It’s an exciting time to be in Atlanta. There’s a renewed energy and optimism surrounding the city’s intown communities, and Georgia Tech’s alumni, faculty and students are leading the charge.

Over the past few years, many of Atlanta’s neighborhoods have changed dramatically thanks to new destinations for shopping and dining, investments in infrastructure, and businesses relocating to the city—many attracted by Tech’s research and deep talent pool. And it’s almost impossible to look at the many changes happening around the city without finding the signature of a Georgia Tech architect, engineer, entrepreneur, city planner, builder, professor or student.

The Atlanta Regional Commission estimates that roughly 3 million people will move into the metro Atlanta area over the next 30 years. The region is the seventh fastest-growing metro area, with the 10th largest regional economy in the nation.

One of the biggest factors driving Atlanta’s revitalization is the BeltLine, a system of pedestrian paths and future transit connecting dozens of intown neighborhoods, which began as a master’s thesis by a Tech graduate student.

The BeltLine is fostering an unprecedented level of connectivity and economic development in the neighborhoods it touches, but it’s not the only game in town. Exciting things are happening all over the city—from small improvements like public art or new bike lanes, all the way up to major projects like the new Atlanta Falcons stadium. No matter where you look in Atlanta, chances are you will find the fingerprints of a Yellow Jacket.

On the Eastside Trail of the Atlanta BeltLine, joggers, dog-walkers and bicycle commuters pound a wide concrete path with purpose. They are on the move, all going different places for different reasons, with the shared motive of getting there without a car.

This trail, flanked by wildflowers, brightly muraled underpasses and a rotating display of public art, is the most visible piece of what will one day be a 22-mile loop around the city, known as the Atlanta BeltLine. Set to roll out in phases until 2030, the BeltLine is planned to eventually include parks, transit and trails throughout the loop.

The BeltLine project was originally envisioned by Ryan Gravel, Arch 95, M Arch and M CRP 99, for his thesis as he pursued dual masters degrees in architecture and city and regional planning at Tech. Gravel always held a fascination with trains and transit systems, and he became even more fixated on infrastructure after studying abroad in Paris. He marveled at the way public transit, sidewalks, parks and other factors allowed people in that city to live more active, social lives without relying on automobiles.

Upon returning to Atlanta, he set his sights on the old train tracks he enjoyed exploring on the west side of Tech’s campus, and came up with a proposal to convert the abandoned tracks into a new kind of infrastructure to connect Atlanta neighborhoods.

Many such academic proposals die on the vine, too abstract or expensive to implement in the real world. But Gravel found that colleagues and community officials were intrigued by his idea and helped work to make it a reality. The concept was clear and free of the ulterior motives people would have suspected had it come from politicians or developers.

“I think the academic origin of the project really played a role in it becoming real,” Gravel says. “Because it was a student idea, it allowed people to trust it and evaluate whether it was a good idea or not.”

Atlanta can be a tough place to sell a transportation project. But Gravel says he was met by willing audiences among local officials and the communities surrounding the BeltLine. People were able to embrace it because it’s not just a greenway or a list of transit projects.

“It’s a community revitalization project, it’s an economic development project, it’s a public health project,” he says. “It does all of those things, so it brings in a lot of people wanting the same thing. It brings a lot of constituencies together.”

Open since 2012, the Eastside Trail is the first section of the BeltLine project to be completed in the old rail corridor. It’s become extremely popular and serves as a showcase for what many hope the remaining miles can become one day, too.

Before it was even paved, the trail was in use. People quickly appreciated the way they could travel safely on foot between intown neighborhoods like Midtown, Old Fourth Ward and Inman Park. In 2014 alone, more than 1 million people used the 2-mile trail.

Development followed quickly with new apartments and townhomes under construction along the sides of the Eastside Trail. New businesses opened up, and existing shops and restaurants reoriented themselves so that back doors once facing nothing but weeds and train tracks could welcome the new crowds of people coming by on the BeltLine.

“It’s remarkable how it has changed perspectives and created opportunities,” says John Bencich, Arch 89, M Arch 92. “It’s phenomenal.”

After the BeltLine was completed, Bencich helped restaurateur-chef Kevin Rathbun design an outdoor seating area on the back of his steak restaurant so the building would have a welcoming patio along the trail.

Much of the buzz that brings people to the BeltLine is centered on food. Two major developments in readapted buildings along the Eastside Trail—Krog Street Market and Ponce City Market— both feature food halls packed with foodie-favored restaurants offering everything from cheeseburgers to falafel and Szechuan dumplings.

