Atlanta Project Thread IV

[bryantm3]

Originally Posted by scania

As the previous person said...there are plenty of places to live in Midtown that cost under $800. No its not the newest high-rises, but there are a plethora of options that are not expensive.

we just need to make sure it *stays* that way.

[echinatl]

Originally Posted by bryantm3

we just need to make sure it *stays* that way.

Well, because of inflation and appreciation it won't. I lived in a nice house in the highlands, 2 min walk from the bars with 3 roommates and it came out to 450 a person. Housing is so cheap in Atlanta it's insane.

[bryantm3]

my point is that the city needs to start taking steps to ensure affordable housing is available.

[SAV]

I remember Mayor Reed saying that the Turner field spot will be redeveloped and will include affordable and middle class housing. I can see a lower scale Atlantic Station in that spot. Maybe a developement thats even bigger and more populated than Atlantic Station.

[testarossa50]

Originally Posted by bryantm3

my point is that the city needs to start taking steps to ensure affordable housing is available.

I've thought about this too. I think part of the answer could be Seattle-style micro-apartments, where a single person lives in ~450 SF. Yes, it's tiny, but I've got several friends in this situation: they can't afford to spend $1,000/mo on rent, and they have plenty of friends in the area whose apartments they spend time at. They mainly just want a conveniently-located place to crash, without much in the way of frills. (There ARE definitely options within walking distance of Midtown like this at present, by the way, but they exist marginally and in old structures, exclusively.)

If I were rich, I would start a venture to buy small parcels of land in Midtown, make agreements with nearby existing parking structures to rent blocks of spaces, and develop mini Hong-Kong style highrises with ~10 small units on each floor. Price them at $700-$900. Parking sold a la carte. No amenities. Just location.

I don't know that I really like government-sponsored affordable housing requirements that subsidize a block of units, or force developers to sell some units at below market rates. They tend to make very little meaningful impact on the housing market.

As for Turner Field, I feel like a government-sponsored redevelopment would end up looking like Lindbergh at best, or more likely like Capitol View (which to me is just bland, unappealing development, despite being better than what was there before). For that sort of development, my fear isn't a lack of affordable housing. I'm worried there will be a lack of housing anyone would be willing to pay market rates for.

[bryantm3]

Originally Posted by testarossa50

I've thought about this too. I think part of the answer could be Seattle-style micro-apartments, where a single person lives in ~450 SF. Yes, it's tiny, but I've got several friends in this situation: they can't afford to spend $1,000/mo on rent, and they have plenty of friends in the area whose apartments they spend time at. They mainly just want a conveniently-located place to crash, without much in the way of frills. (There ARE definitely options within walking distance of Midtown like this at present, by the way, but they exist marginally and in old structures, exclusively.)

If I were rich, I would start a venture to buy small parcels of land in Midtown, make agreements with nearby existing parking structures to rent blocks of spaces, and develop mini Hong-Kong style highrises with ~10 small units on each floor. Price them at $700-$900. Parking sold a la carte. No amenities. Just location.

I don't know that I really like government-sponsored affordable housing requirements that subsidize a block of units, or force developers to sell some units at below market rates. They tend to make very little meaningful impact on the housing market.

As for Turner Field, I feel like a government-sponsored redevelopment would end up looking like Lindbergh at best, or more likely like Capitol View (which to me is just bland, unappealing development, despite being better than what was there before). For that sort of development, my fear isn't a lack of affordable housing. I'm worried there will be a lack of housing anyone would be willing to pay market rates for.

i actually wrote a paper on that subject last semester. i was thinking it might possibly work for some smaller families also, if you used creative solutions like folding beds and tables, lofts, etc., and you could have a family of three or four relatively comfortably living in a space that would technically be 500 square feet, but feels like a lot more. even then, though, the market rate could eventually get to the point where even such a small apartment would command a high rent. this is why i think we need more funding for affordable housing projects, and make some type of ordinance where there is a minimum and maximum percentage of affordable units for all new projects; meaning something like between 10-40% affordable, so it would prevent both all-luxury units and the all section 8 style housing you see along boulevard, for example.

[smArTaLlone]

SkyHouse Buckhead, a 26-story, 362-unit high-rise apartment community, located at 3390 Stratford Road behind Maggiano’s Little Italy just off of Peachtree Road), will be connected to the Buckhead MARTA station and the west side of Georgia 400 by a new, under-construction pedestrian bridge spanning the highway.

The development, which was first announced in August of 2013, is also in close proximity to Buckhead’s Lenox Square Mall and Phipps Plaza shopping and entertainment destinations.

http://www.buckheadview.com/2014/01/skyhouse-buckhead-groundbreaking-set.html

[smArTaLlone]

http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/worlds-coolest-new-tourist-attractions-2014/7

Just off the BeltLine—Atlanta’s network of trails and parks that follow former rail lines—a $250 million redevelopment is turning a massive Sears, Roebuck & Co. into a multiuse beacon of regenerative cool. Openings this fall will include a Central Food Hall modeled after NYC’s Chelsea Market, retail, and an expansive rooftop garden, with mini-golf come spring 2015, as well as offices and residences. There’ll even be a BeltLine-accessible outdoor bar made from a repurposed boxcar.

