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PATH400 Is Taking Shape
This is a guest post from Denise Starling, executive director of Livable Buckhead, the nonprofit organization spearheading PATH400 in partnership with BCID and PATH Foundation.
13,200 feet and counting! Just three years after breaking ground, PATH400 is already halfway complete. It’s no small accomplishment to have finished that much of this ambitious project in such a short time, and it’s the direct result of great partnerships. The collective vision and work of more than 30 organizations, businesses and governmental entities is helping to further enhance Buckhead’s standing as Atlanta’s premier commercial and residential district. People who live and work in Buckhead are enjoying the 2.5 miles of finished trail every day, and if you’ve been on PATH400 you’ve seen them — walking dogs, jogging, pushing strollers, and spending time with friends. (If you haven’t been on PATH400, why not?! Get out there and give it go, it’s a fabulous amenity!) It’s clear that this project is already delivering many of its promised benefits, and we’ll see even more as we move foot-by-foot toward completion of the full 5.2-mile greenway.
The northern end of the trail between the Buckhead Loop and Wieuca Road is where we’ve made the most progress. This mile of paved trail weaves in and out of peaceful wooded areas and offers dramatic vistas of the Buckhead skyline. One segment of the trail includes large panels where local artists have created chalk murals, and which will be home to permanent art installations in the future. Ground has been cleared and designs created for a future park where PATH400 crosses Old Ivy Rd., and a small number of on-street parking spaces have already been created under the nearby overpass. And north Buckhead school children now have a safer walking route to Sarah Smith’s intermediate campus now that we have extended PATH400 across the Wieuca Rd. Bridge over GA 400.
We’ve made great headway up north, but there’s plenty of progress to see on the southern end of the greenway as well. Just last month a group of volunteers installed raised planter beds for a community garden to be tended by the residents of the Atlanta Housing Authority’s Marian Road high-rise. The residents had been doing some “guerilla gardening” before PATH400 came to the neighborhood, so we decided to put their talents to use and add a unique feature to the trail. You should take a walk on this segment of the trail – it runs between Miami Circle and Sidney Marcus Boulevard – and check out the unique planter boxes, crafted from reclaimed wood, that spell out PATH400.
While we’re proud of our progress, we are focused on maintaining momentum. The goal is to have at least one segment under construction at all times until the entire project is complete. Right now we’re at work on a phase that will offer great pedestrian connectivity when it’s finished – the segment running between Miami Circle and the Gordon Bynum pedestrian bridge that leads to Lenox Square.
Maintaining momentum depends largely on funding. As you probably know, Livable Buckhead is leading the fundraising effort to raise $5.6 million needed to complete the remaining two miles of construction in 2018. Please spread the word – every donation brings us closer and helps show grant makers and corporate partners that the community supports this project! You can find out more about the campaign on our website – livablebuckhead.org/capitalcampaign. And for the latest PATH400 news, be sure to check out the project’s website, path400greenway.org.
Wieuca Road and Phipps Boulevard Roundabout Public Information Open House
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Buckhead CID announces elections, other news
The Buckhead Community Improvement District May 26 announced its board elected one new member and re-elected two current members during a special caucus of electors as a part of its monthly board meeting two days earlier.
Read full article here.
Buckhead Community Improvement District Elects One New Board Member And Re-Elects Two Others
ATLANTA – May 26, 2017 – The Buckhead Community Improvement District (BCID) elected one new board member and re-elected two current board members during a special Caucus of Electors as a part of its monthly board meeting.
The newest member is Jim Bacchetta, vice president and Atlanta division manager of Highwoods Properties, a publicly traded real estate investment trust that owns, leases and manages properties in Best Business Districts (BBD) throughout the south. Bacchetta will serve a four-year term, and join eight other board members working to create and maintain a more accessible and livable urban environment in Buckhead through future improvement and redevelopment plans, like the park over GA 400.
The CID also re-elected board members Matt Rendle, senior vice president – Property Management Selig Enterprises, Inc. and Thad Ellis, senior vice president – Cousins Properties Incorporated. The BCID also voted, as it must do every six years, to not dissolve the CID, extending it for six more years to September 2023.
Additional information follows:
As a 25-year commercial and industrial real estate veteran, Jim Bacchetta serves as vice president and Atlanta division manager of Highwoods Properties.
In his role, Bacchetta is directly responsible for the Atlanta division’s leasing, acquisitions, development, construction and property management. Prior to joining Highwoods in 2006, Bacchetta was a private investor in industrial properties in Atlanta, and he owned and operated a national trucking company.
Bacchetta’s real estate experience includes an extensive national background in various sectors of real estate including office, industrial, multi-family, resort and senior housing. Jim was director of acquisitions for Anderson Properties and vice president of acquisitions for Consolidated Resources. He started his career in Atlanta as a certified public accountant with Price Waterhouse, where he worked for five years. Bacchetta is an active member of NAIOP and ULI.
