North Atlanta Business Post, January by Appen Media Group

January, 2015 • NorthAtlantaBusinessPost.com

Look who rolled in

Mercedes-Benz to move American HQ to Atlanta. PAGE 4

Chamers sound off

Local chambers give highlights, predict futures. PAGE 11 Volume

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Cherokee

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Cobb

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Forsyth

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Fulton

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Gwinnett

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Innovative companies TAG seeks Top 40, Top 10 in Ga. Page 7

Best of Atlanta

Persian Rug Paradise Inc gets nod. Page 14

Real estate growth

PRSRT STD US Postage PAID Atlanta, GA Permit #3592

Dan Forsman sees bright future. Pages 16–17

Banks continue to rebound

Appen Media Group 319 North Main Street Alpharetta, GA 30009

Georgia‘s financial institutions were at the forefront of the national banking collapse a few years ago. Now they are getting stronger and becoming profitable again. See story, Page 19.

Preparing for the Jobs of Tomorrow Learn more about Georgia's workforce plan on page 9

Hall

2 • January, 2015 • NorthAtlantaBusinessPost.com

E X PERT ISE | I NTEGRIT Y | RE SU LTS

Serving the community for 85 years!

We look forward to serving you for many more years to come. ®

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WELCOME

NorthAtlantaBusinessPost.com • January, 2015 • 3

QUICK GLANCE:

Letter from the publisher: enjoy a quality of life unrivaled by the rest of the country. The Mercedes move is just the tip of the iceberg for North Atlanta and we provide a broad and intriguing overview of what can be expected in the year to come. The word is already out about Atlanta and it should be a great ride – hang on! Don’t miss next months Market Report on Cobb County as well as our “Women in Business” survey. The March issue focuses on residential real estate and the top agents and brokers in the market and April will be our Market Report on Cherokee County.

Unemployment rate in Georgia 8.1 7.4

7.7

7.9

7.6 7.2

Best,

News

NOV. 2014

OCT. 2014

SEPT. 2014

AUG. 2014

What’s inside this issue:

JULY 2014

Hans Appen Publisher hans@appenmediagroup.com

JUNE 2014

Happy New Year from the entire staff of Appen Media Group and the North Atlanta Business Post! We are excited about what 2015 has in store for us all. In this issue you’ll find a number of local and regional experts predicting strong business growth for this year in many sectors of the economy. Personally, I couldn’t be more excited about the state of the North Atlanta business scene. News is out that Mercedes Benz of America is moving their corporate headquarters from New Jersey to the North Metro Atlanta and bringing somewhere in the neighborhood of 800 jobs. Governor Deal calls it the biggest win for Georgia in years and I couldn’t agree more. When asked about the move, Mercedes USA President and CEO essentially said that relocating to Atlanta put his company where it wants and needs to be – close to it’s expanding southern customer base and also where Mercedes employees can

Atlanta‘s unemployment rate dropped from 7.0% in Oct. 2014 to

[4] Mercedes to move HQ to Atlanta

6.5%

[9] Georgia prepares its workforce for the future [14] Persian Rug Paradise Inc receives 2014 ‘Best of Atlanta Award’

in Nov. of 2014

Source: BUREAu OF LABOR STATISTICS

[20] Alpharetta businesses mull metered park downtown

Technology

[6] After Ferguson, Garner cases, local business subsidizes police body cameras

[19] C ommunity banks provide variety and choice for customers

[7] TAG seeks the 2015 Top 40, Top 10 innovative companies in Ga.

Hall County

[8] State’s tech industry growing fast

[21] Hall County C.I. receives grant to combat substance abuse

Movers & Shakers

Cherokee County

[10] T he people on the move, new hires and promotions

Chambers of Commerce

[11–13] 2 014 highlights, 2015 projected economic forecast for local chambers

Growth & Development

[16-17] R ealty giant sees Atlanta market prime for growth [18] North metro fertile ground for business, residential growth

[22] Cherokee Chamber staff welcomes new Wellstar medical offices

Fulton County

[23] Letter to the editor: Fulton County leading the way in education

Forsyth County

[24] Commissioners approve modification to alcohol ordinance

Cobb County [26] Braves agree to purchase Genuine Parts site

Gwinnett County [27] Effect of recession lingers in Gwinnett Planning Department

Sound Advice [28] Real estate and business management experts

Restaurants [30] •Quality coffee in Roswell •Antebellum named one of the Top 100 Best Restaurants in America by OpenTable

subscribe today 770-442-3278 9:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. ET 319 North Main Street Alpharetta, Georgia 30009 Published by Appen Media Group Advertising: All advertising published in North Atlanta Business Post is subject to current rate card; copies available from the advertising department. To obtain a copy contact your sales representative at 770-442-3278 or email advertising@ appenmediagroup.com. Newsroom: All press releases and editorial information can be sent to business@appenmediagroup.com Visit northatlantabusinesspost.com for more information.

4 • January, 2015 • NorthAtlantaBusinessPost.com

NEWS

Mercedes to move HQ to Atlanta Will locate near Perimeter Mall BY JONATHAN COPSEY jonathan@appenmediagroup.com ATLANTA – Luxury auto maker Mercedes-Benz announced Jan. 6 plans to relocate its U.S. headquarters to Atlanta. The news comes after weeks of speculation the company would leave its current home in Montvale, New Jersey, where it has operated for the past 50 years. The new location is expected to be near Perimeter Mall and construction should finish in early 2017. About 1,000 employees will be “affected” by the plans, the company said in a release, but it is unclear how many jobs will be relocated or created in Atlanta. About 800 workers are expected to be employed at the new headquarters. “New Jersey has been a wonderful home to our U.S. operations for our first 50 years, and still is today,” said MBUSA President and Chief Executive Officer Stephen Cannon. “The state has worked tirelessly with us as we evaluated our options. Ultimately, though, it became apparent that to achieve the sustained, profitable growth and efficiencies we require for the decades ahead, our headquarters would have to be located elsewhere. That brought us to Atlanta. “Atlanta is a premier city which places us closer to our ever-growing Southeast customer base, our port in Brunswick, Georgia, and to Mercedes-Benz U.S. International, our Alabama manufacturing facility, which ac-

“Atlanta is a premier city which places us closer to our ever-growing Southeast customer base, our port in Brunswick, Georgia, and to Mercedes-Benz U.S. International.” Stephen Cannon, Mercedes-Benz USA President and CEO

counts for half of the vehicles we sell here in the U.S. For our employees, Atlanta offers a strong quality of life, terrific schools and wonderful cultural and recreational opportunities.” Locations in Alpharetta and Cobb County were also considered. Georgia was competing with fellow southern states of Texas and North Carolina for the headquarters. Mercedes already has a large plant in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The company will retain some facilities in New Jersey. The company says the move is “to better serve its growing customer base and strengthen the company’s position for long-term, sustainable growth.” The move follows several other moves in recent years from major auto makers to the Southeast, especially Georgia.

2015 North Fulton Hospital

Heart Healthy Breakfast celebrating National Wear Red Day!

Please join North Fulton Hospital and don your most fabulous red attire as we celebrate National Wear Red Day with an informative and fun complimentary breakfast event featuring NFH cardiologist Dr. Ayushi Ahuja speaking on heart health. This event is limited to the first 100 people to RSVP.

Place Country Club of the South 4100 Old Alabama Road Johns Creek, GA 30022 Time 7:30-9:30 a.m. Date Friday, February 6 RSVP 770.751.2660

NorthAtlantaBusinessPost.com • January, 2015 • 5

TECHNOLOGY

6 • January, 2015 • NorthAtlantaBusinessPost.com

After Ferguson, Garner cases, local business subsidizes police body cameras said. “Once Ferguson hit, the barriers to entry soon fell, because these departments realized they really needed this equipment.” Now, Connell provides cameras to 12 departments in Georgia, including Snellville, Milledgeville and Bainbridge. “Every day I get somebody else enquiring about it,” he said. The cameras, supplied by Vievu, are three inches long, about the size of a pager, and worn on the front of an officer’s uniform. They record “pretty much what the officer can see,” said Roy Whitehead, Snellville Chief of Police. Whitehead said Connell has provided 42 cameras to his department, one for each officer. RiskJockey cameras are part of the department’s plan to gradually update equipment beginning five years ago, he said. He said the cameras help them collect evidence as well as address complaints. “So far, when we’ve had complaints, the officer’s been vindicated each time,” Whitehead said. In the North Fulton area, many departments are considering body-worn cameras as an upgrade to the equipment officers already use. The Alpharetta police department is considering such cameras, said spokesman George Gordon.

By SHANNON WEAVER shannon@appenmediagroup.com ALPHARETTA, Ga. — Private investigator Michael Connell, of Alpharetta, travels all over the state to take photographs, interview witnesses, collect police reports and other evidence. With an online records application, all of the data can be stored in one place. “Chasing down open records has always proved a little difficult,” Connell said. “We decided to create a streamlined location where insurance companies or attorneys can track down evidence from any law enforcement agency.” RiskJockey compiles police reports and other evidence in one database for people to submit open records requests to law enforcement for a convenience fee. Connell also subsidizes body-worn cameras for departments who participate in the program. Connell began the program three years ago. He had started subsidizing body worn cameras for police departments in Norcross, Alma and Tybee Island, but he said the high-profile Ferguson, Missouri and Eric Garner cases this year raised interest in the cameras and his application. “[Police] weren’t really sold on body worn cameras a couple years ago,” he

“We’re in the very initial steps,” Gordon said. “We intend to conduct a proper evaluation to determine the feasibility of adopting body cameras. It’s important to us to evaluate this process in depth because we serve the public, we’re transparent and we have to be mindful of taxpayer money.”The cameras were under consideration prior to Ferguson, but the events in Missouri and New York “sharpened our focus and awareness,” Gordon said. “If it is something that will help us deliver better service to our citizens, by all means we should evaluate it,” he said. Roswell police are in the process of testing for body cameras compatible with their in-car camera system, which automatically uploads video to a server, said Lisa Holland, a Roswell police spokeswoman. “This way they can’t be tampered with,” Holland said. Holland said the videos can help settle disputes and protect police officers. “Often times, people complain on officers and after reviewing the video, there’s a whole different account of what really happened,” Holland said. “You can’t dispute what is said and heard on a video. And when the public knows they’re being videotaped they’re less likely to commit a crime in front of the camera.” Milton has ordered cameras and is

The Vievu camera is three inches long and worn on the front of an officer’s uniform.

developing city policy for them, addressing issues such as privacy concerns. “It’s just another tool,” said Capt. Shawn McCarty, Milton Police public information officer. “It’s not going to solve all of the problems that we encounter, but it’s something we feel provides a great benefit.” Connell said that more police departments will adopt this technology. “Every police officer in the United States is going to have these at some point,” he said.

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May 28, 2014 | northfulton.com | 73,500 circulation Revue & News, Johns Creek Herald, Milton Herald & Forsyth Herald combined | 50¢ | Volume 9, No. 22

School board nixes armed staffers

No weapons allowed on school property ► PAGE 5

First lady touts child immunization Sandra Deal visits Emory Hospital, family ► PAGE 12

JON

How a local restaurant is re-imagining food to table ► PAGE 32

BAMA

OLD ALA

RUNOFF ELECTIONS:

PROJECT DARASANI:

Ga. 9 to be widened to county line

Where would new traffic lights go? • Walmart driveway • Genesis Way/Deerfield Place • Soneley Court/Keyingham Way • Sunfish Bend • Creek Club Drive

Bethany Bend intersection reworked By JONATHAN COPSEY jonathan@northfulton.com MILTON, Ga. – The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) and city of Milton want to make major improvements to Ga. 9 in coming years. Those improvements, however, will not begin for almost a decade. At an open house May 21,

Saloni Sharma sits amid dozens of bags of school supplies donated by families of Sugar Mill subdivision in Johns Creek. The nonprofit she started, Project Darasani, helps needy Tanzanian students acquire the basic school supplies they need to get an education.

See CHANGES, Page 7

TUTORING

See ELECTIONS, Page 5

By HATCHER HURD hatcher@northfulton.com

The red dots indicate new or modifications to existing traffic signals along a section of Ga. 9.