Bencich and his wife, Vivian, M Arch 92, designed several of the restaurant spaces in Ponce City Market and Krog Street Market. There’s no doubt Atlanta is a food town. And more developers are working to bring chef-driven restaurants to their projects.

“Dining has become a keystone for pretty much any development,” Bencich says.

In its short life, the Eastside Trail has even inspired two new festivals: The Beltline Boil, an event in which people are encouraged to bike or walk to the new Old Fourth Ward Park for beer and seafood from local restaurateurs; and the BeltLine Lantern Parade, in which people create paper lanterns in all shapes and sizes to light up a nighttime pilgrimage from one end of the trail to the other.

Despite the BeltLine’s many successes, Gravel remains concerned about the unintended consequences that often accompany change. He hopes the people who helped champion the BeltLine will still be able to afford to live in adjacent neighborhoods as property taxes and rent prices go up in response to the many new amenities.

“I think the issues around economic displacement and equity around the project are vital,” Gravel says. “As land becomes more valuable, it’s important that we protect affordability in the city.”

Aside from the Eastside Trail, some portions of the BeltLine are already open or under construction, while other portions are a few years down the road.

The BeltLine’s Northside Trail, open since 2010, bridges two existing pedestrian trails. The mile-long leg, located near Bobby Jones Golf Course (named for the Georgia Tech golf legend) runs through Tanyard Creek Park, connecting Ardmore Park to Atlanta Memorial Park.

The Westside Trail, which began construction in late 2014, will be a 3-mile trail connecting southwest Atlanta neighborhoods from University Avenue in Adair Park to Lena Avenue at Washington Park. This section of the trail, which will be funded by $43 million in public and private funds, is a huge investment in an often-neglected corridor of the city.

And work is expected to begin soon on an extension of the Eastside Trail, which will take it southeast to Memorial Drive, a corridor experiencing a huge spurt of activity and redevelopment that will no doubt be buoyed by the BeltLine’s arrival.

The BeltLine is far from complete, and more funding and property needs to be acquired before remaining portions of the trail, along with planned parks and transit, can be finished. The goal is for light rail around the BeltLine to connect to the new streetcar route in downtown Atlanta.

The real strength of the BeltLine is that while the project itself doesn’t touch every part of the city, it serves as a catalyst for bigger changes.

“It’s changing the way we think about Atlanta and what kind of city it is,” Gravel says.

…And Beyond

Atlanta’s revitalization involves much more than just the BeltLine project. From major mixed-use projects and a new sports stadium to thoughtful plans that will alter the development of communities on the city’s east and west sides, Georgia Tech alumni are helping to shape the city’s future.

Mercedez Benz Stadium

The flashy new home of the Atlanta Falcons is under construction just south of the Georgia Dome. The $1.4 billion facility—built by joint venture Holder, Hunt, Russell, Moody and led by Holder Construction under chairman and CEO Tommy Holder, IM 79 —will have a capacity of 71,000 and is expected to be complete in 2017. A novel circular, retractable roof in the center of the stadium will feature triangular panels that open and shut like a camera aperture. The building’s facade will be made of glass and other high-tech transparent building materials to allow natural light into the stadium. “The Falcons made it clear from the outset that they wanted their stadium to be an iconic symbol for city of Atlanta,” says Benjamin Flowers, an associate professor of architecture at Georgia Tech whose research focuses on stadiums. Known as Mercedez Benz Stadium, the facility will also be home to Atlanta United FC, a new Major League Soccer team set to begin its first season in 2017. Flowers says projects of this scale are complicated and divisive. Stadiums often promise to bring economic development and opportunities in the neighborhoods where they are built, but can often fail to deliver. How the stadium will impact the surrounding community has yet to be seen. However, the stadium is seeking the highest level of LEED certification, meaning it will be built to be environmentally friendly and energy efficient. If the new stadium achieves this challenging level of sustainability, it would be the first facility of its kind in the country. “That would put Atlanta on the forefront of that movement,” Flowers says.

