Atlanta Intown - May 2018

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The land turn signals forgot

A couple of years ago in one of my letters, I mentioned that the use of turn signals by Atlanta motorists was on the decline. At this point, drivers have just stopped using them completely, and I’m on the verge of having a Howard Beale meltdown about it.

EDITOR’S LETTER

A study conducted by the Society of Automotive Engineers a few years ago indicated that drivers who failed to properly use turn signals caused 2 million accidents. I fear that I will soon join these statistical ranks, because Atlanta has become the land that turn signals forgot.

Collin Kelley collin@atlantaintownpaper.com

woodruffcenter.org/familyfun

Last month, it was a Wednesday I believe, I was driving back to the Old Fourth Ward from Decatur along DeKalb Avenue, which is problematic enough with its lack of turn lanes, potholes and the reversible lane that no one seems to know how to navigate. On three separate occasions, the car immediately in front of me came to a stop – or an almost stop – for no apparent reason, before making a wild turn into a driveway or parking lot. Nary a turn signal in sight.

A few days later, I was attempting to make a left on DeKalb Avenue at Krog Street. A car came barreling out of the dark tunnel from the Cabbagetown side and slowed down in the intersection before snatching their wheel to the left and zooming off toward Downtown. You guessed it, no turn signal.

I’ve actually lost count of the near misses I’ve had around the city because someone doesn’t know how to, or just doesn’t care, about using their turn signal. On Atlanta’s freeways, just forget about it. Leave plenty of room, because some yahoo is going to drift or cut into your lane without even thinking of using a signal.

I tried to come up with some reasons why Atlanta motorists have abandoned the use of their indicators, and I’ve narrowed it down to distracted driving, laziness, road rage and a complete breakdown in common courtesy.

$875,000

This winsome 1929 Tudor home will captivate you with its architectural charm and flattering updates. The kitchen and bathrooms were recently updated and are complemented by an amazing backyard, featuring a three-car garage and work room, nestled in the heart of desirable Druid Hills. Enjoy a location just minutes to Emory Village, Emory University, CDC, Fernbank Elementary School, award-winning International Baccalaureate schools and parks.

With the use of WAZE and other GPS systems, people are too busy listening to directions to actually signal. Or maybe they’re too busy texting or have their music cranked up so loud that not only is their car vibrating, but so is yours.

There’s also a fair amount of privilege involved, where people behind the wheel of their cars think they are the most important people on the road. How many times has someone aggressively cut in front of you on the Downtown Connector and almost caused an accident, but then they have the temerity to flip you off?

Maybe because of social media and lack of interpersonal skills, many people have just lost – or have no notion of – courtesy. Treating other people fairly in real life situations seems to have become a lost art, especially in these days of internet trolling and anonymity.

Here’s one idea that I’ve broached with friends and they’ve all looked at me like I’m a monster: regular driver retesting. Every five years, you have to retake the driving test in a real world situation – like DeKalb Ave at 5:30 p.m. or the Downtown Connector at 8:30 a.m.

Or maybe it’s time for cars to get even smarter. They can already break and park themselves, so how about plugging a vehicle’s steering into the GPS so that it automatically flips the indicator for you?

That will surely be peak laziness.

Family Fun at The Woodruff Arts Center is sponsored by the Lettie Pate Evans Foundation, which is part of the family of foundations that also includes the Robert W. Woodruff Foundation. The Lettie Pate Evans Foundation is an independent private foundation that invests primarily in education, arts, and culture.

The Neighborhood

All Aboard ‘The ATL’

MARTA to become part of larger regional transit system

MARTA will become part of a larger regional transit system branded as The ATL by 2023 following passage of a bill by the Georgia Legislature in the final hours of this year’s session. The bill has been sent to Gov. Nathan Deal, who has indicated he will sign it.

The legislation creates the Atlanta Region Transit Link Authority, or The ATL, which will be charged with regional transit planning for 13 counties in metro Atlanta. The region’s transit systems, including MARTA, CobbLinc, Gwinnett County Transit and GRTA’s Xpress service, will operate under a unified “The ATL” brand name by 2023.