DON’T LET YOUR CHILD’S LEARNING STOP JUST BECAUSE SUMMER STARTS.

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Election results

POST 4 votes: Bob Gray 2,900, 58% Eric Fragoso 2,134, 42% POST 6 votes: Steve Broadbent 3,346, 66% Nancy Reinecke 1,213, 34%

Northview teen’s nonproﬁt City to let Fulton County helps African students Trip to Tanzania inspires Saloni Sharma to start club to support students she met

the public took their ﬁrst look at the proposed improvements, which include widening Ga. 9 from Windward Parkway north to the Forsyth County line into a four-lane road – two in each direction. Included with these improvements will be the elimination of the center lane to be replaced with a center median

JOHNS CREEK, Ga. – In a tumultuous year of political bloodletting on the City Council, it ended with neither a bang nor a whimper. Instead, it ended July 22 with a calm, clean runoff election among four candidates for the last two council seats. The runoffs were won handily in the end by Steve Broadbent and Bob Gray for posts 6 and 4 respectively. A season of local politics that had burst on the usually quiet Johns Creek political scene the summer of 2013 ended quietly. Conventional wisdom says turnouts in runoff elections are usually light And this was a special election called in July – just a couple weeks before

BARN WEL

Gray, Broadbent ﬁll last 2 council seats

Milton honors fallen veteran Cpl. Harry Vaughan, inset right, graduated from Milton High School in 1967. Within a year, he was shipped over to Vietnam where he died. Local veterans honored him May 22 at the school. See story, page 28.

RRY

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Then there were seven

July 31, 2014 | northfulton.com | 73,500 circulation Revue & News, Johns Creek Herald, Milton Herald & Forsyth Herald combined | 50¢ | Volume 18, No. 31

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Going green

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Education Focus

Eagles soar

Baseball team in ip state championship ► PAGE 12

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Public art

Milton approves Bell Park art ► PAGE 4

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17,000 households on Wednesdays Zip Codes: 30040, 30041. Forsyth county’s largest circulation newspaper. Est. 1998

20,000 households on Thursdays Zip Codes: 30022, 30097. Johns Creek’s primary news source. Est. 1997 Education Focus

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JOHNS CREEK, Ga. – When Rupesh Sharma made the trip to Tanzania to hike up Mount Kilimanjaro, it became more than chance to cross off

a goal on his bucket list. He also saw a lot of poverty and how little the country could do for school-age children. Determined to do something, he knew he would return. When he came home and told his family about

what he had seen, he saw that his then 13-year-old daughter Saloni was moved by what he had seen. They talked about it and she said she wanted to go with him on

See SHARMA, Page 31

administer HUD grants Will still OK CDBG projects By HATCHER HURD hatcher@northfulton.com JOHNS CREEK, Ga. – Johns Creek will turn over administration of the city’s Commu-

nity Development Block Grant (CDBG) program to Fulton County, but the city does not cede control of the projects that are approved for Johns Creek. CDBG grants are federal dollars issued by the U.S. Department of Housing and

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TECHNOLOGY

NorthAtlantaBusinessPost.com • January, 2015 • 7

TAG seeks the 2015 Top 40, Top 10 innovative companies in Ga. Applications must be submitted by Feb. 6 ATLANTA – The Technology Association of Georgia (TAG) is now accepting applications for the “Top 40/Top 10 Innovative Companies in Georgia.” Interested companies from across the state have until Feb. 6, 2015 to apply to be considered for this annual award which recognizes Georgia’s best and brightest. The “Top 40” will be awarded based on specific criteria including: degree of innovation, scope and financial impact of innovation, likelihood of success, and promotion of Georgia’s innovative efforts nationally and internationally. Eligible companies will be Georgia based and focused on the development and dissemination of technology. Companies selected for the “Top 40” will be showcased in an exhibition at the 2015 Georgia Technology Summit (GTS), which is expected to draw the state’s technology leaders. The “Top 10” most innovative technology companies will be chosen from among the “Top 40”. “Top 10” companies will be asked to present at the 2015 Georgia Technology Summit, which will be held Wednesday, March 25 at the Cobb Galleria Center. Interested companies are urged to apply at: tagonline.wufoo.com/ forms/2015-tag-top-40-application/ The 2015 Georgia Technology Summit is expected to draw a crowd of more than 1,300 C-level executives, entrepreneurs, technology professionals and academia to celebrate and recognize Georgia’s technology community. In addition to presentations from some of the top technology influencers in the nation, the newest member of the

About the Technology Association of Ga. (TAG) TAG is the leading technology industry association in the state, serving more than 25,000 members through regional chapters in Metro Atlanta, Athens, Augusta, Columbus, Macon/Middle Georgia and Savannah. TAG’s mission is to educate, promote, and unite Georgia’s technology community to foster an innovative and connected marketplace that stimulates and enhances a tech-based economy. The association provides networking and educational programs; celebrates Georgia’s technology leaders and companies; and advocates for legislative action that enhances the state’s economic climate for technology. TAG hosts over 200 events each year and serves as an umbrella organization for 34 professional societies. Additionally, the TAG Education Collaborative (TAG’s charitable arm) focuses on helping science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education initiatives thrive. For more information visit the TAG website at www.tagonline. org or TAG’s community website at www.TAGthink.com. To learn about the TAG-Ed Collaborative visit http://www. tagedonline.org/. Technology Hall of Fame of Georgia will be inducted.

TECHNOLOGY

8 • January, 2015 • NorthAtlantaBusinessPost.com

State’s tech industry growing fast Education, transportation key

2015 North Fulton Partners In Education Expo where businesses and schools meet with the idea of developing mutually beneficial partnerships

Strong Business + Strong Schools Strong Community If your business wants to partner with a North Fulton school, this is the event for YOU! North Fulton schools will exhibit in an expo-styled, high-energy atmosphere and offer opportunities for partnerships to local businesses. There will be guest speakers, live interviews on a big screen and prizes awarded to businesses who commit on-site to a partnership with a school. The event kicks off at 8 a.m. with an introduction on the importance of these business and school partnerships, and the rules of engagement for businesses to partner with a school so the realationship is beneficial to both organizations.

Local radio host Rich Casanova from Business Radio X will conduct live interviews throughout the event

WHAT: 2015 North Fulton Partners in Education Expo WHEN: February 27, 2015 WHERE: DeKalb Office Showroom 1320 Ridgeland Parkway Alpharetta, GA 30004

FREE TO ATTEND

http://tinyurl.com/NFPartnersinEducationExpo

REGISTRATION QUESTIONS?

Contact Debbie Ryals – (678) 397-0556 or dryals@gnfcc.com

PARTNERSHIP QUESTIONS?

Contact Geoff Smith – (678) 779-5066 or gsmith@lendtheway.com

By JONATHAN COPSEY jonathan@appenmediagroup.com ATLANTA – Georgia is becoming a hotbed of technology companies and the highly trained jobs that accompany the industry. Much has been done to continue that trend and competitive edge, but there is plenty left to do. Tino Mantella, president of the Technology Association of Georgia (TAG), said the state is well positioned to increase its standings in the nation with tech jobs and companies. A low cost of living, world-class airport and the port of Savannah as well as good universities and tech colleges all work to the state’s benefit in attracting companies and workers. Invest Georgia is a state fund of $100 million to support early stage investment of technology companies. “These will keep young companies here and attract more investment firms to establish a presence,” Mantella said. There are 280,000 technology jobs in the state, which has grown about 25,000 since the recession. These jobs tend to be high-paying technical work. Mantella said the average wage is $87,000. But the state is lacking trained workers, Mantella said. There are 4,000 open jobs in the tech sector right now in coding and programming. Efforts are being made to boost the state’s graduation rate in those sectors by expanding HOPE scholarship coverage to 100 percent for students studying those degrees. “It makes sense to drive education toward those jobs open in the future,” Mantella said. Two of the fastest growing sectors in the state, according to Mantella, are health care and information technology (IT). Automotive technology is a new but fast-growing sector as well. General Motors recently announced plans to expand its new Roswell location, which operates as an IT center. With Porsche having a center near the airport, the possibility of a Mercedes plant in Atlanta and Kia having a factory further out from Atlanta, the state is well poised to latch on to the next step in vehicles. “It comes at a good time with groups like AT&T and Verizon working on ‘connected cars,’” Mantella said. “With our universities and technology, we are well positioned with that.” As well as cars, money is also a strong sector. More than 70 percent of all payment processes go through Georgia. Companies such as ADP and NCR and Fiserv, based in the metro area, lead the charge in “fintech” – financial technology – which is a growing industry. The growth is largely relegated to the metro area, Mantella said. Sandy

By the numbers Georgia’s technology companies have generated more jobs at a higher rate than the national average since 2010. The state netted 20,000 new jobs over that period, which represented an 8.3 percent increase and powered the sector beyond 267,000 tech jobs. As a result, Georgia’s technology sector bested other high-paying sectors in the state including health care, finance, manufacturing, construction and trade and transportation. *Source: 2013 industry report, tagstateoftheindustry.com

Springs, Dunwoody and Brookhaven are growing because of easy access to the highways, MARTA and the airport. They are also fast-growing cities with new development. Avalon in Alpharetta is poised to attract young tech workers with its “gigabit” community. Developers are competing with each other for the newest cyberhood or walkable community. Mantella says the Beltline project of Atlanta could also be an up-and-coming location. South Atlanta, with easy access to the airport, could quickly become a new focus as well. “They have put the tools in place to meet the criteria [of young workers],” Mantella said. Outside of Atlanta, Augusta, Columbus, Athens and Savannah are fast-growing technology communities. Efforts are being made to not just attract new companies, but also create them. New technology accelerators and startup incubators are popping up throughout the state which can create new companies, but more needs to be done to keep them in-state, Mantella said. The Department of Labor says about 22,000 new occupations will be created in the next decade. That’s not jobs, that’s new occupations – wearables, new kinds of production and printing, new technology requiring new skills. “There needs to be faster movement by the tech colleges and universities for careers people are going to be getting out of the education system,” Mantella said. Encouraging steps have already been taken to focus on STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) subjects in K-12 schools, a focus that needs to extend further in the university system. Transportation and the tax structure also need to be improved, he said, to keep the state at the forefront of business. TAG’s mission is to educate, promote, influence and unite Georgia’s technology community to foster an innovative and connected marketplace that stimulates and enhances Georgia’s tech-based economy. With over 26,000 members representing over 2,000 tech and techenabled companies, TAG is a leader in the technology industry. For more information on TAG and their services, visit them online at www.tagonline.org.

NEWS

NorthAtlantaBusinessPost.com • January, 2015 • 9

Georgia prepares its workforce for the future Jessica Diamond

Communications Coordinator, Roswell Inc In January of 2014, Gov. Nathan Deal led an initiative to determine what types of skilled labor the businesses of Georgia would likely need most in the next decade. His timing is fortuitous as Georgia is expected to add at least 71,000 jobs in 2015 alone. Along with the Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD), the University System of Georgia (USG) and the Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG), Deal launched the High Demand Career Initiative (HDCI) to gather data on the state’s fastest growing industries and prepare the workforce of Georgia to fill these needs. On Dec. 10, 2014, the findings of this initiative were released. “This report represents a long-term

collaborative commitment to ensure that all Georgia companies have the support they need to be competitive in the global marketplace,” Deal said. “I am confident that the expertise provided by education and private-sector industry leaders will boost our state’s economy and maintain Georgia’s status as the No. 1 place in the nation to do business.” The HDCI focused on the most prevalent and competitive industries in Georgia, such as agriculture, aerospace, automotive, defense, film and television, interactive entertainment, health care, life sciences, information technology, logistics and manufacturing. Popular trends consistent in the employee population of these industries included participation in internships and co-ops, the development of “soft skills” in younger employees and a move to hire more veterans. Essentially, these top industries are pushing for earlier introductions to STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) for students and partnerships between the business com-

“I am confident that the expertise provided by education and privatesector industry leaders will boost our state’s economy and maintain Georgia’s status as the No. 1 place in the nation to do business.” Nathan Deal, Georgia Governor

munity and the local boards of education. “One of Georgia’s greatest economic development assets is our reliable workforce,” GDEcD Commissioner Chris Carr said. “The High Demand Career Initiative gives us a unique opportunity to anticipate the needs of our existing industries in order to prepare Georgia students for the high demand jobs that will be available in five to 10 years.”

