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Atlanta Business Chronicle
The coveted perk that could be critical for workforce development
As the focus shifts from recruitment to retention in a still-tight hiring market, many employers are searching for the incentives that will retain workers. <\p> While perks like four-day workweeks, unlimited vacation and remote work are often in the spotlight, another coveted perk is career development and upskilling opportunities. <\p>
GSU brings baseball back to Downtown
Baseball is coming back to Downtown Atlanta.<\p> Nearly a decade after the Braves decamped for Cobb County, Georgia State University announced it will build a baseball stadium on its Green Lot along Pollard Boulevard. That's the site of the former Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, where the Braves played from their arrival in Atlanta in 1966 until 1996.<\p>
Smyrna eyes downtown church redevelopment
Smyrna officials hope to redevelop a prime property now used as a place of worship, one of the latest examples of remaking well-located church sites to accommodate growth in metro Atlanta.<\p> Earlier this month, Smyrna City Council created an advisory committee to guide the redevelopment of Smyrna First Baptist Church, which intends to sell its 9-acre Church Street campus to the city's development authority. The church would purchase city-owned land along Atlanta Road to establish a new base for its congregation.<\p>
Hotel, apartments, retail OK'd for State Farm campus
A landmark office development in Perimeter Center is one step closer to becoming a mixed-use complex.<\p> During a Monday meeting, the Dunwoody City Council unanimously approved a request to rezone a 2.6-acre parcel that will house the final phase of KDC’s Park Center, paving the way for the Texas-based developer to deliver housing, hospitality, retail and more office space to State Farm’s 17-acre campus.<\p>
Buckhead hotel lands $54M loan
An 18-story hotel next to Buckhead’s Lenox Square has landed a new loan from a blue-chip lender. <\p> The 218-key Hyatt Centric Buckhead Atlanta has secured a nearly $54 million loan from Deutsche Bank, according to real estate research firm Databank Inc. <\p>
An empty Harry's Farmers Market will turn into $650,000 homes
A North American homebuilding giant is turning vestiges of Atlanta suburbia into modern versions of attainable housing.<\p> Empire Communities Corp. will redevelop the former Harry's Farmers Market in Alpharetta into 149 single-family homes at roughly 7.6 units per acre, dense by suburban zoning standards. The homes will cost about $650,000.<\p>
Popular Atlanta tavern opens soon in Peachtree City
Hobnob Neighborhood Tavern is about to open its newest metro Atlanta location.<\p> Hobnob will open at The Avenue Peachtree City on May 20, according to its website. The restaurant will operate out of a roughly 5,800-square-foot space between White House Black Market and Books a Million at the Peachtree City shopping center, per a news release.<\p>
Growing share of real estate agents weigh leaving their brokerages
The Covid-19 pandemic and a recent wave of class-action lawsuits have pushed more real estate agents to consider leaving their brokerages.<\p> Those findings, from the latest annual Agent Priorities Report from Coldwell Banker Real Estate, found while 61% of agents surveyed plan on sticking with their company this year, that’s down from 75% in 2023.<\p>
Here's what Steve Cannon will do after he retires (Podcast)
With just weeks remaining before his retirement takes effect, Steve Cannon, vice chairman of AMB Sports and Entertainment, knows what the “cornerstone” of his next chapter will be — nonprofit work.<\p> The long-time leader of the for-profit arm of the Arthur M. Blank family of businesses has already accepted a role as chairman of the Avalon Action Alliance, an organization that “helps to treat the invisible wounds of war.”<\p>
Airline credit-card reward programs in regulators' crosshairs
The nation's major airlines are drawing heat over their branded credit-card reward programs, with federal regulators targeting consumer complaints that claim many perks don't live up to the hype and sometimes cost more than they are worth. Those findings...
Pre-owned camera retailer inks deal with Falcons
Smyrna-based KEH Camera will become the preferred provider of camera gear for the Atlanta Falcons.<\p> Noah Treshnell, CEO of KEH, told the Atlanta Business Chronicle in an email that the two organizations quickly realized the sponsorship was a natural fit. <\p>
Hundreds of senior homes planned for McDonough
Another batch of senior housing may rise in an unincorporated community south of Atlanta.<\p> Liberty Communities is planning to erect a mixed-use development on 106 acres in Henry County, about 40 miles southeast of Atlanta’s core.<\p>
New Ford Fry restaurant opening soon in Buckhead
Atlanta chef Ford Fry continues to churn out new restaurants.<\p> On May 20, he is set to open a second Atlanta location of Little Rey, this time in Buckhead. It marks five years — almost to the day — since Fry first launched the fast-casual concept in Piedmont Heights. <\p>
Application window for e-bike vouchers opens soon
Atlanta residents will soon be able to toss their helmets in the ring for an e-bike discount.<\p> Atlanta Regional Commission plans to take in applications for e-bike vouchers beginning June 16 through June 23. The application period comes months after local officials agreed to launch the program to encourage the use of alternative transportation. Recipients will be selected at random through a lottery system.<\p>
New medical coworking concept to launch in metro Atlanta
Lutfullah Almos was working as a physician assistant at a large medical practice when it was acquired by a private equity firm. Soon, he said, there was pressure to see more patients in a shorter time frame. <\p> “This led to a lot of burnout among my colleagues,” he said. Some thought about leaving corporate medicine but could not fathom the high costs of starting their own private practice. “They thought it was too risky to even try.”<\p>
Why Amazon's recent moves bode well for a cooling CRE market
Welcome to The National Observer, a roundup of top business news and actionable insights from across The Business Journals. We'll take a look today at a bankruptcy health care system's hospital sale; a $3.3B investment from Microsoft that will help establish an artificial intelligence hub; and what you need to know about upcoming changes to overtime rules. But we'll start with the dynamics in this once-hot commercial real estate subsector.<\p> Get more stories like these every day in your inbox by subscribing to The National Observer newsletter.<\p>
Corpay to expand with acquisition
Corpay Inc., Georgia's eighth-largest fintech company, will acquire Virginia-based payments company Paymerang in the second quarter of this year, subject to regulatory approval. <\p> Corpay rebranded earlier this year from its original name, FleetCor Technologies. The fintech company provides payment solutions for vehicle-related expenses, travel expenses and accounts payable. <\p>
Higher-for-longer rate environment means more uncertainty for CRE
Commercial real estate investors, owners and occupiers all have been monitoring whether the Federal Reserve will impose interest-rate cuts in 2024 after rapidly rising rates have substantially increased the cost of doing business.<\p> Earlier this month, the Fed signaled it needed to see more progress toward its inflation target of 2% and decided to maintain its key lending rate. At that meeting, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said gaining greater confidence around inflation "will take longer than previously expected," although he also said he felt inflation would move back down in 2024.<\p>
Affordable new construction harder to find as building costs rise
A housing shortage and soaring mortgage rates aren’t the only factors driving up local home prices.<\p> Rising construction costs are contributing to the lack of housing affordability in Atlanta, discouraging a growing number of prospective buyers from entering the market this season.<\p>
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