[Alfred E Neuman]

Populous picked to design Braves ballpark

Populous of Kansas City has designed twenty ballparks including Nationals; Yankees, Twins, Marlins, as well as the first 'retro' park in Baltimore in '92. Hope they can break old molds and new ground for Bravos.

[ThrashATL]

Originally Posted by Alfred E Neuman

Populous picked to design Braves ballpark

Populous of Kansas City has designed twenty ballparks including Nationals; Yankees, Twins, Marlins, as well as the first 'retro' park in Baltimore in '92. Hope they can break old molds and new ground for Bravos.

The ballpark is already more than half designed, just look to the Mets' stadium, Citi Field, the inside of the Braves stadium will be very comparable in shape & size and design (minus the retro wrap around CF has). The real design work will be to come up with the amenities that will make it unique.

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by ThrashATL

The ballpark is already more than half designed, just look to the Mets' stadium, Citi Field, the inside of the Braves stadium will be very comparable in shape & size and design (minus the retro wrap around CF has). The real design work will be to come up with the amenities that will make it unique.

Citi Field looks pretty stinking nice.

I could see the Braves project as being good not only for Cobb but for the COA as well. The I-75 corridor is already pretty solidly developed from downtown to Cumberland.

And it may provide more impetus for additional transit to the northwest side of town.

[trainiac]

Originally Posted by arjay57

Citi Field looks pretty stinking nice.

I could see the Braves project as being good not only for Cobb for the COA as well. The I-75 corridor is already pretty solidly developed from downtown to Cumberland.

And it may provide more impetus for additional transit to the northwest side of town.

Yeah, Citi Field is pretty cool. Right on the 7 train and up through a dramatic rotunda to get to the seating. They have a great rooftop area (kinda like a super-sized Chop House) and they had plenty of Brooklyn beer on draft. Still the Mets, but nice ballpark

[ThrashATL]

Populous did a great job on Citi Field and if the Braves get a comparable stadium, they'll be ahead of what Turner Field is now. Citi has that big brick wraparound facade which I don't think the Braves would need but they need something like the rotunda for sure. Having it "loom" at the end of "Braves Walk" would be a perfect focal point.

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by testarossa50

I've thought about this too. I think part of the answer could be Seattle-style micro-apartments, where a single person lives in ~450 SF. Yes, it's tiny, but I've got several friends in this situation: they can't afford to spend $1,000/mo on rent, and they have plenty of friends in the area whose apartments they spend time at. They mainly just want a conveniently-located place to crash, without much in the way of frills. (There ARE definitely options within walking distance of Midtown like this at present, by the way, but they exist marginally and in old structures, exclusively.)

I tend to agree, but apparently it's not wise to go too small.

The Health Risks of Small Apartments

[arjay57]

More apartments in the Buckhead village area.

http://livablebuckhead.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/475-Buckhead-Ave-BATMA.pdf

[trainiac]

Here's a panoramic shot from last week. I think there are 5 or 6 cranes in Inman Park right now (counting the Edgewood bridge). That's gotta be a record

[Alfred E Neuman]

Symphony Hall site officially pitched for three towers: 39, 57 and 60!!! More to come... With 2 million square feet aggregate, the main tower will surpass B of A in height. This project has a lot of green lights leading the way.

[smArTaLlone]

Here is the ABC article on the project


http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/real_...d-for-symphony-center-site.html?page=all

A massive mixed-use project that could add three skyscrapers to Midtown — including one that could be Atlanta's tallest tower at 60 stories— is moving forward.

On Feb. 5, plans were formally filed in Atlanta for Midtown’s long-vacant “symphony center” site at 98 14th Street.

One tower could soar to 60 stories, including about 300 residential units and a 340-room hotel. Midtown’s Bank of America Plaza, with its 23-karat, gold-leafed spire, is now the tallest building on the skyline at 55 stories.

Another residential tower with frontage along 14th Street would be 57 stories. And the third tower near the Promenade II building would have 39 stories.

In total, the project could include 90,000 square feet of shops and restaurants, 1,300 apartments, 340 hotel rooms and about 1,500 parking spaces.

[cokezero]

Originally Posted by smArTaLlone

Here is the ABC article on the project


http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/real_...d-for-symphony-center-site.html?page=all

Am I the only one having flashbacks to the grandiose mega developments that were announced but never built near the end of the last big development cycle, a la City Place Buckhead? Are we already to that point again?

[bryantm3]

Originally Posted by Alfred E Neuman

Symphony Hall site officially pitched for three towers: 39, 57 and 60!!! More to come... With 2 million square feet aggregate, the main tower will surpass B of A in height. This project has a lot of green lights leading the way.

i'm hearing a lot about the 60 story tower being taller than BoA, but do we know this for sure? just because it's 60 stories and BoA is 55, doesn't mean it's taller. the westin peachtree plaza for example is over 70 stories, but is several hundred feet shorter than the BoA tower.