“The passage of regional transit legislation is a major milestone for our region that will expand transportation options and better connect communities, improving quality of life for metro Atlanta residents,” Doug Hooker, Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) Executive Director, said in a media statement. “The establishment of a coordinated, regional transit network is critical to the region’s future and will help ensure our long-term economic success.”

The legislation, sponsored in the House by Rep. Kevin Tanner and in the Senate by Sen. Brandon Beach, provides a new transit funding option: Enabling counties to seek sales tax increases of up to 1 percent for up to 30 years to finance construction and operation. In addition, the 2019 state budget includes $100 million to fund transit projects statewide, including the Atlanta region.

The regional transit legislation provides flexibility and autonomy for member counties, who must “opt in” to any specific project or funding mechanism.

“Traffic congestion doesn’t stop at the city or county line. It’s a regional problem that requires a regional solution,” said Tanner. “Improving regional transit is also important for economic development, as many businesses are choosing to locate in places served by public transit.”

Beach led the push to unify the region’s transit providers under “The ATL” brand.

“Everyone knows metro Atlanta as the ATL,” Beach said. “Soon, you’ll be able to arrive at the ATL airport and hop on an ATL train – the branding will be consistent. The ATL is

something that we all identify with, across the region.”

A regional transit solution has long been sought by regional leadership, given that more than 60 percent of commuters leave their home county each day to get to their jobs. The solution has also been top of mind for the region’s residents: More than 94 percent of respondents to ARC’s 2017 Metro Atlanta Speaks poll said improving public transit is important to the region’s future.

Old Building, New Life Renderings unveiled for revitalized Old Fourth Ward school

By Collin Kelley Atlanta Public Schools

Superintendent Meria Carstarphen revealed renderings on her blog last month of the former Howard High School in Old Fourth Ward, which will be transformed into a new home for Inman Middle School in 2020.

First opened in 1924 as a grammar school, the 7-acre campus eventually became David T. Howard High School in 1948 and produced noted students like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Mayor Maynard H. Jackson, NBA Hall of Famer Walt “Clyde” Frazier and Olympic gold medalist Mildred McDaniel Singleton.

The school closed in 1976 and has since been used for APS office space and storage, while its sports fields have remained in active use.

Carstarphen said the Atlanta Board of Education has agreed to invest $52 million of Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) funds – $47 million from the SPLOST most recently approved in May 2016, $5 million from

the 2011 SPLOST –into the rebuilding of the campus.

APS is working with architecture, design and planning firm Stevens & Wilkinson, as well as with Lord Aeck Sargent, on the revitalization of the Howard Building. Carstarphen said due to the age of the property, extensive amounts of re-grading and site work are needed in order to bring the school site into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

She said the building will have state-of-the-art classrooms and common spaces, as well as safe pedestrian and bike routes from the Atlanta BeltLine Eastside Trail and Freedom Parkway Trail, substantial bicycle parking on-site and additional on-site parking.

ON THE AGENDA

MEETINGS

The Atlanta City Council meets May 7 and May 21 at 1 p.m. at City Hall, 55 Trinity Ave. For agendas and more information, visit citycouncil.atlantaga.gov.

The Decatur City Commission meets in open session on the first and third Mondays of each month at City Hall, 509 North McDonough Street, at 7:30 p.m.

NPU-E, which covers Midtown, Ansley Park, Home Park and Loring Heights, meets the first Tuesday of each month at 6:30 p.m. at Peachtree Christian Church, 1580 Peachtree St.

NEWS

The Atlanta City Council is considering an investigation into $518,000 in bonuses handed out by former Mayor Kasim Reed before he left office. Council President Felicia Moore called the unapproved bonuses “illegal.”

The City of Atlanta has reportedly spent more than $5 million to recover from a ransomware attack that crippled the city’s online services.

The city has launched the Fight the Blight initiative in Southwest Atlanta with the demolition of six dilapidated and blighted single-family properties. More demolitions are coming soon.

Mayor announces shakeup at city hall

A major shakeup at Atlanta City Hall was announced on April 27 when Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms announced she would replace seven of the city’s top officials.