The GDEcD, USG and TCSG have taken these findings to heart and are wasting no time implementing their own programs to support the trends and prepare the future employees. As a result of efforts such as the HDCI, Georgia’s students will enter the local workforce highly skilled, prepared and globally competitive. Georgia will become not only the No. 1 place to do business, but also the No. 1 place to build a career.

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

10 • January, 2015 • NorthAtlantaBusinessPost.com

Movers & Shakers The people turning heads in your backyard

KeyWorth Bank adds new associates JOHNS CREEK, Ga. — Neil Stevens, president and chief operating officer of KeyWorth Bank, 11655 Medlock Bridge Road in Johns Creek, McGukin wiley announced the addition of new associates. Jessica McGukin has been named credit support specialist at the Johns Creek location. Jessica Wiley has been whitney noles named a financial services representative at Johns Creek. Lisa Whitney has been named a financial services representative at Haynes Bridge. Weston Noles was named a financial services representative at Dunwoody.

Wakefield Beasley names new project coordinator ALPHARETTA, Ga. — Wakefield Beasley & Associates, a top architectural and design firm in the Avalon complex in Alpharetta, announced that Bianca George has joined WBA as a project coordinator in the multi-family studio. George brings six years of industry experience to the firm and has George worked on many projects, including the Fulton County Aviation Community Cultural Center, Jean Lafitte Prairie Acadian Cultural Center and Annapolis Towne Center. “Bianca represents the first hire to our new, Atlanta-based multi-family studio. She brings residential experience, a diverse background and a great attitude to the team. I am very excited to have her come in on the ground floor of this new venture,” said B.J. Laterveer, director of the multi-family studio. George earned a bachelor’s degree in architecture from Hampton University and a master’s degree in arts administration from Savannah College of Art and Design.

Renasant Mortgage expands Atlanta area retail presence BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – David Payne has joined Renasant Bank as vice president of Georgia mortgage. In his new role, Payne will oversee eastern region mortgage production and retail mortgage operations in Georgia and expanding into east Tennessee and the Carolinas. The announcement follows a Payne decision by the bank to expand its mortgage lending division with a new office in Newnan. The bank already has loan offices in Cumming,

Woodstock, Towne Lake, Jasper, Cartersville and Canton. Renasant will be adding six mortgage loan originators and four loan operations professionals. “This expansion signals a continuation of our strategy to grow our mortgage lending operation throughout the Southeast,” said David Mays, executive vice president and director of mortgage lending. “The Atlanta market is a key part of our franchise and a popular Fortune 500 destination.”

Rozier joins Ledlie Group ROSWELL, Ga. — Rand Rozier, of Roswell, was recently named by the Ledlie Group to serve as an associate in strategic messaging, crisis response, media monitoring and research. Rozier graduated from Georgia College and State University with a bachelor’s degree in English and a minor in political science.

lon cancer screening, viral hepatitis and inflammatory bowel disease. Dr. Michael Windham, a graduate of the University of Illinois College of Medicine, is practicing in the Gainesville and Braselton offices. He completed his gastroenterology fellowship at Howard University Hospital in Washington, D.C., and received additional training at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. In addition, Dr. Srini Ayinala recently expanded his practice to include AGA’s Braselton office. Ayinala is trained in advanced endoscopic techniques and has a special interest in treating gastrointestinal cancers. For more information, visit www.atlantagastro. com.

Builders recognize Clough with Lewis Cenker Award Rozier

Chapman earns recognition at annual builders’ awards ATLANTA – Atlanta-area homebuilder Jim Chapman scored some serious accolades recently at the Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association’s 34th Annual Professional Awards – The Obies. The awards recognize outstanding achievement, marketing, remodeling and personal achievement in the Chapman home building industry. Chapman batted a perfect 1,000 as all five of his entries for Jim Chapman Fine Homes and Jim Chapman Communities resulted in some serious precious metal designation. Sandy Epstein, on-site sales person at Brookhaven at Johns Creek, received a Gold Obie for Salesperson of the Year.

Doctors join Atlanta Gastroenterology offices ATLANTA — Atlanta Gastroenterology Associates welcomed several doctors to its offices throughout the north metro region. Dr. MohamWehbi Pham mad Wehbi joined their offices in Acworth and Marietta. Board certified in gastroenterology, Wehbi comes the practice after serving as chief of gastroenterology at the Windhham Ayinala Atlanta Veterans Affairs Medical Center for the past six years. He is a native of Lebanon and is fluent in Arabic. He has also focused on several areas of clinical research, including colon cancer screening. Dr. Donald M. Pham joined AGA’s Duluth and Lawrenceville offices. A graduate of Emory University’s School of Medicine, Pham remained at Emory to complete his internship, residency and fellowship. While there, he also served as chief fellow. He is fluent in Vietnamese, and his areas of expertise include co-

JOHNS CREEK, Ga. — David Clough, of Johns Creek, has received the 2014 Lewis Cenker Award presented by the Atlanta Home Builders Association, the highest honor given by the organization for lifelong contribution to the home building industry. Clough began his homebuilding Clough career with summer construction jobs while attending college. A 1975 graduate of Princeton University, he went to work full time for a major national builder in Washington D.C. after college and moved to Atlanta in 1979.

Jennifer Hodge (center) receives the Good Neighbor Award and a check for No Longer Bound.

Century 21 receives honors at 400 North Board of Realtors event CUMMING, Ga. — Several Century 21 Results Realty Services affiliates received honors at the 400 North Board of Realtors Annual Holiday Luncheon and Toy Drive on Dec. 5 at the Lanier Tech Conference Center. Luis Rocafort received the Realtor of the Year award and will serve as the president-elect to the 2015 board of directors. Jennifer Hodge received the Good Neighbor Award for founding Realty4Rehab in 2014 to provide assistance to individuals and families suffering from addiction. Hodge also received a check from the Board for $100 to No Longer Bound — one of the facilities she has worked with over the past year. Mark DiJohn, also a realtor in the Century 21 office, will serve on the 2015 board as well. DiJohn received the Realtor of the Year Award in 2013. For more information, visit www.C21getsresults.com.

Submit your Movers & Shakers We want to hear about your new hire, promotion, board of director changes and recognitions, email a brief and headshot to business@appenmediagroup.com.

CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE

NorthAtlantaBusinessPost.com • January, 2015 • 11

2014 highlights, 2015 projected economic forecast for local chambers By SHANNON WEAVER shannon@appenmediagroup.com We asked some of the area chambers of commerce to look back on the highlights of the year and project economic forecast. Here are their responses:

Hans Appen, Alpharetta Chamber president and CEO Most important event of the year? How does that affect the area? Avalon is in lots of different aspects of Alpharetta and the business community. It’s provided Alpharetta APPEN residents with a slew of new exciting restaurants and retail space, and they’re going to have tons of events there. The conference center they’re looking at doing will be huge for Alpharetta and for the region, because the region hasn’t had something like that, ever. We’ll have the only conference center in north Fulton. What do you anticipate in the next year? Gwinnett Tech is going to be a huge draw. Having a university of that caliber in Alpharetta is going to be great for continuing education and bettering our workforce. Everything going on downtown, with City Center and City Hall opening up, I think that’s a proven commodity that improving and growing your downtown district is sort of a trickle-down effect; it helps all local businesses around it. What might stand in the way of future growth and development? In Alpharetta, it’s sustaining a high quality workforce, which means being competitive in the labor market, which means not only being a great place to work but a great place to live and play. As a city, we can help and as a chamber we can certainly help. The other is transportation. Related to our workforce, it needs to be easier for young folks who want to live in Buckhead, who want to live in Atlanta, to get to Alpharetta. I don’t know if that means mass transportation or rail or what, but it’s got to be something and it needs to be addressed.

David Connell, Cobb Chamber president and CEO Most important event of last year? The Braves stadium, which is a $642 million investment, and their mixed-use development on the same site, $400 million, was obviously an important historical

CONNELL

event for the growth and development of Cobb County. All the major pieces were put in place for the development of that investment to be complete around the spring of 2017. The second largest DOT project in the history of the state of Georgia is the Northwest Corridor project, two new managed lanes on I-75. That’s a huge infrastructure investment; the investment is well over $800 million. That project has been in the planning phase for well over 15 years, but it’s underway currently. Then we have what’s called the Diverging Diamond Intersection (DDI) exchange; it’s a really innovative project. That’s been in the works almost 20 years, and it will be complete in and around the ’17 timeframe. We’ve also in this area had some additional investments in office complexes and so forth, related to the infrastructure of this area. The voters of Cobb County passed an $800 million infrastructure SPLOST. Voters overwhelmingly approved the continuation of a 1 percent sales tax, for infrastructure including roads, public safety and a lot of different things necessary to make a county work. We had a huge investment in infrastructure in general. It was a milestone event to do a lot of development in the I-75 corridor for job creation and business relocation. It was a great success story for the year. What are the implications of these events? We have created a business climate in Cobb County. It certainly has put us on the map as a community that is very business friendly. It has put us on the map with respect to being a destination location, which is important because tourism is Cobb’s No. 1 industry. It has laid the foundation for a lot of companies making decisions to move into Cobb County, so it has created a significant amount of momentum. Last year, the last 12 months in Cobb County have been extraordinary. It is truly a historic time. One of the defining moments in our county took place in the ‘40s when a decision was made to build the Bell farmer plant, which is now Lockheed, which brought in 50,000 jobs almost overnight. We’ve had several other historic events along the way. This is another one that falls in that category, truly is historic and will forever change Cobb County in a positive way. Our next year is to continue to take advantage of the momentum that’s been created, and not lose this opportunity for our community, not only for our business community, but for all of our citizens. What do you anticipate for next year? This coming year, we’re going to see a large focus on the implementation of a lot of decisions that have been made.

We have in our I-75 corridor almost $4 billion of new construction. Next year, we’ll be spending a lot of time in the community on education and workforce development. The decision to merge Southern Polytechnic Institute and Kennesaw State University was made this year, and next year will be a significant year of implementing those decisions made. A big focus for us next year is going to be building a community that attracts technology companies and global players. What could stand in the way of future growth and development? There’s a saying which is, “We have met the enemy, and he is us.” I think the biggest issue or challenge that we face is really ourselves and managing the growth and opportunity we have today. We have a strong set of leaders in our community, at the business level and county and city government. We have a lot of things going in the right direction. We have a number of very important economic tools that allow the state of Georgia to be the No. 1 state in the country to do business. One of our challenges and hopes and wishes is that our lawmakers don’t change those tools because they are very effective at making north Georgia, Cobb County in our case, extremely competitive.

James McCoy, CummingForsyth Chamber president and CEO Most important event of the year? We’ve had 16 announcements and $100 million in capital investment, over 600 new jobs to the community. We’ve had several that have been in the range from about 100 to 150 MCCOY employees. One that’s important is Prosys. They do custom tablet assembly in mass. I don’t know that they’re necessarily the largest, but it has the broadest impact. Certainly the opening of Costco in Forsyth County, Joann Fabric, Sprouts, all of that opened this past year. What are the implications of those openings? Retail is very important to a community because it keeps those retail investment dollars in the community, and of course because the sales tax gets reinvested into the community. What do you see on the horizon in the next year? We’re seeing a great deal of investment in light and advanced manufacturing. We’re continuing to see a great deal of growth in the health care sector. Retail

will remain very strong. What might present a challenge to future growth and development in the area? We just had a transportation bond passed this past year to widen Ga. 400, and to really accelerate the speed which some of the ancillary roads are being constructed as well. It was a $190 million transportation bond. Long term, that is very, very important to business growth. But I think we’ll also be challenged by the construction. And that will begin this next year on Ga. 400. It’s a great problem to have, it’s a necessary one to have, but I think businesses need to be prepared for the construction that is to come.

