to drive. This is a consensus a lot of people make when they move somewhere like Midtown, otherwise they could live in any other suburban high-rise in Atlanta. True, Midtown still hasn't broken critical mass and become a complete walkable neighborhood, but I sincerely think some people in Atlanta are beginning to demand it.

[gttx]

You should keep in mind that a number of people in Atlanta don't actually own a car. Try it for a while - it will change your perspective considerably.

Also, remember that MARTA is one of the most highly-used transit systems in the country. It's hard to believe because most people have never ridden it...but a huge group of people do use it every day, whether they are going to/from work, school, shopping, events, or restaurants.

[Terminus]

Originally Posted by gttx

You should keep in mind that a number of people in Atlanta don't actually own a car. Try it for a while - it will change your perspective considerably.

Also, remember that MARTA is one of the most highly-used transit systems in the country. It's hard to believe because most people have never ridden it...but a huge group of people do use it every day, whether they are going to/from work, school, shopping, events, or restaurants.

Exactly, and I'm one of them. My non-car trips thus far today (Sunday):

1. From my condo downtown to Parish in Inman Park to pick up pastries: 51 min. from time I walked out my door to back in via 113 bus.

2. From my condo to Midtown CVS then Publix at Plaza Midtown: 55 min via 110 bus, short walk, and train back.

I'm an impatient person, but as a Downtown resident being car-free doesn't slow me down much. I have driven to work (Zipcar) when I have to go to the hinterlands during the day and found that taking MARTA actually takes 10-15 minutes LESS than driving during rush hour.

I'm not saying it would be this way for everyone - because I know it won't - but if you live and work in the core (inside the BeltLine) it's not as bad as people think. Plus it keeps me thin

[popewiz]

Originally Posted by jew4life4948

8th/Cypress is a cakewalk compared to biking down Boulevard after the street lights come on, but this could go on and on.

That's certainly true. I wouldn't be surprised if you were getting offered drugs while riding by. Rough neighborhood.

[sevensixtwo]

I drive about a mile to Tech. Drive to Publix. Walk to Starbuck's. Walk to CVS.

[A-town]

This a view from a condo on Roswell, I think it really shows how far Buckhead has come in the last few years. In this particular picture Buckhead sure looks dense. Manhattanization anyone......

[WSUSOM]

If someone would have told me 10 years ago that buckhead was going to look like the above photo my immediate response would have been to laugh in their face.

[wjc]

Originally Posted by A-town

This a view from a condo on Roswell, I think it really shows how far Buckhead has come in the last few years. In this particular picture Buckhead sure looks dense. Manhattanization anyone......

What an amazing view!!!

[gttx]

Originally Posted by A-town

Manhattanization anyone......

Buckhead is denser than it once was, but I'm not sure I would ever compare any part of Atlanta to Manhattan.