ATLANTA | Development Thread V

[jnihiser]

I think we are now at a point that so much development is going on, we're forgetting about when projects start
Here is the Maple Street mid-rise in Buckhead. Pictures taken by me.

[AtlantaMustang]

University House making some progress:





Taken by me.

[Dettmann1]

Its amazing how much an impact university house makes on Spring Street. I drove by it this weekend and its going to be pretty impressive.

With 33 Peachtree Place starting, its pretty amazing to see how much that area has changed in the last 10-11 years. I started school at GT in 2003 and its quite a change now....

[joecool]

Originally Posted by AtlantaMustang

University House making some progress:



Taken by me.

Please tell me they are going to remove those powerlines. I noticed they didn't remove the powerlines around Ponce City Market or the Proton Center/Apartments on Ponce and North Ave.

This is my biggest pet peeve!

[atlantaguy]

Georgia Power wants $$$ to do that, Joe.

Sad, but true - as underground lines have virtually no service interruptions.

[mayhem]

Have they ever buried power lines after construction has commenced?

[Terminus]

Originally Posted by atlantaguy

Georgia Power wants $$$ to do that, Joe.

Sad, but true - as underground lines have virtually no service interruptions.

It's about $3.0 million a mile ($600/lf) for those type of lines. When you factor in all the frontages, the costs can be in the hundreds of thousands.

In reality, GA Power isn't the major challenge. The big challenge is the other providers who also use the poles. It's a negotiation (and extortion) with every one.

[bryantm3]

the small power lines on the wooden poles don't bother me that much; the poles would still be there for street lighting.

the ones that really bother me are the high-voltage power lines with steel towers that are hundreds of feet tall. they leave huge swaths of land around them completely unusable, cut through piedmont park and some of the best looking areas in our city and ruin the view. if we're going to start burying power lines, we need to start with the high-voltage ones first.

[Kenn]

Thank you for objecting to the dehumanizing and grotesque power and utility lines. I currently live in Los Angeles, a city largely devoid of charm or any aesthetic plan, yet the powers that be took care to largely hide and or bury all said lines. Returning to Atlanta has been a continuing source of frustration at this glaring visual omission. Why can't new construction (above a certain dollar amount and factored with the liner feet involved) by code be forced to take care of this? The cost to the projects listed above - 131 Ponce, PCM, University House, etc. - is but a tiny, tiny fraction of the total. Leaving the lines exposed is an insult to the pedestrian experience and visually distorts the development. At the least, don't these developers have basic pride in what they create? Would you return to a museum if the paintings were blocked by poles?

[RocketSurgeon]

Considering the condition of most of our streets and sidewalks, I think we have bigger problems to worry about than offending the aesthetic sensibilities of the 1% of residents who look up instead of where they're going.

First world problems...

[bryantm3]

Originally Posted by RocketSurgeon

Considering the condition of most of our streets and sidewalks, I think we have bigger problems to worry about than offending the aesthetic sensibilities of the 1% of residents who look up instead of where they're going.

First world problems...

you don't think this is a problem in a major urban area?

http://goo.gl/maps/nm0Kl

that's the intersection of piedmont park and the beltline, by the way. i think having huge power poles running through and alongside a major urban park are a pretty big deal when it comes to both safety and aesthetics.

[ATL_J]

Originally Posted by Terminus

It's about $3.0 million a mile ($600/lf) for those type of lines. When you factor in all the frontages, the costs can be in the hundreds of thousands.

In reality, GA Power isn't the major challenge. The big challenge is the other providers who also use the poles. It's a negotiation (and extortion) with every one.

Since you would know. Can't Atlanta just sort of say too bad, we're burying them, you'll need to deal with whatever complications come from that? Sort of like a power-line imminent domain move?

[Dettmann1]

Originally Posted by ATL_J

Since you would know. Can't Atlanta just sort of say too bad, we're burying them, you'll need to deal with whatever complications come from that? Sort of like a power-line imminent domain move?