Thad Ellis leads Cousins’ Atlanta, Dallas and Raleigh office portfolios and has more than 30 years of real estate expertise, including development, leasing and property management for the Cousins’ Class A office portfolio.
Thad began his real estate career in 1984. He joined Peterson Properties in 1986 and was a senior executive at Carr America through its 1996 acquisition of Peterson Properties.
Thad was the Managing Director for CarrAmerica’s Atlanta and Florida offices. At CarrAmerica, Thad was directly involved with the acquisition, disposition and/or development of the office product and was a member of the firm’s Investment Committee.
Prior to joining Cousins in 2006, Thad was the Managing Director of GVA Advantis’ Atlanta office and a member of the firm’s executive committee.
Thad is an advisory board member and past president of the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP) and is on the board of the following organizations: the Buckhead Community Improvement District, the Executive Committee for the Midtown Alliance, Boys and Girls Club of Atlanta and the Corporate Campaign Committee for Woodruff Arts. He is the past Chair for Washington & Lee’s Annual Fund.
Matt Rendle serves as Chief Investment Officer where he holds primary responsibility for underwriting new investments and redevelopment initiatives for the company. Matt came to Selig in 2015. He has more than 15 years of experience, and has previously held positions in acquisitions, development and asset management. Matt most recently worked at Jamestown Properties where he led Asset Management as managing director over a diverse $7.2 billion national real estate portfolio.
In various acquisitions roles, he has closed more than $650 million in acquisitions over many product types, including office, retail, industrial, multifamily development and land transactions.
Matt has been involved on numerous fronts on several high-profile mixed-use real estate properties, including 111 8th Avenue (Google’s Headquarters), Chelsea Market and One Times Square in NYC; the Georgetown Renaissance Portfolio in DC; and Pacific Place in San Francisco. Locally in Atlanta, his experience includes Ponce City Market, White Provisions and the management and disposition of 999 Peachtree – a Class A 622,000 square-foot office tower.
Matt also serves on the DeKalb Development Oversight Committee, where he is the Secretary.
After the Caucus ended, the Board approved funding for several potential CID projects, depending on obtaining federal grants, including the following:
Peachtree Road Streetscape – Phase Four ($3,550,000): Improvements on Peachtree Road from Shadowlawn Avenue to Sheridan Drive that will include wide sidewalks, street trees, pedestrian lighting and traffic signal upgrades.
Lenox Road Complete Street ($2,150,000): Multi-use trail project on Lenox Road between Peachtree Road and East Paces Ferry Road that will provide last mile connectivity between the Lenox MARTA station and the surrounding Buckhead business district.
GA 400 Interchanges Scoping Study ($80,000): This scoping study will address the need to reduce traffic congestion in the Buckhead community by introducing a second GA 400 interchange at East Paces Ferry Road. The study will also recommend roadway network and pedestrian/bicycle facility improvements that will maximize multi-modal transportation options.
Piedmont Road Corridor Scoping Study ($80,000): This scoping study will recommend roadway, traffic signal and pedestrian/bicycle facility improvements that will reduce travel time delays, improve safety and promote multiple modes of transportation.
The CID also hired a new team member, Angie Malta, in April 2017. Malta will serve as the CID’s senior project manager and will help manage new and current BCID projects.
Angie R. Malta has more than 20 years of experience in the fields of National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) compliance, transportation planning and project management. She has successfully implemented capital improvement projects that are sensitive to community context, using a streamlined and progressive approach to agency coordination and stakeholder involvement. Angie was a member of the Leadership North Fulton class of 2012, the ACEC 10th annual Future Leaders Program, and the WTS Leadership Program.
About Buckhead CID
The objective of the Buckhead Community Improvement District (BCID), working with the City of Atlanta and its community partners, is to meet the challenges resulting from Buckhead’s rapid, primarily automobile-based growth, including improving traffic mobility, enhancing the pedestrian environment, creating better access to public transit, initiating intra-district transportation alternatives, encouraging better integration of land uses and improving linkages to the region’s automobile, transit and bicycle networks. For more information visit BCID or connect via Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
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Media Contact:
Maggie McDaniel, communications 21
mmcdaniel@c21pr.com
404.814.1330
Sculpture unveiled at Buckhead’s Charlie Loudermilk Park
“Aspiration,” a 12-foot tall stainless steel sculpture by Atlanta architect and developer John Portman, was recently unveiled at Charlie Loudermilk Park, located at the intersection of Peachtree, Roswell and Paces Ferry roads in Buckhead.
Read full article here.