The departures include Jim Beard, Chief Financial Officer; Jeremy Berry, City Attorney; Catherine Buell, President and CEO of the Atlanta Housing Authority; Faye DiMassimo, Renew Atlanta General Manager; Amy Phuong, Commissioner Parks and Recreation; Stephanie Stuckey, Chief Resilience Officer and Anne Torres, Communications Director.

On April 9, Bottoms asked all current cabinet members to submit their resignations. National searches are already underway to replace six other top level positions, including Aviation General Manager, Fire Chief, Chief Procurement Officer, Commissioner of Human Resources, Chief Information Officer and Chief Education Officers.

Separately, Melissa Mullinax, Senior Policy Advisor and Janquell Peters, Chief Service Officer will transition into

different roles within the city. Bottoms said in a statement:“In the weeks ahead, I will finalize new roles under a refreshed organizational chart. This restructuring will enable me to continue the momentum made during the first quarter of the year and effectively implement my strategy for making Atlanta a more affordable, resilient, and equitable city. I will continue to assess the breadth of skills, experiences and leadership traits needed to complete my leadership team, and will announce my nominations to fill these and other positions in the coming months. I am excited about the successes that lie ahead, and appreciate the service of these individuals to the city. I look forward to working with my new team to build an Atlanta that works for everyone.”

The departures and shuffling come as the city investigates $518,000 in bonuses handed down by departing Mayor Kasim Reed and a GBI investigation into violation of the state’s open records act that also happened during Reed’s tenure.

City to make finances, records more accessible

By Collin Kelley

The City of Atlanta will launch “Open Checkbook” in the coming months, an online portal that will allow the public to access city budgets, expenditures, salaries, contracts and business with city vendors.

“I am very pleased and excited that Atlanta is moving toward an online checkbook process that will advance our goals of transparency. This has been an issue of great importance to me for over four years,” said Atlanta City Council President Felicia Moore. “The public should celebrate their ability to view their money and how it is being spent online in a searchable and downloadable way. I’m excited Atlanta will move forward with being transparent and I’m hopeful we will soon find ourselves among the top cities that have made this very important issue a priority. I want to commend the mayor for her leadership on this issue and I applaud the mayor’s initiative.”

Open Checkbook is used by other governments, including Dallas, Austin, Washington D.C., New York and Massachusetts.

Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms also unveiled a plan to reform protocols for public records requests.

In a letter to the Atlanta City Council last month, Bottoms said she has directed the creation of a Citywide Open Records Compliance Policy to create consistent

protocols across all departments for handling requests of city records by residents and the media. There will also be training sessions for city employees on how to handle the requests.

Bottoms said a new website for open records would also be created with an online form for submitting a records requests.

The mayor said she would ask the council to amend the Atlanta City Code to make sure the city was more transparent and in compliance with the state-mandated open records act. Two of those amendments will include the designation of an Official Record Custodian and the creation of a hotline to receive complaints and concerns about non-compliance in records requests.

Atlanta to host marathon trials for 2020 Olympic

Atlanta will host the 2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials –Marathon for both men and women, according to a press statement from the Atlanta Track Club.

Kenah said.

The Atlanta Fulton County Public Library is considering a controversial addition of windows to the Central Library in Downtown, changing the façade of the Brutalist building designed by architect Marcel Breuer in 1977.

The USA Track & Field and the United States Olympic Committee made the announcement on Monday that the city will host the team trials on Feb. 29, 2020. Hosted by Atlanta Track Club as the local organizing committee, the trials will take place in conjunction with the Atlanta Marathon, which will be held the following day. The top three female and male finishers in the Olympic Trials who have met qualifying performance standards will be named to the U.S. Olympic Team that will compete at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.

Chattanooga, Austin and Orlando were also bidding to host the team trials event, but Atlanta, which famously hosted the 1996 Olympic Games, played on its legacy to help secure the event.

“We will deliver a race weekend where all qualifiers are treated like champions,” Atlanta Track Club Executive Director Rich

“Atlanta’s continued Olympic legacy will be an investment in the Olympic future. The future is not just those six athletes who represent us in Tokyo, but all of the athletes who qualify for the 2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Marathon.”

Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms

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Grant Park Conservancy to begin fundraising campaign

The Grant Park Conservancy is launching a campaign this month to raise $135,000 –in honor of the park’s 135th birthday – to continue its mission of protecting, enhancing and preserving the park while planning for its future needs and use, including caring for its ecological health, upgrading recreational facilities, and improving visitors’ experience.

“Fundraising is critical to implementing improvements to Grant Park. The Grant Park Conservancy operates entirely on donations made through grants, corporate gifts and sponsorships, individual donations and community fundraisers,” said Michelle Blackmon, Executive Director of the Grant Park Conservancy.

A sampling of the 135th anniversary campaign initiatives include: plant 135 trees; host over 20 Project G.R.A.N.T. workday sessions to eradicate invasive plants; perform structural tree pruning on trees throughout 25 acres of the park; install 12 more trash receptacles; spruce up the pool bathhouse with a new coat of pain; install a new picnic spot to prevent erosion and protect turf and trees and much more.

Additionally, Grant Park Conservancy will work with Park Pride’s Park Visioning Program to create a master plan for the Grant Park Gateway, the parking deck topped by amenities that will sit on eight acres at the southeast corner of the park.

“We are excited to begin community engagement process to envision what the southeast corner of the park slated for the Grant Park Gateway will become,” said Blackmon.

For more information, visit gpconservancy.org.

Planning for new Path400 park to begin in Buckhead

By Evelyn Andrews

The site of a former public school and one of Atlanta’s oldest family cemeteries is one step closer to becoming the newest park along PATH400.

Park Pride has selected the site of the Lowery-Stevens Cemetery and the former home of D.F. McClatchey Elementary School – now known as Loridans Park — for its 2018 park visioning program, according to a press release from Livable Buckhead, which applied to Park Pride for the visioning grant and spearheads PATH400. Loridans Park is located near Loridans Drive and Ga. 400.

Park Pride will now engage the local community in developing a master plan for the five-acre park, according to the release.

A 22-member steering committee has been formed to guide the planning process. It includes community residents and representatives of nearby Sarah Smith Elementary, NPU-B, Buckhead Heritage Society and the Buckhead Garden Club. Atlanta City Councilmember Howard Shook, who helped the city acquire the land, is also a member of the steering committee, the release said.

“The many layers of history on this site coupled with the strong community interest in how the park is developed made Loridans Park a great candidate for the community visioning process. We look forward to working with the Buckhead community on a plan that will meet the needs of the neighborhood and address concerns,” said Andrew White, the director of park visioning at Park Pride, in the release.

Starling previously said the Atlanta History Center and the Buckhead Heritage Society may help restore the Lowery-Stephens Cemetery and install some kind of interpretive history exhibit.

Livable Buckhead worked with the city of Atlanta parks department and Atlanta Public Schools to acquire the school parcel in 2016. The site is being combined with the adjacent cemetery, which had previously been acquired by the city from Fulton County, according to the release.

Pet Pick

Splinter is a curious young lady and she would love to go on new adventures with you! Her personality is puppy-like, but she has a quick mind and interest in everything, especially people. She likes to be with her pack and would be a great dog for someone looking for that one-on-one companion bond. We see her living out her days with someone who likes to be outside and explore as much as she does. Splinter is up to learning new things and so badly wants to find her forever family. She had a rough go starting out as puppy and suffered neglect, so she needs a special person who can show her the love she deserves. We know she’d love to be your hiking buddy or hunting compadre. For more information about adopting Splinter, visit PAWSAtlanta.org or visit the PAWS Atlanta shelter at 5287 Covington Highway in Decatur.

The old guy gets a new pair of shoes

TIMMY DADDY

By Tim Sullivan

My birthday is this month. But as I muddle through my middle 40’s the big day is more pfft than a party. Not that I’m particularly stressed out about getting older. It happens. There is essentially no difference between my friends that are five years older than me and those who are five years younger. But how we all compartmentalize mid-life may depend upon whether we have kids and if so, how harsh a lens they cast on us.