Kit Dunlap, Greater Hall Chamber president and CEO What were some of the highlights from 2014? On the industrial side, we had a couple of new companies to announce here. Kubota Manufacturing is doing a $100 million DUNLAP expansion, and the Georgia Poultry Federation is opening a new industrial park on Friday (Jan. 10). Those are just a couple of the highlights on the industrial side and there’s several more industries that are expanding. Health care — Georgia Northeast Medical Center has been recognized as the No. 1 hospital in Georgia several times. Education — Brenau University is now accepting students in their first doctoral program for physical therapy, and they’re opening up their new building in downtown Gainesville for the other medical education degrees. Retail —January a year ago, the new Kroger shopping center opened up and it was one of the largest in the Southeast, and now it has several other small retails there. Two new neighborhood Walmart shopping areas that will be opening up this month. Tourism — Our Lake Lanier Olympic venue is up and running, and it was announced this year that it will host the Pan American Olympic trials for canoe in 2016 – so it’s going full speed. Those are just a few of the highlights. What does some of that mean for the county’s growth and development? We will continue as usual. One of the main things we will be concentrating on is workforce development. Since we do have a good concentration of manufacturers, workforce development is the top of the list. We’ve already been working on it, but we will develop a plan to try to help our manufacturers. No. 2, we have

See CHAMBERS, Page 12

CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE

12 • January, 2015 • NorthAtlantaBusinessPost.com

Chambers: Continued from Page 11

EDITORIAL CALENDAR 2015 Issue Date

Space Reservation Date

Materials Deadline

February 2015 – Banking and finance • Business Post’s 2015 Cobb Market Report special focus • By the numbers: Top banks and financial institutions • Women in business: profile top female executives in North Atlanta and women’s issues in business • How to get financing for your business growth

Feb. 9

Jan. 29

Feb. 2

March 2015 – Real Estate (residential) • By the numbers: Top Brokers • Real estate planning: How great Realtors think and what makes them so successful • “Legislative Watch.” Keeps a focus on what lawmakers are March 9 doing during the Atlanta legislative session that may affect business, big and small • The home office – how selfemployed or remote workers set up their stations

Feb. 26

March 2

March 26

March 30

April 2015 – Small Business • Business Post’s 2015 Cherokee Market Report special focus • Small business success stories • Tools every small business needs • Leading family businesses in the region and how they manage work and family • Getting your MBA: What you should know

April 6

May 2015 – Leisure (vacations, golf, baseball) • Hospitality and Tourism: Recap of the season and industry indicators looking forward. • What makes visitors come to North Atlanta • Economic impact of tourism • Work-life and personal life: Finding a balance during your vacation

May 11

April 30

May 4

June 8

May 28

June 1

June 2015 – Technology • Business Post’s 2015 Hall Market Report special focus • Companies that make tomorrow’s technology – right here in North Atlanta • How to protect your company from a cyber attack • How North Atlanta businesses are going global with their online presence

Call 770-442-3278 to reserve your ad space today! www.NorthAtlantaBusinessPost.com

a SPLOST coming up in March, infrastructure SPLOST that’s very important. We will be behind particularly with the transportation part that’s included in the SPLOST. And then you can’t leave out small business. We’ll continue to work and enhance our small business programs we have every month, because they are the backbone of any economy, certainly in Hall County. What do the workforce development and the SPLOST look like and what does that mean for Hall? Well with our workforce development, we’ve got cooperation not only with the business community but with Lanier Technical College, the public school systems here, the other colleges that are working to develop a plan, whether it’s some sort of apprentice program that we can start in all of our manufacturers. The SPLOST is a vote in March. We will be behind that and educating folks in the community to vote for the SPLOST in March, so that will put some money into needed infrastructure. And of course, one of the biggest developments that has been going on for several years, but now is here, is the opening of the new Northeast Georgia Medical Center Braselton Hospital, which will open this spring. It’s basically finished, but they’re hiring several hundred people and getting that facility ready to open with a new medical office building. What could stand in the way for future development? I think positively, so I don’t have a negative thought about it. We’re going to get our workforce development passed in order, we’ll continue to be proactive in attracting new industries, new business. And we’ll be here to help small business. So I’m very positive about the future; I don’t see any negatives. It’s not only the Greater Hall Chamber but it’s working together with elected officials and business leaders and education to make it all happen.

BBB's

John Bemont, Johns Creek Chamber president What was the most important business event of the year? It was the announcement of the central city district, the plans for that going forward. The district is going to comprise BEMONT a great deal of the northern part of Johns Creek, including Technology Park. It’s going to be changing the complexion of the neighborhoods to bring businesses into the community, and maintain the quality of life that people in Johns Creek like. It’s going to be a very nice area. It’s not going to be just one project that’s going to happen overnight, it’s going to take years to complete the entire concept, but it’s being worked on. What does that mean for Johns Creek? It’s going to be a mixed use. It’s going to hopefully appeal more to younger people. It’s going to be both commercial and residential, as well as hotels in the area. The hope is it’s going to be walkable and it will keep people in the community. The concept is to make it a complete total living area. It could be a lot of different things. It’s wide open right now, there are no firm plans, but there is a conceptual design of what the area is, and it’s essentially north of 120 up to McGinnis Ferry and covers most of Technology Park. What might stand in the way of future development? Johns Creek is a very unique city in that it is primarily a residential area. We need to keep in mind that’s the community that the people in Johns Creek love. Although we realize a need to increase the business community, and the number of businesses, we always need to keep in mind the aesthetics that have made this area such a nice area. We’ll be looking for a lot of consensus as we move forward to see that whatever plans are developed are, that the people in the community like. We have been fairly aggressive in the last year on economic development, but we’ve been very focused on the types of businesses that would fit

Five

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CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE best within the community. I think we’ll continue doing that and need to recognize that going forward.

Brandon Beach, Greater North Fulton Chamber president and CEO Looking back on 2014, what was the most important business event? The major thing that happened was Avalon opening. There’s not many communities in the counBEACH try that are having a $600 million mixed use development built on 95 acres. Besides short-term construction jobs, there’s a lot of long-term employment there. For example, Whole Foods has about 140 employees. So you’ve got major employment going on at the Avalon development. But more importantly what it did too, was it gave us a lifestyle some of the young millennials are wanting. They want to live above retail, they want to walk to a movie or walk to get a cup of coffee or walk to a restaurant. And we were lacking that up here, and so this gives us that amenity to offer to these young kids that are working in the technology field that want that lifestyle. What does it mean for North Fulton? It’s in Alpharetta, but it’s a regional destination point, Avalon. There’s cars from all over that are coming to Avalon to shop, to go to a movie, to eat dinner. Then there’s office buildings there also, and so there’s corporate type jobs, people are going to work there. So it’s really good for the region. Looking at 2015, what do you see? As you know, the state of Georgia for the second year in a row was rated the No. 1 place to do business. We are very strong as a state. You look at our state, there’s no corridor that’s stronger than the North Fulton corridor, Ga. 400 corridor. I think when you look at job creation, they’re going to continue to come to North Fulton for a variety of reasons. One, we’ve got great schools. When you have excellent education, the employers want their employees to have that great

school system, No. 1. Two, the infrastructure we have in place, the fiber optics, Georgia Power has an unbelievable grid system, so you’ve got all the components for the high tech jobs and the data centers – and the IT health care, they’ve got all the infrastructure they need to be successful and run 24/7. And then the other thing is the overall quality of life. We’ve got a great amphitheater, we’ve got great shopping, we’ve got great restaurants, we’ve got some of the best greenways, I think, in the state where you can go jog or bicycle. So when you look at our amenity package, along with our good schools and our great infrastructure, I think that’s going to continue to bode well for us to be successful. We are also building a new technical college here, right across from Avalon. One of the reasons we’re doing that is to make sure we’re providing our employers a facility to train their employees, workforce development. And I would tell you that technical college is going to be a key tool in our toolbox when we’re recruiting companies. Because there are a lot of companies out there that hire these folks with college degrees but they need to send them back and get retrained on some kind of computer program, or something. So to have that in our backyard is going to be very good for the whole region. What might present a challenge to future growth and development? The biggest challenge we have is we have to fix Ga. 400. We’ve got to alleviate the congestion. When you go from Haynes Bridge Road to downtown Atlanta and it takes you an hour and 45 minutes to two hours, that’s unacceptable. So we’ve got to figure out a way to move traffic. There’s no silver bullet that’s going to fix that. I think it’s going to be a combination of a lot of things. I think that’s one of the things we’ve got to be concerned about from the future standpoint because Ga. 400 is at full capacity as we speak, both north and south. That’s a good problem to have because people want to be here. Once you get into the cities, transportation’s real good, getting around to Alpharetta or Johns Creek or whatnot, it’s just 400. We’ve got to figure that out from a state’s point [of view]. That’s not really a city or a county issue, it’s a state issue.

for a Scam-Free New Year symbols. Go ahead and write your passwords down, but don’t store this cheat sheet on your computer. Keep your smartphone safe. Take the same precautions on your mobile device as you do on your computer. Protect your phone with a passcode, keep your software up-to-date and watch out for malware disguised as apps. Know the telltale signs. A little common sense goes a long way in spotting scams. Watch out for anything that’s too

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NorthAtlantaBusinessPost.com • January, 2015 • 13

A L P H A R E T TA C H A M B E R

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NEWS

14 • January, 2015 • NorthAtlantaBusinessPost.com

Persian Rug Paradise Inc receives 2014 ‘Best of Atlanta Award’ Atlanta Award Program honors the achievement ATLANTA – Persian Rug Paradise Inc has been selected for the 2014 Best of Atlanta Award in the Carpet & Rug Dealers category by the Atlanta Award Program. Each year, the Atlanta Award Program identifies companies that we believe have achieved exceptional marketing success in their local community and business category. These are local companies that enhance the positive image of small business through service to their customers and our community. These exceptional companies help make the Atlanta area a great place to live, work and play. Various sources of information were gathered and analyzed to choose the winners in each category. The 2014 Atlanta Award Program focuses on quality, not quantity. Winners are determined based on the information gathered both internally by the Atlanta Award Program and data provided by third parties. About Atlanta Award Program: The Atlanta Award Program is an annual awards program honoring the achievements and accomplishments of local businesses throughout the Atlanta

Persian Rug Paradise Inc has been selected for the 2014 Best of Atlanta Award in the Carpet & Rug Dealers category by the Atlanta Award Program.

area. Recognition is given to those companies that have shown the ability to use their best practices and implemented programs to generate competitive advantages and long-term value.

The Atlanta Award Program was established to recognize the best of local businesses in our community. Our organization works exclusively with local business owners, trade groups, profes-

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January 31, 2014

GROWTH & DE

16 • January, 2015 • NorthAtlantaBusinessPost.com

Realty gia

Homebuilding Trends By County And City Number of residential building permits issued by year. Fulton County

2011

2012

2013

2014

Alpharetta

434

119

371

272

Johns Creek

271

108

102

117

Milton

105

328

309

327

Roswell

128

148

138

145

213

1,169

1,528

Unincorp. Fulton

180

285

457

473

Cherokee County

2011

2012

2013

2014

Canton

112

170

237

Holly Springs

141

166

Woodstock

146

701

301

801

Unincorp. Cher

228

362

723

736

Cobb County

2011

2012

2013

2014

Acworth

123

Kennesaw

141

251

288

Marietta

109

110

142

205

497

418

Unincorp. Cobb

1,241

1,640

1,916

2,009

Forsyth County

2011

2012

2013

2014

Unincorp. Forsy

1,174

2,273

2,775

2,866

Gwinnett County*

2011

2012

2013

2014

Buford

118

Dacula

Duluth

Grayson

102

Lawrenceville

Norcross

Snellville

Sugar Hill

Suwanee

Unincorp. Gwinnett Hall County

Sandy Sp.