Shortage of Affordable Housing Threatens the Region’s Economic Competitiveness
BCID Executive Director, Jim Durrett, guest blogged for the Commercial Real Estate Women on the critical shortage of housing affordable to the workforce and how it could threaten our region’s economic competitiveness. Read the post here.
Buckhead CID To Unveil New Sculpture in Charlie Loudermilk Park
 Buckhead CID To Unveil New Sculpture in Charlie Loudermilk Park Designed by famed architect, John Portman ATLANTA – May 8, 2017 – The Buckhead Community Improvement District (BCID) will hold a ceremony in Charlie Loudermilk Park to unveil the park’s newest addition, a sculpture called “Aspiration,” on Tuesday, May 9 from 11:30 a.m. – noon. “Aspiration” is a 12-foot-tall abstract made from stainless steel that symbolizes Buckhead’s past and future success. It was created by Atlanta artist and nationally renowned architect and real estate developer, John Portman, who is known globally for his projects, like the Westin Peachtree Plaza and the Hyatt Regency. “When my dear friend, Charlie Loudermilk, asked me to design a sculpture for his park, I knew that I wanted to represent the bonds the two of us share – friendship, of course, but also the shared commitment to our hometown, the great city of Atlanta,” said Portman. “Because of the significance of the site, the sculpture is also intended to recognize the continuing emergence of Buckhead as an important community in its own right, thus the title, Aspiration.” Formerly known as the Triangle Park, Charlie Loudermilk Park sits between Roswell Road, Peachtree Road and Sardis Way and was renamed in 2009 to honor Charlie Loudermilk’s immense civic contributions, including founding and chairing the Buckhead Coalition. In 2013, the BCID, with help from the City of Atlanta, redeveloped the park into a more vibrant green space that residents and visitors can enjoy for years to come. The renovation was completed in 2015 and the park was awarded the Buckhead Business Association’s (BBA) 2016 Beautification Award. “I am honored to have a park named after me, but even more thrilled that a sculpture, designed by my good friend, John, is being installed in the park for all of Buckhead to enjoy,” said Charlie Loudermilk. The BCID has several other projects in the works for 2017 to make Buckhead more attractive, livable and walkable, including a Wieuca Road and Phipps Boulevard roundabout, streetscaping and restriping along Peachtree Road and continuing community outreach for the park over GA400. “The “Aspiration” sculpture is just the beginning of the Buckhead CID placing new and innovative artwork throughout Buckhead, which was discussed at recent BUCKHEAD REdeFINED meetings,” said Jim Durrett, BCID Executive Director. “We want to ensure that people who live, work and shop in Buckhead enjoy all features of the community.”
About Buckhead CID # Media Contact: |
Project Update: Wieuca–Phipps Roundabout
On April 19th, the City of Atlanta and the Buckhead Community Improvement District (BCID) held an open house to present the Wieuca-Phipps roundabout project. The open house was held to inform the public about possible traffic solutions and to collect feedback on the initial design concept.
By the end of May, the City and BCID will hold a second meeting to give the public another opportunity to review the design concept and offer comments. At this meeting, the City of Atlanta and the BCID will discuss a brief presentation explaining the project’s history and to share the comments received from the April 19th public meeting. In addition, the BCID and Atlanta City Council member Howard Shook plan to coordinate additional meetings with residential stakeholders. A final design will only be determined after more public involvement and feedback has occurred.
Free Jazz Concert in Chastain Memorial Park on April 22
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MEDIA ALERT
Free Jazz Concert in Chastain Memorial Park on April 22
WHAT: This event is a part of the 40th annual Atlanta Jazz Festival’s Neighborhood Jazz Series, which will take place throughout April and May at various City of Atlanta parks every Saturday and Sunday leading up to the annual Atlanta Jazz Festival on Memorial Day weekend. This concert also is part of the 40 Days of Jazz events commemorating the Festival’s 40th anniversary. WHO: Julie Dexter is a world-renowned, award-winning, British singer, songwriter, and producer, considered by many to be one of the most influential female vocalists of our generation. Having shared the spotlight with a host of cutting-edge artists, including Mint Condition, Caron Wheeler, Jill Scott, Lalah Hathaway, Omar, Ledisi and more, Julie not only holds up her own with them but has been praised and respected by them too. From jazz to world music, soul and beyond, Julie Dexter is one of an elite few whose talent can transcend genres. She makes it all work on her own terms, as an audaciously independent artist with an undeniable connection to her audience. For information on Julie, visit http://juliedexter.com/ or follow her on Facebook or Twitter. WHEN: WHERE: Media Contact: Sharon Goldmacher, communications 21® |
Wieuca/Phipps roundabout public meeting will be held April 19
The Buckhead CID will present design options and the latest project information, as well as answer any questions from the public.
Read full article here.