Margo doesn’t approach the topic quite as tenderly though. I had the Sirius XM tuned to the 80’s alternative station 1st Wave. From the back seat I hear, “Daddy, change the channel! 1st Wave means these are like, the first songs EVER.” And because I am old yet not wise enough I walked right into it “What do you mean? These are the songs I listened to when I was in high school.” “Exactly! The first songs EVER!”

So I got myself a few t-shirts with words on them. If you see me around town I may be wearing my Atlanta United tee (unique, I know). Then I may have jumped the shark by attempting to up my cool factor even further.

Tim Sullivan grew up in a large family in the Northeast and now lives with his small family in Oakhurst. He can be reached at tim@ sullivanfinerugs.com.

Lately, my kids have taken to age bashing with some vigor and I don’t really see this phase being short-lived. Elliott has a gentle touch at least. He’ll say things in the presence of his friends like “Dad, you used to be good at basketball, right?” He means it as a compliment, I think. It’s a way of conveying to his friends that even though he doesn’t have much in the way of firsthand knowledge, I wasn’t always quite this fossilized.

Again, Margo: “Daddy, why do you bother using styling gel when you barely have any hair?” It’s like Clyde Drexler asking why anyone who couldn’t dunk would even bother wearing sneakers. (And yes, I just referenced a basketball player who has been retired for a very long time. Dammit, maybe I AM old…). Last week she encouraged Kristen to get rollerblades so they could do it together. I asked what about me? Her way too quick retort was, “Not you, daddy. You’ll break your back.”

I applaud the kids for taking note of small details. It may make them decent writers someday or maybe even an FBI Director (or both). Sometimes I just wish I wasn’t their favorite subject to study. Margo said to me the other day, “You know how I know you’re old? Because you wear t-shirts with no words on them.” And it struck me because I had the same theory about my father when I was a kid. I thought dads must get to an age that wearing cool t-shirts just doesn’t matter anymore. That they must think, I’m only going to the hardware store, this shirt is fine.

family getaway Atlanta’s

I was scrolling through Facebook and an ad for a pair of shoes popped up for $39. Stylish genuine leather shoes looking nice! I was at work, quickly eating lunch before a meeting and it seemed like a great deal so I forgave the questionable grammar and just clicked the Buy button. Impulsive! On the interweb! Just like the young folks do!

The shoes are hideous. The stylish, brown shoes I thought I had purchased turned out to be a pair of orange Merkmaks (that is the brand name—my apologies to any brand devotees out there). They have breathing holes all over the top like you might find on a pair of running sneakers. I tried them on and Margo let out a spirited cackle conveying that of all my dorky dad anecdotes, these shoes may take

top honors. So this month I am no younger nor any cooler than I was before, and unless Kristen is throwing me a Miami Mambo themed birthday party, I may have a pair of shoes for sale.

CONGRATULATIONS

TO OUR 2017 TOP PRODUCERS

Photos by Asep Mawardi

A New Spin

The Laundry Centers provide clean clothes, community empowerment

By Clare S. Richie

The Laundry Centers, a pair of Laundromats on the Westside, are putting a new spin on entrepreneurship and community empowerment.

Located in the English Avenue and Grove Park neighborhoods, The Laundry Centers (or TLC as they are known) were founded by Marlena Norris with the goal of serving as a “community within the community.” Not only can you wash and dry your clothes, but there’s also a community garden and outdoor play area, and student tutoring and free education seminars are on the way this summer.

“A lot of really good things are going on – it’s not just about the clean laundry. It’s about the community and what the people in the community deserve. It’s about providing opportunities for economic empowerment and social engagement,” Marlena Norris said.

Three years ago, Norris left her corporate job as a senior executive in finance for InterContinental Hotels Group, Inc. to start TLC as her “encore career.” Her vision quickly extended beyond just an ordinary coin operated self-service laundry to a full-scale laundry service business.

“I found a location near English Avenue, purchased it and never looked back. It fueled a purpose in me that I, frankly, hadn’t recognized in all my years of being driven to protect shareholder value. I am now driven by a need to give back to communities in which TLC operates and be a catalyst for job creation,” Norris said.