Ball Ground

Austell

Powder Springs Smyrna

Cumming

Berkeley Lake

Lilburn

By PAT FOX pat@appenmediagroup.com Ask Dan Forsman what he thinks about residential real estate in Atlanta, and he’ll give you a thumbs up – through the roof. Forsman, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Homes Services Georgia, heads the market leader for real estate companies in metro Atlanta. His insights into the market are heeded by industry insiders and used to plot investing strategies. “My sense right now is that we can’t build enough new homes at the entry level price points to satisfy demand,” he said. “The suburbs are making a pretty nice comeback. You see a lot of construction outside the perimeter.” The past year saw a slowing of the price appreciation witnessed at the end of 2013 and the beginning of 2014. Forsman attributes this to a number of factors: seasonality, prices peak in June and July. But he remains optimistic, especially about Atlanta. “New homes are going to continue to grow,” he said. “You’re going to hear large percentage increases, but we’re just kind of on the path to getting back to where we used to be. We’re not anywhere close to what we used to be.” He said home construction in Atlanta is roughly 35 to 40 percent of what is was at its peak. While you hear of a 30 percent growth in housing starts, that’s really 40 percent of what it was at the peak, he said. Nevertheless, he sees a number of things happening that will drive the local market further up. “A really interesting phenomenon is going to happen this year, that is an ‘unlocking’ of positive equity across the country, and the effect it will have on the Sun Belt,” he said. Unlocking, he said, comes when homeowners recapture the equity they enjoyed in their homes before the recession. Ten years ago, Americans had close to $13 trillion in home equity. The recession wiped out much of that value, he said. But now, equity levels are back up to near $12 trillion.

North Metro Housing Perm

Single-family permits (top line) and multi-family pe

2013:2

2013:3

Cobb 455 351

421 101

Cherokee 402 0

385 0

151

205

110

120

619 158

453

Forsyth 776 0

648

1,753

2,758

2,272

Fulton 613 2,498

541 1,206

2011

2012

2013

2014

Gwinnett 970 0

Gainesville

206

242

Unincorp. Hall

140

167

264

311

*No data was available for the newly incorporated city of Peachtree Corners Source: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

Hall

637 10

3 3

87 (total for 2013) 0 (total for 2013)

Sources: Georgia State University Eco

EVELOPMENT

NorthAtlantaBusinessPost.com • January, 2015 • 17

ant sees Atlanta market prime for growth “At some point this year, you’re going to see it back to an equilibrium to what it was pre-recession,” he said. “What that means is people have enough equity in their homes now to sell them. That’s the unlocking.” Forsman predicts that this unlocking will spur the buyer pool from the Midwest and Northeast to leave and move to where their kids and their grandkids are. And where are their kids? Here, Forsman said, because Atlanta is one of the top three cities in America for young people. Many move here without jobs, he said. “You’re going to see a lot of that next year, a lot of people moving from the Rust Belt, Northeast down to the Sun Belt,” he said. “The interesting thing about that is we’re a better deal than Florida right now.” Atlanta, he said, has a greatly diversified economy, a world-class airport. “People are going to come here,” he said. “I’m aware of some group moves that are coming next year that haven’t hit the papers yet. Industry is looking very favorably on our region.” He predicts 2015 will bring a 4 to 5 percent increase in unit sales in the whole residential market, with price appreciation from 4 to 6 percent. Forsman offered his take on other real estate sectors: -- Office: “Based on where it’s at, office is getting tighter. The lease rates are beginning to go back up.” -- Retail: “It depends. I think there’s going to be a greater demand for Brookhaven, Norcross, Woodstock downtown. There’s a revitalization going on across the north side. “Depending on where it’s at retail is doing very well, but I think retail was overbuilt. You’ve seen it, where some guy got a loan and he threw up a strip center and nobody moved in. You’ve seen it where it’s booming. It’s hard because it’s all so local.” -- Industrial: “With the advent of a Satellite Boulevard, next to a freeway, our warehouses are full. And they continue to develop them. Say you’ve got the combo, the harbor in Savannah, the airport, our

Berkshire Hathaway offers a home value estimate on their website.

“My sense right now is that we can’t build enough new homes at the entry level price points to satisfy demand. The suburbs are making a pretty nice comeback. You see a lot of construction outside the perimeter.” Dan Forsman, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Homes Services Georgia

mits

ermits (bottom line) reported by quarter.

2013:4

2014:1

2014:2

2014:3

340 341

353 313

354 125

391 650

314 0

355 0

391 547

409 0

622 57

575 0

605 178

744 227

436 1,236

546 1,899

705 1,206

566 525

592 313

790 35

916 205

731 4

onomic Forecasting Center; Hall County

regional proximity and our freeway system. When you put all that together, we’re a natural distribution center.” Interestingly enough, with all the advent of technology, consumers still want to work with a Realtor, Forsman said. The figure is close to 97 percent.. “You’d think with the advent of Trulia and Zillow, that consumers would have less of a need to find a Realtor, but they’re using us at a higher rate,” he said. “It may be that there’s so much information out there, you need a local expert to help sort it out.” Another factor in the continued use of Realtors is that the contract has grown more complicated. “You take your greatest financial assets, and you put it out there, and someone

Dan Forsman, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Homes Services Georgia, foresees a lot of growth to come in the suburbs of Atlanta.

could absolutely skin you alive if they come in represented with an agent,” he said. In an effort to outdo the online services, Forsman is proud to have helped develop an automated valuation method web tool for Berkshire Hathaway that lets people look up their properties and find its value based on the most recent local

data, including recent sales of nearby properties. The site is at bhhsgeorgia. com. “We had 100,000 people in the month of November enter their home address into our AVM,” he said. “I was shocked. People are really interested in what their homes are worth.”

18 • January, 2015 • NorthAtlantaBusinessPost.com

GROWTH & DEVELOPMENT

North metro fertile ground for business, residential growth By PATRICK FOX pat@appenmediagroup.com NORTH FULTON/FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. – All the pieces are in place for Georgia to continue its path toward economic development and recovery, according to leading business and real estate observers. “Certainly, we’ve seen a height of activity,” said Al Nash, executive director of the Fulton County Development Authority. “As the national economy has improved, we’re reaping some of the benefits.” Nash said the region and the state benefit from a sound transportation network and a quality of life rivaling any in the country. “We are on people’s list when they think about expansion,” he said. But while much of the discussion recently has focused on major relocations, such as the GM information technology plant in Roswell, Nash sees more growth coming from expansion of existing businesses. “A lot of companies, I think, held back on spending money on upgrading their technology and equipment,” he said. “So now they see some opportunities to streamline.” Nash said he thinks 80 percent of the

growth will probably be organic growth in the state. For that reason, he said Georgia will see some opportunities in capital investments and job increases. One of the keys to Nash sparking development is housing construction, one of the linchpins of a sound economy. Real estate expert Frank Norton Jr., who issues an annual Native Intelligence Report for Northeast Georgia, said the north metro Atlanta market, particularly the area running from East Cobb through Cherokee and Forsyth and into Fulton, Gwinnett and Hall, is “ground zero” for the economic rebound. “That region is the hottest region in all of the South, based on our numbers,” he said. “If you look at the permitting for 2014 back to 2012, Gwinnett, Forsyth and Cobb represent about 70 percent of the new homes permitted in all of metro Atlanta. And metro Atlanta is bigger than anything that was happening in any of the other surrounding states.” Norton said the housing resurgence is driven by quality, affordable housing, although some housing in North Fulton

“As the national economy has improved, we’re reaping some of the benefits.” Al Nash, executive director of the Fulton County Development Authority would not be considered affordable any longer. “The quality of the school systems in Forsyth, North Fulton, Cobb, Cherokee and parts of Gwinnett is driving middle class growth,” he said. “The middle class is concerned about the quality of public education. They can’t really afford private school education, so they’re looking to balance the size and price of a home with the quality of the education for their children.” Secondarily, the area is seeing an older, Baby Boom generation being attracted to Lake Lanier and the hospital network in Fulton, Forsyth and Hall counties as a provider of health care services as they age, he said. “All of those lifestyle ingredients be-

come super important for the last wave of Baby Boomer into the next generation,” Norton said. “Because of the wage and income levels, they’re looking at the value of education.” Norton said Forsyth County has benefitted a great deal from a price exodus from North Fulton. Just as important, he said, Forsyth County took a major leap of faith in passing a local transportation special purpose local option sales tax. “We think the transportation SPLOST that was passed by Forsyth was a huge, bold move, a competitive bold move for a county that’s 190,000 people to self-help and self-start their own way for transportation,” Norton said. “We think that’s bold, innovative, progressive, and it separates Forsyth County from the pack of other counties.” Investing in infrastructure, with the support of local residents, Norton said, will attract more small industries, high tech and a growing number of white-collar jobs into Forsyth County. “It will signal small businesses or a large business that’s looking for a small operation to weight their decision more toward Forsyth than a Gwinnett County/ Peachtree Corners or a Cobb or Cherokee County along I-75,” he said.

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GROWTH & DEVELOPMENT

NorthAtlantaBusinessPost.com • January, 2015 • 19

Community banks provide variety and choice for customers By PAT FOX pat@appenmediagroup.com ATLANTA – Once the epicenter of America’s banking collapse, Georgia’s financial institutions continue to rebound, according to third-quarter figures from the Georgia Bankers Association. The figures show 86 percent of the state’s 254 FDIC-insured banks were profitable, and 60 percent reported earnings gains. Loans were up 6.3 percent from a year ago, and deposits rose nearly 5 percent. More families and businesses were able to pay their loans on time in the third quarter of 2014. Noncurrent loans were down for the 18th consecutive quarter and were below the national percentage. “It is really good to see that as business and family finances are better, Georgia’s banks are performing well,” said Joe Brannen, Bankers Association president and chief executive officer. “Even more customers are current on their loans, which signals that the overall economy has improved.” Within the economic maelstrom that claimed 85 Georgia lending institutions over seven years, community banks, particularly those overweighed in real estate, were among the hardest hit. Those prudent and quick enough to diversify survived. Having a healthy community banking sector is important because it provides needed variety and choice for businesses

Georgia Bank Facts Through Sept. 30, 2014, unless noted otherwise:

• There are 254 FDIC-insured banks and savings institutions operating in Georgia from more than 2,500 branches. Of those, 213 are based in Georgia as of Sept. 30, 2014. • Georgia-based banks employ about 44,400 people. Conservatively, GBA estimates that all banks operating in Georgia employ about 60,000 people. • Eighty-six percent of the state’s banks were profitable through the third quarter, and 60.1 percent reported earnings gains. • Loans were up 6.3 percent compared to a year ago, and deposits are up 4.7 percent since that time. • More families and businesses were able to pay their loans on time in the third quarter of 2014. Noncurrent loans were down for the 18th consecutive quarter and were below the national percentage. Source: Georgia Bankers Association

Executive Vice President/Chief Financial Officer Terry DeWitt and President/Chief Executive Officer Stan Kryder of First Landmark Bank at the company’s headquarters.

