It's primary day across Georgia, so the polls are open and the lines are long, but the bigger local story is at City Hall: Mayor Dickens is pulling back his $10 billion Neighborhood Reinvestment plan and letting the BeltLine tax district lapse. Housing advocates are nervous about whether the long-promised zoning rewrite will actually add density, Portman's Amsterdam Walk teardown near the Eastside Trail is coming into focus, and Amy Sherald's big retrospective just opened at the High in Midtown.
Dickens Scales Back His $10 Billion Neighborhood Reinvestment Plan
Mayor Andre Dickens is trimming the Neighborhood Reinvestment Initiative, the ambitious plan to steer up to $10 billion into affordable housing and wraparound services for Atlanta's south and west sides. The revised version would let two of the original eight tax allocation districts expire, including the BeltLine TAD, the city's largest, when it sunsets in 2030. The plan has been under scrutiny for a year, and this is the clearest signal yet that the final version will be smaller than the pitch.
Development & Housing
3 stories
Housing Advocates Worry Atlanta's Zoning Rewrite Won't Add Real Density
Atlanta's planning department is closing in on ATL Zoning 2.0, the first rewrite of the city's land-use code in 44 years. Housing advocates fear the third draft will keep most of the same single-family framework that already locks up more than 60% of the city's residential land. The worry is that a once-in-a-generation chance to legalize duplexes and small apartments quietly slips away.
Arts & Culture
1 story
Amy Sherald's 'American Sublime' Lands at the High as Its Final Stop
The High Museum of Art opened 'Amy Sherald: American Sublime' on May 15, a mid-career retrospective of more than 35 paintings made between 2007 and 2024. It is the largest show of Sherald's work to date, and Atlanta is the last city on the tour. The exhibition's path to the High was anything but smooth, after its planned Washington run fell apart.
Business
1 story
Coca-Cola's New CEO Makes His Atlanta Debut Around the World Cup Trophy
Henrique Braun, Coca-Cola's CEO of less than two months, hosted Gov. Brian Kemp and Mayor Andre Dickens at company headquarters on May 14 for the FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour. The visit doubled as Braun's introduction to Atlanta and a chance to spotlight the city as a tournament host. He succeeds James Quincey, who led the company from 2017 until the end of March.
Transit & Infrastructure
1 story
Waymo's Cars Are Mapping Atlanta Potholes. The City Isn't Using the Data.
Atlanta is one of five cities where Waymo's self-driving vehicles scan streets and flag potholes as they go. According to 11Alive, the city is not currently using any of that data to inform repairs. It is a small detail with a familiar Atlanta ring to it: the information exists, and the pipeline to act on it does not.
Community
2 stories
Decatur Greenlights the $2.4M Build-Out of Ebster Park's Teen Space
The Decatur City Commission approved a $2.4 million construction contract at its May 18 meeting for the Ebster teen activity area. Diversified Construction of Georgia gets the build, with Ascension Program Management hired as the owner's representative. It moves a long-discussed piece of the Ebster Park improvements from plan to shovel.