As someone who deals personally with utility companies on a daily basis, its a pain in the rear. The companies rarely talk to each other, refuse to talk amongst themselves and basically mandate that the lines are moved from top to bottom. Its a pain and can take a very long time. To answer your question, they can mandate that, however I'd argue that its a high cost and can sometimes be the deciding factor on whether to move forward with a project or not, in fact that happens a lot.

As to the question of whether they can be moved after construction starts, that is typically how it ends up working. Most of the time, lines are moved during construction when they are working on the portion in front of the development. There is still a chance they could be moved underground (no knowledge, just a guess).

Also, keep in mind Midtown does have a streetscape improvement program which typically takes these utilities underground. last I checked they were in the planning stages for 10th street north to Peachtree on Spring street, so the segment from 10th south can't be that far behind.

[Tuckerman]

The most egregious power lines in ATL are those running down 14th St. They make little sense in a long row of highrises. ATL does not have the advantage of a grid layout with alleyways in most areas; in many large cities that is where the ugly lines run (along with the trash barrels, and other detritus). As much as SP readers dislike the planned suburban communities, many, if not most, have by code buried their lines. It can be done.

Perhaps the good news for the future is that the cabling systems (ATT, Comcast, etc) will eventually be replaced by Wi-fi and become an historic relic. If one looks at old pictures of cities in the early 20th century there are poles and wires everywhere. They eventually disappeared. One good thins, also, is that more and more stop lights are being hung from metal poles rather than on wires. Maybe there is some hope.

[Frankster87]

Fencing has officially gone up for the mid-rise on fifth bordered by Peachtree and Cypress...

[Triptychtwo]

Originally Posted by Frankster87

Fencing has officially gone up for the mid-rise on fifth bordered by Peachtree and Cypress...

So ...

782 Peachtree Street - Started
33 Peachtree Place - Started
60 11th - supposedly starting this week?
Seventh Midtown - starting October (late)
811 Peachtree - no updates (other than another 'tree removal' sign on the property)

If 811 Peachtree starts soon, that stretch of Peachtree will be drastically altered. Not a bad month so far...

[ATLSkyPalaceOwner]

Originally Posted by Triptychtwo

So ...

782 Peachtree Street - Started
33 Peachtree Place - Started
60 11th - supposedly starting this week?
Seventh Midtown - starting October (late)
811 Peachtree - no updates (other than another 'tree removal' sign on the property)

If 811 Peachtree starts soon, that stretch of Peachtree will be drastically altered. Not a bad month so far...

Not sure 60 11th is gonna happen this week. I walked by there last Saturday and they still had the required posted sign up about permits for tree removal. I'm guessing they will have to have obtained that before really starting.

[GeorgiaPeanuts]

I walk my dog in the little pocket park at the 811 Peachtree site and I noticed the trees there are all marked with orange X's.... I can't remember if they were there since this weekend. Not sure if the orange X means goodbye tree, or if those will be staying.

[TarHeelJ]

Originally Posted by Kenn

Thank you for objecting to the dehumanizing and grotesque power and utility lines. I currently live in Los Angeles, a city largely devoid of charm or any aesthetic plan, yet the powers that be took care to largely hide and or bury all said lines. Returning to Atlanta has been a continuing source of frustration at this glaring visual omission. Why can't new construction (above a certain dollar amount and factored with the liner feet involved) by code be forced to take care of this? The cost to the projects listed above - 131 Ponce, PCM, University House, etc. - is but a tiny, tiny fraction of the total. Leaving the lines exposed is an insult to the pedestrian experience and visually distorts the development. At the least, don't these developers have basic pride in what they create? Would you return to a museum if the paintings were blocked by poles?

Sorry but LA has gobs of ugly power lines running along city streets...some along the main streets have been buried (like Peachtree here) but to say that they are "largely" hidden or buried is definitely not factual.

[Canguy]

Originally Posted by ATLSkyPalaceOwner

Not sure 60 11th is gonna happen this week. I walked by there last Saturday and they still had the required posted sign up about permits for tree removal. I'm guessing they will have to have obtained that before really starting.

I am hearing 60 11th bumped to first to second week in October now. That seems to be firm.