and consumers, said David Oliver, senior vice president of communications and marketing for the GBA. “Community banks come in many forms,” Oliver said. “Some focus on a specific small geographic region or demographic segment of the population. Or, some may focus on certain niche specialties such as medical-practice banking or SBA lending.” Georgia’s community banks compete well on price, products and services with other banks and credit unions, Oliver said. “In general, community banks are locally owned and feature local decisionmaking about loans,” he said. “Community bankers live, work and volunteer in their hometowns and know the needs of local families and businesses.” It’s that local touch that drew Stan Kryder to community banking after 25 years with the big banks. Kryder was president and CEO of Midtown Bank in Atlanta last year when he negotiated a merger with First Landmark Bank in Marietta. He now heads the consolidated operation, which recently opened an office in Sandy Springs. “We looked at the landscape and said, ‘We’re a healthy, clean, $200 million bank,’ and we met with First Landmark in Marietta, and they were a clean, healthy, $200 million bank,” he said. “We said we think the sum of the parts by putting our two companies together is greater than if we operate separately.” Today, First Landmark has $420 million in assets and $50 million in capital. Kryder said big banks provide valuable services, particularly for larger companies, but community banks provide a continuity of face-to-face dealings with customers. “Technology has helped the little guy – us – compete with the big guys because there’s much more plug-and-play

technology,” Kryder said. “We can offer the same products and services that the big banks can do, but we can deliver it in a more personal, hands-on, face-to-face way with bankers that live in the community and aren’t transferred in and out the way the big banks do with their business model. That’s our competitive DNA.” Kryder said he is bullish on the Atlanta community banking market and the Atlanta economy because it’s poised to rebound strongly in 2015. “The foreclosures have reduced in each of the last four years, like a stair step,” he said. “About 18 months ago, construction started, and now new housing is beginning to come back, particularly in the closer in, more built-out, mature areas of the Atlanta region.” He said it’s a welcome sign of confidence that people are willing to commit the capital and the resources to begin building again. “Atlanta is still a very competitive housing market nationally,” he said. The same sentiments govern the business model at Keyworth Bank in Johns Creek. “I think we’re clearly seeing signs of improvement, particularly on the north side in the markets we serve,” Keyworth CEO Jim Pope said. “We’re seeing good home activity, good construction; builders are selling homes as quickly as they can build them.” Keyworth Bank opened its doors at the beginning of the recent recession but weathered the storm by developing a business plan to steer it away from one sector. The bank placed a lot of emphasis on the health care industry and by extending loans for construction and building loans to contractors. That strategy paid off, and, today, Pope said real estate is much less frightening. “We’re seeing more hiring in other types of businesses, borrowing is picking

up from previous quarters,” Pope said. “In fact, our bank experienced the best loan growth quarter in the last quarter that we’ve seen in several years.” Year over year, the bank realized a growth rate of between 14 and 15 percent, he said, while the national average is in the single digits. Health care remains strong, he said, with acquisitions and startups. With interest rates predicted to be stable for the next 18 months, Pope anticipates more growth in 2015. The bank today has broadened its focus on commercial and industrial lending, seeking business from manufacturers, distributers and wholesalers, Pope said. “There’s some opportunities in investor real estate if you’re selective, that the investor real estate community was not doing a couple of years ago,” he said. “We, as an industry, are expecting good equity to be put in those projects, so we’re not going back to 90 percent, 100 percent financing.” Part of community banking involves keeping in touch with potential clients, Pope said. “If someone isn’t ready to do business now, if we’ve maintained good relations with them, given them good advice, then when they do decide to do something, whether six months or a year from now, hopefully we’ll be a resource for them,” he said. In the big picture, Pope said, smaller banks may never be able to compete in rates and terms with some of the larger banks, but the level of service can be made to override costs to many clients. “The relationship someone can develop with a community bank, being able to sit down with their banker and get advice, get consulting, share their business plan, they feel it, and they value that,” he said. “It’s not all about rate.”

NEWS

20 • January, 2015 • NorthAtlantaBusinessPost.com

Alpharetta businesses mull metered parking downtown Merchants want to gauge effect of new city parking deck first By PATRICK FOX pat@appenmediagroup.com ALPHARETTA, Ga. – As Alpharetta crosses the threshold of its new City Center this month, downtown businesses are debating a proposal calling for metered parking spaces. Citing a lack of sufficient parking in the revitalized downtown, Eric Bosman of Kimley-Horn and Associates floated the idea of paid parking in a report to the City Council earlier this month. The report called for as many as 60 metered parking spaces in key locations on the west of Main Street and along Milton Avenue. Bosman said surveys show two parking spaces available per 1,000 people on the west side of Main, less than half what is usually committed to retail areas. The City Council has not acted on the proposal but it is weighing comments from residents and businesses. “One of the comments that was made during the course of that report was that at the moment, it does not appear as though we have quite enough parking for the businesses that we anticipate coming,” said City Councilman Michael Cross, who serves as liaison for economic development. Managed parking makes it much easier for customers and patrons to park in metered spots, for one thing because it dissuades retail employees from occupying those spaces all day, Cross said. Metered spots also turn over fairly quickly, allowing more customer access to downtown shops. On the other hand, the city already has quite a lot of free parking off Main Street plus a 450-space parking garage that is almost completed. An effort is under way to see whether business owners could encourage employees to use off-site parking. The city is making what information it has available to the local business owners to get their feedback on the idea, Cross said. Business owners seem to be weighing the concept themselves, with no clear resolution. “I love the flavor that we have built on Milton Avenue. It’s old. It’s vintage. It’s artsy – and these meters take away from that look,” said Alex Korner, owner and operator of Leather n Pearle on Milton Avenue. “It’s nice as a customer to be able to pull in and jump out of the car, come in and shop – then browse down the street,” she said. On the other hand, Korner said Milton Avenue has service industries as well as boutiques. Some of the employees do take up valuable parking space along the

As many as 60 parking spaces in downtown Alpharetta may become metered parking. key retail district. “I really would like to wait and see,” Korner said. “After the parking deck is built across the street and we business owners implore our employees to park over there and elsewhere, then let’s see how that may lighten up the load on these streets.” The city in the past had posted some areas for two-hour parking, but it was seldom enforced, Korner said. She would rather the city should first consider enforcing time limits for prime retail parking spaces rather than introducing metered slots. Larry Attig, owner of Nature’s Veranda Container Gardens, said he still needs to see more information on the pros and cons of metered parking before he settles on a solution he could support. “I do know we have a real parking problem on that west side of town,” he said. “Before we do anything, I think let’s see what’s going to happen with the parking deck.” Ultimately, something will have to be done, he said. “I’m not sure about the parking meters,” he said. “One of the things it would solve is merchants having their employees park somewhere besides in front of their businesses.” During his years on the Downtown Alpharetta Trade Association, Attig said he campaigned to encourage merchants

Metered parking would force parking turnover. to have their employees leave prime parking spaces for customers. “In the past, the downtown hasn’t really been that vibrant, and it hasn’t been that big of a problem. But now, as we see the City Center come on, we’re going to see a lot more activity and a lot more retail,” he said. The city is in the process of developing a comprehensive land use plan for downtown. Part of that plan will include an analysis of current and future needs

Jonathan Copsey/Staff

for retail parking, said City Councilman Mike Kennedy, liaison to community development. The first draft was presented at the Jan. 5 City Council meeting. In any event, Kennedy said, the metered parking, if implemented, would only be a test as the city works to solve the parking issue. “Downtown is growing so rapidly, we can’t park customers fast enough,” Kennedy said.

HALL COUNTY

NorthAtlantaBusinessPost.com • January, 2015 • 21

Hall County C.I. receives grant to combat substance abuse HALL COUNTY , Ga. – The Hall County Correctional Institution has been named as a recipient of an Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant by the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council. Davis The $50,000 grant will be used to implement a Residential Substance Abuse Program (RSAT) to provide participants in the Re-entry Accountability Court Transition (REACT) Program with intensive substance abuse treatment. The RSAT program has been used effectively in the state prison system for several years. Hall County C.I. will be the first county correctional institution in the state to offer the program. “We have found that, without exception, all of the participants in the REACT program have serious addiction issues which must be addressed if they are to be successfully returned to our community,” said v. “This intensive program is a significant step in that direction.” The REACT program focuses on state inmates returning to Hall and Dawson counties. Programming consists of substance abuse treatment, as well as educational and vocational training. Partici-

pants also receive on-the-job experience while working with local businesses once they have progressed to the work release portion of the program.

The purpose of the program is to help inmates find gainful employment in an effort to reduce recidivism rates. The grant application was a col-

laborative effort between Warden Davis and Jessica Robinson, Hall County's Resource Development and Grants Manager.

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22 • January, 2015 • NorthAtlantaBusinessPost.com

CHEROKEE COUNTY

Inalfa breaks ground on new headquarters Cherokee Chamber staff welcomes new Wellstar medical offices WOODSTOCK, Ga. – WellStar Medical Group is proud to announce the addition of two family medicine offices in Cherokee County. Dr. Donna Haley is located at WellStar Family Medicine at Edgewater

Hall in Canton (770-479-8040) and Dr. Michael Katopes is at WellStar Family Medicine at Woodpark Place in Woodstock (770-926-4150). Both offices provide: medical care for patients two years & older, same-

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FULTON COUNTY

NorthAtlantaBusinessPost.com • January, 2015 • 23

Letter to the editor:

Fulton County leading the way in education

Robert Avossa, Ed.D., Fulton County Schools Superintendent.

The spotlight on education in Fulton County Schools shines brighter every day due to the many success stories occurring daily in our schools. Our 2014 SAT scores remain among the highest in Georgia, with six of our schools ranking in the state’s Top 20, and our 2014 graduation rate is the highest among the large metro Atlanta school systems. As school watchers may know, these successes are in part due to Fulton County Schools becoming the largest “charter system” in Georgia. Being a charter system gives our schools more autonomy and flexibility to do the work that improves achievement and moves our students forward.

For example, in our inaugural few years as a charter system, each school has successfully created a School Governance Council that helps craft their school’s strategic plan, while also weighing in on budgeting, staffing, school focuses and other critical issues. The charter system also supports Fulton’s belief that one size doesn’t always fit all, especially as it relates to learning and teaching. Almost 10 percent of our students elect to attend a Fulton school other than their assigned one – something we refer to as “school choice options.” Some families choose charter schools, and within our system we have seven start-up charters and two more that will open next year. Fulton County Schools also has two other opportunities to select a different school that best suits a student’s need: the hardship process and the open enrollment process. The hardship process allows parents to apply to another school due to medical reasons, curriculum differences and/ or child care situations. This window for the 2015-16 school year will be open until Feb. 17. Similarly, open enrollment allows parents to apply for transfers to schools that have available space, but the list of schools isn’t announced until early May when the next year’s forecast is complete. All information regarding hardship or open enrollment can be found at: fultonschools.org/en/ divisions/ops/plan/Pages/Student_

Assignment.aspx. These choice options have served our families well over the years, but now our vision of personalized instruction will take a leap further as we broaden our definition of choice. Last year, the school board and I traveled to North Carolina to review the school choice options available to students in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School System. It was extremely impressive to see – more than 25 percent of their 160 schools offer at least one program devoted to specialized themes and focuses. This began the discussion, and over the next few weeks, we want to continue the conversation. We have five community forums scheduled to discuss the kinds of educational options that will serve our students. Each forum begins at 7 p.m. in several locations throughout the county: Jan. 26 (Westlake High School); Jan. 27 (Lake Forest Elementary School); Jan. 28 (Centennial High School); Jan. 29 (Tri-Cities High School); and Feb. 2 (Milton Center). Providing these options in a meaningful way will necessitate a commitment to providing the space, technology and other resources to ensure success. The board has already committed to expanding our International Baccalaureate programs to Alpharetta High School, Centennial High School and Westlake High School. These programs will join our Riverwood International Charter School IB program, and by expanding to other schools, we are providing a

BRIEFS & SHORTS: Fulton County Chambers Street Properties sells Deerfield Commons ALPHARETTA, Ga. – Deerfield Commons I and II in Alpharetta was one of four multi-tenant office complexes sold recently by Chambers Street Properties. The Princeton, New Jersey-based real estate investment trust sold the four-story building along with a 10-acre lot for $19.4 million. The properties involved in the sale represented 534,849 square feet of office space.

Roswell company announces new hearing product ROSWELL, Ga. — Zounds Hearing, with locations in Roswell, has added the Enza in-the-ear hearing aid to its product line. “The Enza is a comfortable and affordable solution for those who want a more discreet hearing aid,” said Sam Thomasson, founder of Zounds Hearing. “It’s unique on the market today, as it employs 20 programmable channels and adjusts the level of hearing in real time to distinguish changes in the environment.” Free hearing evaluations are available at both metro Atlanta locations: 580 E. Crossville Road, Suite 340 in

Roswell and 440 Ernest Barrett Parkway, Suite 43 in Kennesaw. For more information, visit www.zoundshearingatl. com.

more accessible IB option for all of our students. The school system staff already is working on possible options to present to the school board and these could be accelerated or broadened based on what our community wants. They include: • Specialized STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) programs • Specialized STEAM (STEM but with the addition of arts) programs • Additional career technology offerings Partnerships with local businesses to provide pathways from high school directly to jobs, technical colleges (twoyear) or four-year universities. Partnerships with post-secondary schools to develop streamlined paths to associate or bachelor degrees or certifications. Our district already is in discussions with Gwinnett Tech, whose new campus is under construction on Old Milton Parkway. As I mentioned, the future is bright in Fulton County Schools, and it takes the support and participation of our parents and community to make these options become a reality. Please take time to attend one of the community forums and share your opinions on what education should look like in Fulton County. Sincerely, Robert Avossa, Ed.D. Superintendent, Fulton County Schools

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a number of initial inquiries about their offer. Exide is one of the world’s largest producers and recycler of lead-acid batteries. It has operations in more than 80 countries. It filed for protection under Chapter 11 in June 2013 and reported $1.9 billion in assets and $1.1 billion in liabilities.

