Atlantic Station Sorta Backs Off “No More Free Parking” Plan

Wow.  That didn’t take long.

Multiple outlets posted this note from Atlantic Station owners on Friday…

“We are listening to our local community and neighbors’ feedback, suggestions and concerns regarding the new Atlantic Station parking program,” the statement said. “We recognize there are areas we would like to further evaluate and more clearly communicate to ensure this new transition will be as smooth as possible for our retailers and guests.

“A revised plan for the new parking program, which will offer two hours of free parking with validation from shops restaurants, gyms, food trucks and Regal Cinemas, will be shared pending further review.”

I’m not shocked by the general public’s reaction.  Take away anything free and you’ll hear about it.  I’m just a bit surprised that the owners weren’t confident enough in their original plan to stick to their guns on this issue.

Easy for me to say, I guess.  I don’t have bajillions on the line.

Atlantic Station Doing Away With Totally Free Parking

What Now Atlanta? reports that Atlantic Station is informing customers that beginning July 11th they’ll have to buy something at an AS retailer if they want the two hours of free parking, which many have become accustomed.

According to an AS sign posted on the site, shoppers will need to receive a validation card from a retailer post-purchase to get that most expected of modern day conveniences – free parking!  New Atlantic Station management is also painting parts of the underground parking deck in festive colors as part of a $2.5 million overhaul.

One must assume that such a policy targets loiterers and cruisers, who have long made it difficult for AS to develop the upscale image it seeks.  It will be interesting to see what impact such a policy will have.  Sure, you just need to buy something inexpensive to get a parking validation, but for most, even that is enough hassle to justify going elsewhere.  Of course, that doesn’t apply to just loiterers, but also shoppers with no specific intents to buy.

National Chains “Have Not Done Well” at Atlantic Station

You may have heard that the new owners of Atlantic Station have plans to diversify the mixed use area’s commercial base.  But the Midtown Patch site has some pretty interesting quotes from the new owners, which provide a bit more detail as to the problems and the proposed solutions.

[Mark] Toro [managing partner at North American Properties] said his plan is to change between 20 and 25 percent of the retailers at Atlantic Station. That means of the 1.3 million square feet of retail space, about 150,ooo square feet will be retooled, he said. The development’s major tenants IKEA, Dillard’s and Target shall remain, Toro said.

“Midtown is a mecca for the creative class,” Toro said. He said he wants Atlantic Station to bring in those retailers that appeal to “Generation Y” shoppers. He said he hopes local boutiques and mom-and-pop restaurants will be among the new tenants. “The national chains have not done well here.”

Toro said Atlantic Station will evolve over the next three or four years. “It is going to be slow, but steady,” he said. But Toro said leaders will immediately be more engaged with Midtown residents.

It’s interesting to hear this brand-new view of Atlantic Station, which admits to the national retailers combined shortcomings outside their mall-confines and envisions more “mom-and-pop” stuff.  Not to mention the slightly odd – but understandable – juxtaposition of the stated desire to hold onto the big-box stores. (Is the urban retail future actually a combination of the big-box and “authentic” local retail shops and restaurants?)

These quotes also raise the topic of developing or retaining “authenticity” in urban areas.  Cities, neighborhoods and towns can acquire this “authenticity” in different ways, either through a diverse array of local shops or historic streetscapes.  While having both is preferable in the 21st century retail search for individuality – as Decatur currently does –  having none may just be a death-knell in an urban setting.

Stuff to think about.

Decatur Ranks as Georgia’s Most Walkable City

Walk Score, the website that calculates how “walkable” any location is based on the proximity of surrounding amenities, has compiled a list of “walkscores” for Georgia’s 65 largest cities and guess who came out on top?

According to the list, Decatur ranked as the state’s most walkable city, followed by Augusta and Atlanta.

Of course, any list limited to “cities” in Georgia has inherent problems since much of the state’s populated areas aren’t even classified as cities, even in urban areas.  Also, there are certainly parts of Atlanta with higher populations and Walkscores than Decatur – Atlantic Station comes to mind – but still, Decatur’s ranking is an impressive achievement for a city that wanted to replace the Old Courthouse with a parking lot just 50 years ago.

Thanks to the city’s Linda Harris for pointing this out!

Atlantic Station Adopts Pay-By-Phone Parking Meter; Decatur Weighs In

This morning’s AJC reports on Atlantic Station’s new pay-by-phone parking meter called “Parkmobile” and predicts that such an effort might “herald wider adoption in Atlanta”, though does elaborate on why.

Decatur uses a rival company with a more excited name, MobileNOW!.  In the article Assistant City Manager Linda Harris states that Decatur is “is happy with the rival system it has tested and is working on making it permanent.”

I don’t park all that much in downtown Decatur, so I recognize I’m probably not the right person truly evaluate this technology.  And I certainly think there’s a future in parking meter technology that automatically deducts funds via a cellphone, but I don’t feel like we’re quite there yet.  At least for the casual user.  The current technology demands a lot more time and energy to register and use the cell phone system, than to just use a quarter or go on looking for non-metered parking. But maybe it’s worth the effort for those hardcore Decatur street-parkers, once up to their ears in quarters.

I’d be interested in hearing more points of view on this, especially now that we’ve had a bit more time for people to try out the new meters.

Decatur Metro Commenter Tapped As Beltline CEO

Eye-catching title, eh?

It was announced this morning that former VP of Atlantic Station, Brian Leary – who has commented here amidst my many semi-rational rants against the massive mixed-use in the past – has been hired as the Beltline’s new CEO.

According to his AS bio, Leary has spent more than a decade living and breathing Atlantic Station, and before that even wrote his master’s thesis on the redevelopment of the old brownfield site.

Leary’s new task, The Beltline, is a monumentally different challenge.

Instead of building a mini-city based on New Urbanist principles from the ground up, Leary will now be tasked with using those same principles to reconnect existing neighborhoods.

And while Atlantic Station had its fair share of hurdles (parking mandates, GDOT, etc) to work around to achieve its current mixed-use state, it will be nothing compared to the zoning, property and transportation challenges facing the much more intrusive Beltline.

Yes my friends, I’m talking about a planner’s greatest fear of all: the dreaded NIMBY.

Fixing the Atlantic Station Model

OK.  I admit in the past that I”ve spent a lot of time relieving developmental angst by railing against Atlantic Station. I sit here at the corner of Ponce and Smart-Growth Ave. and let the damning adjectives fly.  I mock.  I sarcaz.  I scoff.

But really, how does that help anything other than my blood pressure?

So this morning, after reading a very interesting op-ed over on Maria Saporta’s new blog “The Saporta Report” by the developer of Atlantic Station, Jim Jacoby, about the new “Aerotropolis” he plans to build on the site of the Ford Hapeville Plant, I’m taking a step back.  And instead of just cuing up a snarky rant, I’m going to attempt to be a bit more constructive.  (BTW, the Atlantic recently used Hapeville as a great, graphic example of how much $ it costs to dissemble an auto assembly line.  Highly recommend a look.)

If we must continue to endure these examples of “auto shrines cloaked in smart growth” metro-wide we might as well learn from our mistakes for the next time around, right?  So…the following are my specific gripes with Atlantic Station from a development perspective.  I don’t claim to have any background on how these things are make money.  This looks at the long term success of these projects, not the short.  Take them for what they’re worth…

1.  The near complete separation of residential and commercial/office is a tragic concept. Continue reading “Fixing the Atlantic Station Model”