Fresh Loaf

Estimated number of metro Atlanta office jobs lost in the last three years: 50,000

Number of square feet of vacant commercial office space in metro Atlanta: 24 million

Number of years real-estate experts estimate it might take to fill the region’s empty office space: 12

Estimated cost of two full-page Wall Street Journal ads purchased by the Buckhead Coalition to market vacant condos and commercial spaces: $554,000

Number of years since Atlanta’s annual population growth was as small as it was over the past year: 19

Number of single-family building permits issued in 2009 in Atlanta, as of September: 114

Number of single-family building permits issued in Atlanta in October 2006 alone: 178

Number of years real-estate experts estimate it could take to fill vacant condos in such intown areas as Midtown and Atlantic Station: 4

Number of floors proposed for a new Midtown office tower that law firm Alston & Bird may build: 30

Sources: Atlanta Business Chronicle, Atlanta Journal-Constitution

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IMAGINE TRANSIT HERE: The path of the Beltline, seen here crossing Ponce de Leon Avenue, crosses through 45 Atlanta neighborhoods.

You can understand why Beltline officials have earmarked $10,000 in the project’s upcoming fiscal year for “crisis communications.”

Since the city embarked on its mission to build a 22-mile loop of parks, trails and transit around Atlanta’s urban core — a project that officials say will transform the city from a car-dependent hodgepodge of villages to a smart-growth wonderland served by streetcar — it’s faced its share of catastrophes.

In 2008, a state Supreme Court ruling temporarily stripped the Beltline of half its funding. Later that year, a controversial payout to Gwinnett County developer Wayne Mason raised questions over decisions about how the project allocated taxpayer dollars. In January, a bitter battle over rusty railroad tracks waged by the Beltline and a partnership of Amtrak and the Georgia Department of Transportation seemed ready to cripple the project.

But in all these crises, the Beltline emerged victorious. And on July 10, project officials had more good news to report.

After weeks of negotiations, Beltline officials struck a deal for two vital segments of GDOT-owned abandoned railroad tracks in southwest and southeast Atlanta. Atlanta Beltline Inc., the agency charged with implementing the project, now controls nearly 50 percent of the right-of-way it needs to form the spine of the 22-mile transit loop.

Continue reading “The Beltline’s tipping point”

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U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., visited the Atlanta Press Club today and spoke about rail, water woes and the nation’s standstill economy. (He said it might take five years for the nation to recover.) Isakson also said the closing of the Hapeville Ford Plant might have hurt the region’s chances for the Atlanta-Lovejoy rail line.

Maria Saporta and the AJC’s Kristi Swartz wrote great summaries of his speech. Grayson Daughters also produced a video of Isakson’s talk.

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The AP’s Russ Bynum writes an excellent piece that helps explain why Georgia has found itself at the tippity top of a terrible list — the state with the highest number of bank failures:

Experts say it’s a combination of an antiquated state law that favored a plethora of smaller community banks over multi-branch giants; a population explosion in metro Atlanta that fueled massive suburban real estate development and a crush of new banks formed to cash in on the Atlanta boom shortly before the market tanked.

…

Georgia’s diversity of small banks was an asset when the economy was strong, with consumers benefiting from competitive rates and broader sources of credit, said James Verbrugge, a professor emeritus of finance at the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business. It became a liability when the bottom fell out of the housing market and smaller banks had less capital to weather the crisis.

The excerpts don’t do the article justice. Give it a read for your daily dose of edumacation.

(Hat tip to Travis Fain)

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Whereas, things worth remembering need names. Children, pets, generations, boats. If we didn’t name them, then we might forget ‘em.

Whereas, when this current recession — or “current economic crisis” — ends, we better have some way of distinguishing it from the other occasional economic dips this country’s seen.

Whereas, I, Thomas Wheatley, who as an employee of Creative Loafing enjoy a wide variety of useless trinkets in my vicinity, have the desire to award the commenter who provides the best name for the “current economic crisis” with a scribbled-on Sany Group hat snatched from an “economic development” announcement. Or a National Rife Association bumper sticker currently plastered on my cubicle wall. (Or maybe tickets to something? I don’t know, I can’t promise anything. I’ll have to check with our marketing department.)

Therefore, let it be resolved that I am sick and tired of referring to the “current economic crisis” as such, and would like to know what to call this damn catastrophe in which the country finds itself.

Please leave your suggestions in the comments. You can also e-mail me. Be sure to let me know how I can get back in touch with you.

(Many more silly boat photos at Media-Post)

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The state Senate yesterday passed two bills that could give MARTA more choices about its funding — as well as an opportunity to earn some extra cash.

The first, Senate Bill 120, would allow the transit agency to decide how it uses the one-cent sales tax it collects in Atlanta and Fulton and DeKalb Counties. (Currently, that sales tax — which accounts for more than half MARTA’s funding — must be split evenly on capital projects and operating costs.)

Senate Bill 89 would allow the food and drinks to be consumed at transit stations. If passed, the measure would allow MARTA to contract with vendors who could sell items at stations. Riders would still be prohibited from eating or drinking on MARTA buses and trains. You can still bring a gun on the train, though.

(more…)

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Pam: The bar tips are dwindling, but more people are coming out to drink. So what we might lack in quality we make up for in volume. Things are getting so bad [with the economy], it literally drives people to drink. They can’t afford to tip as they normally would, but regular customers tip the same. I have to give the biggest props to the Emory kids. They come in droves and still don’t know how to tip — but what they lack in substance they make up for in sheer numbers. It kind of all works out.

Phillip: My customers love me. They’re not going to let me down. They wouldn’t come in if they couldn’t tip. I take care of them, they take care of me. If you’re strange and we don’t know you, we kind of really don’t care. Well, we care, but we don’t know you. People are drinking. People want to forget about what they’re going through. So they have a few extra martinis and next thing you know they got a $40 check. And they’re like, “Oh this is Phillip, tack on an extra $10.” I listen to a lot of stories.

Tammy: If someone is laid off, you’re not going to get as much. Folks are being good, but it’s tough. But I’m up because of football.  Football has definitely saved us. I love those tight ends, baby. You do a little extra now, be extra nice and work a little bit harder. You do what you got to do. You have to stay above it. Folks are getting laid off left and right, my family too. But thank god for football. If it wasn’t for football, we would be devastated.

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We’re looking for stories from real, actual, genuine people who’ve been affected by the credit crisis, rising unemployment, layoffs, decreasing property values. You know? People like yourself.

Got a story of your own? Or do you know someone else who has a story to tell? If so, please leave a comment (with a way to get a hold of you) or e-mail me at ken.edelstein@creativeloafing.com.

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Forbes has an article today on the Top 10 Recession-Proof Cities. Don’t look for Atlanta on the list, but our arch rival, Charlotte ranks No. 5.

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