Stevi B’s Pizza plans to open new locations Battery firm revises plan to emerge from bankruptcy MILTON, Ga — Exide Technologies has entered into a new agreement company officials say they hope will allow them to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March. The new agreement gives the company until mid-January to complete negotiations for debt guarantees. The company continues to pursue a dual path out of bankruptcy. In addition to the plan of reorganization, Exide is soliciting third-party bids for the sale of some or all of its businesses. Company officials say they have received

JOHNS CREEK, Ga. — Stevi B’s Pizza Buffet has announced plans to add a new location in Johns Creek. Company officials say plans include adding two new locations in the market within the next two years. The first location is projected to open in the next three to six months, and the brand is accepting franchising inquiries. Stevi B’s Pizza offers an assortment of menu items, such as its signature loaded baked potato, hot wing and mac and cheese pizza and its thin crust Greek and chicken pesto option. The restaurant prides itself on its commitment to the community which includes school partnerships, Little League sponsorships and community events. Stevi B’s newest location is at 655 Atlanta Road Suite 606, Cumming.

FORSYTH COUNTY

24 • January, 2015 • NorthAtlantaBusinessPost.com

Commissioners approve modification to alcohol ordinance By KATHLEEN STURGEON kathleen@appenmediagroup.com FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. — Restaurants seeking to serve alcohol in Forsyth County can now do so much closer to churches and schools, after the Forsyth County Commission voted to amend the distance requirements for alcohol consumption on the premises licenses. The distance requirements for alcohol consumption on the premises licenses was reduced Dec. 18 from 100 yards to 20 yards from schools and churches. The distance would be measured as a straight line from property line to property line, and the licenses can be for distilled spirits, beer or wine. The Forsyth County Commissioners voted several times in order to get a final answer. In the end, the commission voted 3-1, with one recusal, to approve the new distance requirements. At an earlier meeting Dec. 4, the commissioners had voted on the topic, but the motion was tied. Chairman R.J. (Pete) Amos and Vice Chairman Cindy

The setbacks regarding package sales stay the same – wine and malt beverages sales would stay at 100 yards from a school; distilled spirits would stay at 100 yards from church and 200 yards from school.” Jodi Gardner, Director of communications for Forsyth County

Jones Mills voted in favor of reducing the distance requirements, while Commissioners Todd Levent and Jim Boff were opposed. Because Commissioner Brian Tam was absent, the vote was pending and moved to the next meeting. When it was Tam’s turn to vote, he decided to give a conditional recusal. “I’m still exploring if this will impact a situation I have,” Tam said. County Attorney Ken Jarrard said that because the vote was tied, it did not pass. “Since this matter is no longer sus-

ceptible to being approved by majority of the board,” said Jarrard, “the matter is defeated.” At the Dec. 18 meeting, a motion was made for reconsideration. Again, Tam did not vote due to his recusal. This time, however, Amos, Mills and Levent voted in favor of the change. Boff voted in opposition. Levent decided to change his vote after questioning if this vote will affect people who already have permits, to which Jarrard confirmed they will be grandfathered in. Previously, the ordinance stated that

BRIEFS & SHORTS: Forsyth County Local plastic surgeons win SharkTank innovation award CUMMING, Ga. — Plastic surgeons Dr. Hunter Moyer and Dr. Bahair Ghazi are founders of a new start-up company, AcCellerate Skin Rejuvenation System, in Forsyth ghazi Moyer County, which uses the patient’s own stem cells to improve healing after a chemical peel or laser resurfacing procedure. Moyer and Ghazi recently won the Plastic Surgery Foundation SharkTank award in Chicago for best new surgical innovation of 2014. For more information, visit www.accellerateskincare. com or call 404-713-9504.com or call 404-713-9504.

Sawnee EMC to buy utility-scale solar power CUMMING, Ga. — Sawnee Electric Membership Corporation announced Dec. 17 that its Board of Directors recently approved a 25-year power purchase agreement with Southern Power, a Southern Company subsidiary, to purchase 15 megawatts of solar capacity and the associated energy from a new photovoltaic (PV) solar project that will be constructed in Taylor County, Georgia. “We are very excited to be participating in this project, along with two other Georgia EMCs,” said Michael A. Goodroe, president and chief executive officer of Sawnee EMC. “This transaction is projected to provide our member-consumers with several long-term benefits, one of which is an affordable and reliable renewable energy source over the life of this agreement.” The solar facility, of which Sawnee will take 11.4

percent of its output, will be located on a 911-acre site in Taylor County. It will consist of approximately 1.6 million thin-film PV solar modules, which are mounted on single-axis tracking tables manufactured by First Solar. Construction of the project is scheduled to begin in September 2015, and it is expected to achieve commercial operation in the fourth quarter of 2016. “This is the second such solar transaction that our board has approved in the past few months,” said Blake House, vice president of member services. “The staff has been very focused on identifying and seeking board approval for sustainable, central station generation solutions that are in the best long-term interest of our members.” Earlier in 2014, Sawnee entered into a power purchase agreement with Green Power EMC for 10 megawatts of capacity and the associated energy from a PV facility located in Hazlehurst, Georgia. These two projects, along with Sawnee’s other committed renewable generation assets, expand Sawnee’s existing generation capacity from what is considered to be renewable resources.

Nothing Bundt Cakes ‘fresh from the oven’ in Cumming CUMMING, Ga. — Nothing Bundt Cakes has opened in the Collection at Forsyth at 410 Peachtree Parkway, Suite 104 in Cumming. The bakery celebrated with grand opening festivities, including a day to benefit Children’s Healthcare of Forsyth and Cake-A-Palooza, a fun family event. “Our Bundt cakes are so moist and delicious, you can’t help but fall in love with them,” said Jig Patel, local bakery owner. “Although our community is growing by leaps and bounds, it has that small town charm. I am so excited to bring Nothing Bundt Cakes to Cumming and to help our community celebrate birthdays and holidays and create delicious memories of their own.”

all businesses holding alcohol licenses must be 100 yards from churches and schools. This hurt restaurants that had alcohol consumption on premises licenses. “The change that was proposed was regarding the setback pertaining to licenses for consumption on premises,” said Jodi Gardner, director of communications for Forsyth County. “The setbacks regarding package sales stay the same – wine and malt beverages sales would stay at 100 yards from a school; distilled spirits would stay at 100 yards from church and 200 yards from school.” Also at the meeting, the commissioners granted an extension to the 90-day moratorium on enforcement of the message/copy frequency limitation of the Forsyth County sign ordinance for automated changeable copy signs. “The reason we can’t vote on it tonight is because we want more changes,” said Mills. “We came up with a whole new way of looking at it.”

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For more information, visit www.nothingbundtcakes.com.

Sprouts' new 31,000-square-foot store in Cumming will offer bulk foods, as well as meat, greens and breads.

Farmers market chain plans grand opening in Cumming CUMMING, Ga. — Sprouts Farmers Market, one of the fastest growing retailers in the country, will open its first store in Cumming at 7 a.m., Jan. 14. The new, 31,488-square-foot store, located at 530 Lakeland Plaza, Suite B, marks the fifth Sprouts store in Georgia. Sprouts is a health-conscious grocery store offering fresh, natural and organic food at competitive prices. The store will feature standard amenities (online ordering, Boars Head, fresh sushi, beer & wine and catering trays), as well newer amenities, like ready-to-eat prepared foods and a juice bar. Based in Phoenix, Sprouts employs more than 17,000 people and operates more than 190 stores in 10 states. Grand opening festivities will include muffin and coffee samples to those in line before the doors open, coupon give-aways and discounts. The grand opening festivities will continue through the following weekend with more awards for shoppers.

NorthAtlantaBusinessPost.com • January, 2015 • 25

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COBB COUNTY

Braves agree to purchase Genuine Parts site SMYRNA, Ga. — The Atlanta Braves announced an agreement to purchase the land that currently houses the headquarters of Genuine Parts Company, which neighbors SunTrust Park and the Braves’ mixed-use development site. Additionally, the club announced that it has signed a long-term partnership extension with NAPA Auto Parts. “We are excited to have entered into this agreement with the Braves and welcome them to the neighborhood. Likewise, they have been a great partner and we are thrilled to further extend our partnership,” said Tom Gallagher, Genuine Parts chairman and chief executive officer. “Our move will allow us to remain nearby in Cobb County and will create a corporate campus feel for all of our associates.” The Braves are evaluating options for the 9.5-acre property as part of their parking and transportation planning around the new development. The team has also signed a long-term partnership extension with NAPA, which has been a partner with the organization since 1997. “We have had such an incredible relationship with Genuine Parts and NAPA for many years, and we are pleased that it will continue for years to come,” said Mike Plant, Atlanta Braves executive vice president of business operations. SunTrust Park and the mixeduse development will open by Opening Day 2017.

Courtesy Atlanta Braves

Guests entering the site from Cobb Parkway will be greeted by a spectacular view into the development through to SunTrust Park. Restaurants and shops along a spacious main street will allow visitors and residents to satisfy a variety of dining desires, shop for the latest fashions and take advantage of unique retail offerings all year long.

BRIEFS & SHORTS: Cobb County Chattahoochee Tech’s paralegal program expands ACWORTH, Ga. — Chattahoochee Technical College is growing its paralegal certificate program. The program has expanded to offering courses on two campuses now – both Marietta and the North Metro campus in Acworth. “Paralegal jobs are projected as growing faster than average, and obtaining a certificate in paralegal studies will give the job candidate an edge over the competition,” said Cindy Holland, economic development coordinator. “Additionally, our program meets the requirements for certification by the National Association of Legal Assistants (NALA) if a graduate wishes to obtain a national certification.” The next classes are scheduled for February. Tuition is $139 per class or $278 each six weeks for those wanting to take both classes offered. No books are required for the classes. There is no application or registration fee for the classes. Prospective students should call to register at least five business days before the class is scheduled to begin. Call 770-528-4586 or email Cynthia.Holland@ ChattahoocheeTech.edu for a more detailed schedule and complete course listing.

AGT sponsors youth STEM initiative KENNESAW, Ga. — Applied Global Technologies (AGT) announced a partnership with the Vine City Code Crew, a new course-based initiative from the neighborhood of Vine City in Atlanta, which teaches the basics of computer coding to inner city youth. The Vine City Code Crew was launched by former AGT employee Jeremy Harms. “As a company, it is important for us to give back to the community whenever we can,” said Mark Cray, CEO of AGT. “Jeremy’s passion and work for this program is incredible and we look forward to watching the Vine City Code Crew grow.” The Vine City Code Crew officially launched in September after beginning its inaugural six-week course to 10 teenagers. “Having AGT be a part of supporting the Vine City Code Crew is particularly special to me personally,” Harms said. “AGT provided me with my start in my technology career, and I am so grateful for the leadership there and all my friends at the company over the years. AGT’s donation was a huge help in getting us to our goal of fully funding our first course.” AGT will act as a corporate sponsor of the initiative,

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providing monetary donations to help fund expenses associated with each course.

High Tech volunteers pitch in at homeless shelter SMYRNA, Ga. — 7 Bridges to Recovery, home to more than 100 women and children who have been rescued from homelessness, was the beneficiary of High Tech Ministries’ fall Serve@Work program recently. Technology professionals and High Tech Ministries gathered in early November to perform work at the facility, including the renovation and improvement of the 7 Bridges deck, walking track, storage shed and bike rack. Alpharetta-based Inradiem was one of five corporate sponsors for the three-day event. Other sponsors included Arketi Group, Blackfin Square, EMC and GM Voices. Twice a year, High Tech Ministries’ Serve@Work provides an opportunity for technology professionals from local companies to serve the broader Atlanta community. These service projects include a variety of construction, remodeling, landscaping and clean-up activities, which are made available to anyone who can help.