Ponce City Market

From a department store to government offices and now as an ambitious mixed-use complex, the big brick building on Ponce de Leon Avenue has taken on a new life as Ponce City Market. Gay Construction Co., led by president Tom Gay, IM 66, handled the impressive restructuring of the largest brick structure in the Southeast. Ponce City Market held its official opening party in October, with more merchants and restaurants continuing to open throughout the remainder of the year. The Central Food Hall at Ponce City Market is like an upscale food court, home to a variety of casual restaurants from James Beard Award-winning chefs like Anne Quatrano, Linton Hopkins and Sean Brock. There are also large retailers like J. Crew and Williams-Sonoma, as well as offices and apartments. Ponce City Market cleverly repurposes an existing building in a way that encourages alternative modes of transportation. It’s accessible to pedestrians right off the Atlanta BeltLine and provides a “bike valet” in addition to a traditional parking deck.

Sweet Auburn Historic District

Auburn Avenue, the main thoroughfare of the historic district known as “Sweet Auburn,” is one of Atlanta’s most storied streets. During segregation, it was a bastion of prosperity and culture for the city’s black community, and it’s also the birthplace of Martin Luther King Jr. But over the years, the street fell into a state of disrepair, landing it on the National Trust’s list of Most Endangered Historic Places in 1992 and again in 2012. Recently, Auburn Avenue has gained momentum with renewed investment in the form of a new streetcar route and historic building renovations—with the help of Tech alumni. The Atlanta Daily World Building, home of the oldest continuously-operated African-American daily newspaper in the country, seemed destined for demolition until Gene Kansas, a real estate developer and Georgia Tech Digital Media grad student, purchased the two-story building in 2014. In March, a renovated Daily World building opened with two apartments and two commercial spaces, home to Arden’s Garden and Condesa Coffee, both owned by Tech alumni. The city of Atlanta has awarded nearly $1 million in façade improvement grants for 12 businesses along Auburn and Edgewood avenues. In late 2014, the city began operating a new streetcar, which runs a 2.7-mile loop from the King Historic District down Auburn Avenue to other tourist sites including Centennial Olympic Park and the Georgia Aquarium.

Technology Enterprise Park

Georgia Tech is collaborating with Invest Atlanta, the Atlanta Housing Authority and other community partners to create a bioscience and technology district on the west side of the city. The Institute has received more than $500,000 in grant funding to study the feasibility of expanding Technology Enterprise Park. Officials are looking at growing the existing bioscience park on the west side of campus from its current 16 acres to more than 60 acres of mixed-use development. “We’re using this study as an opportunity to look at potential ways to create a collaborative research neighborhood instead of an insular research park with a fence around it,” says Chris Downing, associate vice president for Tech’s Enterprise Innovation Institute (EI²). The new research district could one day include facilities like bioscience labs, light manufacturing, educational facilities, housing and retail. Downing says the Institute hopes to replicate the type of public-private partnership that has been so successful at Technology Square in Midtown, which has become a hub for startup businesses and corporate innovation centers. Twelve acres included in the study area are owned by the Atlanta Housing Authority, and would be used to develop mixed-income housing. Downing says the potential expansion could also bring new jobs and amenities such as shops and restaurants to the west Atlanta community.

Memorial Drive Corridor

Each year, Mike Dobbins, professor of the practice in the School of City and Regional Planning, teaches a studio class in which grad students study real issues surrounding transportation, infrastructure and development in a real community. Last year, the stakes for the course were a little bit different. Atlanta City Councilwoman Natalyn Archibong approached Tech and asked for help: Development in her district was heating up, thanks in part to a rebounding real estate market and an extension of the Atlanta BeltLine to Memorial Drive, and she wanted a plan for smart growth. Greg Giuffrida, M CRP 15, one of the students involved in the project, says the group spent a semester meeting exhaustively with various community organizations and stakeholders to learn about the issues facing the corridor. They traveled up and down Memorial—a state highway that runs from downtown Atlanta to Stone Mountain—taking note of things like cross walks, intersection design and visibility to create a report with recommendations for improvements. The final report was delivered to Archibong in December 2014, and it’s now being considered for a program that provides federal funding for things like bike lanes, sidewalks and streetscapes. Following graduation, Giuffrida was hired for the new position of Memorial Drive corridor executive at Central Atlanta Progress, where he is dedicated to coordinating the various aspects of the plan—promoting walkable development, improving safety for drivers and pedestrians, and promoting the area’s history and culture. While much is still up in the air, Giuffrida says there’s no doubt change is coming to Memorial Drive. “A lot of properties are going to look very different in two years,” he says. “It’s changing quickly, and as long as it’s happening in a way that responds to all of the strong work the neighborhoods have done expressing what they want to see through their own planning process and the BeltLine planning process, I think that’s great.”

 

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