Her first step was to change the course set by the former owner, who had paid employees low wages and “milked the business dry.”

“We renovated the bathroom, made cosmetic changes to give the location a fresh new look, raised employee pay and began engaging with the community, which was very receptive,” Norris said, noting that the free cookouts were a big hit.

As Norris learned more about the Grove Park community, which experienced a steady decline in population and property conditions over the past 50 years, she believed its residents deserved better.

That’s why she opened a second location last fall just four miles west down the parkway. But unlike her first small strip-mall site, the new TLC stood alone on three acres. Norris gutted and fully renovated the dilapidated corporate laundromat that was a McDonald’s decades ago. It now boasts new energy efficient equipment, fresh coffee, free Wi-Fi and a kids’ center with iPads.

“I wanted to be a pioneer for other small businesses who will come in to make investments into the neighborhood,” Norris said.

Her passion for making a difference led her to serve on the Grove Park Foundation Board that seeks to break the intergenerational cycle of poverty for its residents through intentional education, housing and community wellness.

“Being on the board helped me connect a lot of dots. It’s all about how can I form partnerships with other organizations who see the needs and are willing to invest in community

Photos by Adell Henderson

Top left: Marlena Norris and her family at The Laundry Centers.

Top right: Students from Georgia Tech paint the outdoor play area.

Bottom: Kids play with iPads while their parents do laundry.

programs that will be beneficial to the neighborhood constituents,” Norris shared.

With the help of the Emory Urban Health Initiative and Cruz’s Fishermen Inc., TLC is turning extra parking spaces into a community garden and has volunteers lined up to maintain it. A partnership with a Georgia Tech professor and her students already resulted in a hands-on CPR class. And onsite financial literacy classes on topics like credit repair and insurance are up next.

“I truly believe the laundry business today is about more than just clean clothes. You have a captive audience there for an hour. There are a lot of programs to inform and inspire,” Norris said.

Helping children with their homework is another way to pass the time while waiting for clothes to dry. “My husband has led the math tutoring program in our church for the last 10 years. We’ve been in discussions with a Georgia State University professor who’s interested in helping us start a summer math program,” Norris explained.

Expansion and growth in the commercial and retail segment are drivers to TLC’s long-term vision. “Increasing our ability to provide job opportunities to people in the community, we believe, will lead to an increase in recycled dollars inside the community and subsequently, an improved and thriving community. That’s my goal!”

JLL has been awarded the retail leasing assignment for Newport U.S. RE’s revitalization project of South Downtown.

JLL Director of Retail Agency Leasing Coleman Morris and Vice President Molly Morgan are leading retail leasing at the property. The company is also handling office leasing for the development, led by Vice President Brooke Dewey and Vice President Liz Koteles.

Newport, a Germany-based real estate company, is moving forward with plans to transform 47 existing buildings in an eight-block radius in South Downtown. The redevelopment will create a walkable urban neighborhood with retail, restaurants, loft residential units, creative office space and pedestrian plazas while retaining and restoring the historic buildings.

Other prospects include chef driven restaurants and coffee shops, food markets, breweries/ distilleries, fitness centers, art and entertainment venues and service users.

Newport will invest $500 million in the project, which will span several years and total 1.8 million square feet.

Renovations are set to begin in the third quarter of this year, with the first spaces set to deliver in 2019. A street concept plan for the redevelopment, approved by Atlanta City Council last October, will make improvements along Broad Street, Mitchell Street, Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and Peachtree Street – prioritizing the needs of pedestrians, cyclists and vehicles. To achieve its vision, Newport has partnered with a team of architects, including BLDGS, Smith Dalia Architects, S9 Architecture, MT Studio and Stevens & Wilkinson.

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In the cards

Modern Mystic offers tarot card readings, metaphysical tools at Ponce City Market

Three UPS Store Locations To Ser ve You!

Commerce Square Emor y Commons

Ansley Mall II

By Grace Huseth

Kelley Knight’s passion for spiritual growth and life coaching, plus the drive to uplift women, led her to open Modern Mystic at Ponce City Market.