GWINNETT COUNTY

NorthAtlantaBusinessPost.com • January, 2015 • 27

Effect of recession lingers in Gwinnett Planning Department By PAT FOX pat@appenmediagroup.com LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. – It was a little over six years ago on a brisk November evening when Gwinnett County officials called a special news conference in Lawrenceville. County Administrator Jock Connell, always businesslike, appeared more somber than usual, seated at a table with two county commissioners and a handful of department heads. The economic downturn, Connell said, would force the county to take drastic measures in its Department of Planning and Development. Because building had slowed to a trickle, he said, the county would cut more than half its workforce in the department, ultimately trimming 99 positions from a pool of about 177 full- and part-time workers. “It was really awful,” said Planning Department Head Bryan Lackey. “We did most of that the first year in one week. Then, we had to do it again on a smaller scale the next year.” And even though building construc-

“We’re just now beginning to start thinking about getting back some employees. This past year was a stressful, busy year, especially in terms of inspections.” Bryan Lackey, planning department head

tion has recovered from 2008, today the planning department remains at 68 employees, about the same number it had after the cutbacks. There are an additional nine employees, but they are assigned to economic development and strategic infrastructure planning – two departments that merged into the agency several years ago. In fact, the entire county workforce has declined and remains 6 percent lower than the levels seen in 2008. “We’re just now beginning to start thinking about getting back some employees,” Lackey said. “This past year

was a stressful, busy year, especially in terms of inspections.” The staff cuts came as construction plunged in Gwinnett County. In 2008, the county recorded 7,800 building permits, down more than 4,000 from the year before and down almost 10,000 from 2005 when 17,000 permits were issued. After years of flat-lining during the recession, the numbers have improved. Building permits for 2014 were slightly off the recent high of 10,000 in 2012, but not by much. Lackey said all indications are for an increase in permits the coming

BRIEFS & SHORTS: Gwinnett County

Gwinnett County Building Permits Year Single family Total 2005 8,194 2006 6,615 2007 3,525 2008 1,054 2009 446 2010 762 2011 648 2012 1,183 2013 2,335 2014* 2,027

17,150 15,996 12,107 7,789 6,077 6,667 7,709 10,052 9,623 8,121

*Through November Source: Gwinnett County

year. That could also mean more workers in his office to meet the demand. “We do try to work as efficiently as possible, and we do have people in the administration talking about it, making sure we’re projecting back to them what our needs are,” he said. “They’re aware of our staffing situation and that if there’s a further uptick in construction, we’re going to need some assistance.”

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Recall Holdings acquires record management firm NORCROSS, Ga. — Recall Holdings, an international supplier of document and data protection services, recently made its sixth acquisition of the fiscal year with the purchase of Business Records Management for $77 million. The company also has completed the sale of its Secure Destruction Service business in Germany to Rhenus Data Office. Recall CEO Doug Pertz said he expects revenue growth for the year to approach double digits. Business Records Management provides secure storage facilities servicing more than 4,700 clients across Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, New York and Maryland. Over the past six months, Recall has completed six acquisitions; four in the U.S., one in Australia and one in the United Kingdom. The combined purchase price of all six acquisitions is approximately $109 million.

Companies form business to offer energy discounts NORCROSS, Ga. – Norcross-based Comverge and Constellation have completed a transaction to combine their commercial and industrial demand response businesses. The combined business will operate as a new standalone company named CPower. With the merger, CPower will be one of the largest demand response companies in North America. H.I.G. Capital, a middle-market private equity firm and the current owner of Comverge, will hold a majority ownership interest in CPower. Baltimore-based Constellation will retain a minority ownership interest. Former Comverge Chief Financial Officer John Horton will serve as president and CEO of the new company.

Gwinnett Tech students learned about logistics and supply chain at UPS.

Gwinnett Tech students meet UPS executives GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — Gwinnett Technical College students recently spent the day at United Parcel Service, hearing firsthand from UPS executives about the diversity of careers within the industry. “Our students had the chance to hear from UPS executives that logistics is the engine that runs all business operations and to hear about the diversity of professional careers that can be realized from the discipline of logistics and supply chain,” said Arebe Taylor, a Gwinnett Tech logistics instructor. Taylor and the 18 students who comprise GTC’s

first class of aspiring logistics professionals were joined by Karen Howard, curriculum program specialist with the Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG). Gwinnett Tech launched a logistics management concentration within the college’s business management program in fall 2014. Students may either earn an associate degree in business management with the logistics concentration, or complete a 17 credit hour logistics management specialist certificate. For more information, visit www.gwinnetttech.edu.

SOUND ADVICE

28 • January, 2015 • NorthAtlantaBusinessPost.com

Keep that money moving this year Brian Patton

brianpattonccim.com

Most folks are always looking for ways to save money and raise money, especially when it comes to considering a new year and all the possibilities it holds. After all, we work hard for our money and it’s painful to give it up to taxes. Likewise, it’s difficult to let your money sit there and not produce a return. When it comes to keeping your money moving and not sitting around as equity, sometimes you have to explore some out-of-the-box remedies. One of those solutions is the sale/ leaseback. If you are a business owner with some equity in a building you own, this is a wonderful way to raise capital for business expansion. The simple solution involves looking for an investor to buy your building and then you lease the building back from them. The advantages are many. You are able to structure the lease as you like. Want to stay another 10 years or 20 years? No problem. Many investors are looking for long-term, solid tenants to stay in their buildings. This creates a win for the investor too. The investor gets a tenant who is stable and committed to staying in the space. Want to spice the deal up a little bit too? You can ask to keep an equity stake in the deal too. So, in exchange for a higher rent, you might request to maintain a partial ownership in the real estate. An additional way to keep your money moving is through the 1031 exchange. A 1031 exchange helps to defer capital gains, which is the tax owed on selling income-producing property. A common misconception is that this strategy is for big business only. But, the average exchange is less than

$500,000, indicating that it is primarily a benefit to middle class taxpayers. Most people that use this are selling a rental house or property they received from an inheritance. Presently, capital gains, plus the Georgia state income tax, is hitting investors in the pocket book at almost 30 percent. But don’t despair, the 1031 exchange will help you get around this tax. The 1031 comes from the section of the IRS code that allows you to defer capital gains. In 1970, a family named Starker challenged the IRS’s ruling on capital gains and eventually won the court case against the IRS. A 1031 exchange merely allows you to swap properties without actually swapping the property. When you sell an investment property, IRS rules will allow you to purchase a “like” property, of equal or greater value, and defer the capital gains into the new property. A third party company, known as an exchange intermediary, that’s approved by the IRS will hold your funds from the sale of the first property until you are able to close on the second property. If done properly, this “exchange” will allow you to defer the capital gains until the sale, or another exchange, of this second property. It is possible, upon your death, to bequeath the property, and your heirs will not have to pay capital gains either. Through the use of the 1031 exchange, it is possible never to pay capital gains in your lifetime. Keeping your money moving is an important way to build wealth. Continue to use these strategies to keep money working for you, and you will find the new year full of possibilities and continued prosperity.

When it comes to keeping your money moving and not sitting around as equity, sometimes you have to explore some out-of-the-box remedies.

Brian Patton, CCIM is an author and trusted advisor on commercial real estate investments and development. He can be reached at 770-6344848 or via his website: www.BrianPattonCommercial.com.

Georgia must invest in infrastructure Brandon Beach Senator, Georgia’s 21st district

Since the Republicans became the majority in the Georgia House and Senate 12 years ago, we have done a great job of reducing the size and scope of government. Agencies are working with less people. For example, the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) 10 years ago had 10,000 employees; today they have 3,900 employees. Also from a reform standpoint, we have saved millions of taxpayer dollars with our criminal justice legislation. These are two examples of right-sizing government and saving taxpayer dollars. Another area that has declined is our motor fuel dollars. It has nothing to do with legislation and has more to do with an unsustainable funding model. Eight years ago, GDOT collected $1.3 billion in state motor fuel taxes (7.5 cents a gallon). Today GDOT collects $1 billion, a $300 million decrease in eight years. Why has this happened? Café standards from the automobile manufactures have increased. Cars are getting better fuel economy and electric vehicles sales have increased. Electric cars do not pay motor fuel taxes. The state of Georgia sells more Nissan Leaf electric cars than any other state in the nation. These cars are still putting wear and tear on our roads and bridges, but are paying nothing. We are at a crossroads. The state of Georgia is now the eighth largest state in population and continuing to grow. We have the 10th most mainline highway lanes in the nation and we have more than 14,000 bridges. The other problem we have is that we are heavily dependent on federal highway funds (68 percent of our total funding is federal dollars). In contrast, the state of Florida is 27 percent federally funded. Why does this matter? When you use federal dollars for capital projects, you must adhere to federal guidelines, which are cumbersome and time consuming. For example, if Georgia and Florida start on the same project at the same time, Florida, by using state funds instead of federal funds, will finish their project three years ahead of Georgia. That three-year time frame increases the cost of our project compared to theirs. Florida uses its federal dollars for resurfacing and maintenance, which do not require adherence to federal guidelines. We must wean ourselves off of the federal dollars. We have neglected our infrastructure for years and it is catching up to us with congestion and lack of mobility and a

We have neglected our infrastructure for years and it is catching up to us with congestion and lack of mobility and a crumbling road and bridge system. crumbling road and bridge system. We have not done a major infrastructure project since the early ‘90s when we were preparing for the 1996 Olympics. We recently had a joint House and Senate study committee to look at future funding for infrastructure for five, 10 and 20 years down the road. We went around the state and listened to the taxpayers. We went to the three areas where the T-SPLOST passed, and after two years, all three regions are happy that it passed. They stated, “We are getting road improvements that would not have been done for 10 years.” The mayor of Columbus testified before our committee and stated, “I was adamantly opposed to T-SPLOST, but after I have seen the results, I would be the biggest cheerleader if it were on the ballot now.” The committee all agreed that we must wean ourselves off of being so dependent on federal dollars and that we need an additional $1.0 to $1.5 billion in state revenue on top of our current $1 billion budget. There were several recommendations, and we will begin putting a piece of legislation together to address critical transportation funding. There is no one silver bullet that fixes our transportation needs; it will be a combination of several ideas. One thing is for sure, doing nothing is not an option. We cannot continue to kick the can down the road. We are going to need to show political courage and leadership and make some tough decisions. If we don’t address congestion, Georgia will no longer be focused on recruiting new jobs, Georgia will face a retention issue and jobs will leave our state. Investing in infrastructure is a sound investment that makes common sense! Brandon Beach is a Republican state senator from Alpharetta. He was appointed to the board of directors of the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority in 2004 by Gov. Sonny Perdue. He is also the longtime president and CEO of the Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce.

NorthAtlantaBusinessPost.com • January, 2015 • 29

CONNECT TO YOUR COMMUNITY July, 2014

NorthAtlantaBusinessPost.com

Tech capital

Alpharetta Mayor David Belle Isle makes case. PAGE 20

Deadline to advertise January 29

Hospital profiles

By the numbers on the hospitals north of Atlanta. PAGE 10 Volume I, Issue I • Part of Appen Media Group • Cherokee • Cobb • Forsyth • Fulton • Gwinnett • Hall

Land of innovation

Metro-Atlanta leads nation in health-tech. PAGE 12

Safety first

Hospitals with strict guidelines perform better. PAGE 15

Sprouting up

Sprouts Farmers Market opens in Snellville. PAGE 18

New tech saves limbs Dr. Greg Robertson of Emory Johns Creek uses a tiny laser camera to detect clogs in arteries which leads to lose of limbs. See story, page 8. EMORY JOHNS CREEK HOSPITAL

Roswell, Georgia — a classic, southern town where small business makes a big impact Learn more about how your small business can ﬁnd success in Roswell on page 26

February is our Banking and finance focus, so don’t miss out. We will cover: • By the numbers: Top banks and financial institutions • Women in business • How to get financing for your business growth

Reserve space today. Call 770-442-3278 or email advertising@appenmediagroup.com

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