“We have a heart centered business,” Knight said. “My life personally started to take off with my tarot reading business when I was able to integrate both sides of me and say, ‘This is me in my totality.’ I don’t have to pick one or the other.”

Knight opened Modern Mystic in 2016 as a contemporary metaphysical store. The space sells intentionally made goods that Knight was naturally drawn to, ranging from crystals and cards to pillows and prints. For the first six or nine months, Knight ran Modern Mystic by herself, opening the shop in the mornings and reading tarot cards in the afternoon, until Knight’s husband, Brandon, started working there full time last year. The shop has been so popular that it doubled its space last year.

“I’m actually very surprised by how much I love to run this business,” Knight said. “It’s interesting because I’m not particularly money motivated, but I love the fact that we created a store that’s helping people enrich their lives and connect with their intuition.”

Whether by reading energies or research, Knight says women have a sense of permission from culture to explore mysticism more freely than men. It’s a leaning she doesn’t condone, but it did help her recognize that Modern Mystic is popular with women between the ages of 25 to 45 years old. With a feminine feel in mind, Knight found it only fitting to employ a staff of women. Her team of eight is currently all female, each committed to building a community of spiritual growth.

“I feel so motivated to lift women up,” Knight said. “I’m so fortunate to be a female entrepreneur that gets to live a dream life. The more I step into that, the more I want that for everyone I get into contact with.”

Spiritual growth can often look similar to religious education. This past spring, Modern Mystic started offering Sunday school classes each week before the shop opens at 11 a.m. The hour-long classes cover a metaphysical topic and often include guest speakers from around Atlanta who discuss everything from the basics of meditation to angelic communication.

Modern Mystic is located on the second floor above the Central Food Hall at Ponce City Market, 675 Ponce de Leon Ave. For more, visit modernmysticshop.com.

Kelley Knight

BUSINESS BRIEFS

JLL and MetLife have proposed a mixed-use development on 3.8 acres at 1295 Spring Street south of 17th Street. The Midtown Development Review Committee heard the plan at its April 10 meeting. The development would consist of 600,000 square feet of office space, 255 room hotel, 350 residential units and nearly 100,000 square feet of grocery and retail uses at ground level.

Four Mile Capital and Kramer Real Estate Investments are completing restoration of the historic W.D. Grant Building in Downtown, six months after the companies acquired the building in a joint venture. JLL is handling leasing, management and restoration of the building. Improvements include new interior LED lighting, new ‘spec’ office suites, marble polishing and exterior power washing. In addition to these necessary cosmetic changes, ownership has completed critical infrastructure capital projects including a full roof system replacement, downspouts and parapet wall repairs, new HVAC equipment and is in the process of overhauling all four elevators in the circa 1898 building.

Time on the job WITHOUT PAIN.

The Atlanta Bicycle Barn is now the newest location for ElectroBike sales, rentals, accessories and service. The Bicycle Barn, located at 151 Sampson Street along the Atlanta BeltLine’s Eastside Trail, will continue to offer conventional bicycle rentals and sales, along with the newest models of ElectroBikes. The shop is open daily from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. ElectroBikes are state-of-the art, quiet, electric bicycles powered by a rechargeable Lithium ion battery. All of the models can be operated like traditional bicycles, or the rider can turn on the electric motor to engage the pedal assist feature or throttle. For more information, visit electrobikega.com.

A new pop-up shop from The LB Brand is now open at Ponce City Market offering a full line of apparel for women, men and children, alongside unique accessories and cool home decor. For more information, visit thelbbrand.com.

Painting with a Twist has opened in Edgewood Retail District at 1230 Caroline Street, Suite 240. Guests can create their own artwork at the space as well as bring their own drinks and snacks. Find out more at paintingwithatwist.com.

No18, which offers shared, flexible workspace, will open at The Shops Buckhead Atlanta this fall at 3017 Bolling Way in a 32,000 square feet space.

Lyft, which is now the official rideshare sponsor of The Woodruff Arts Center, has established two dedicated pick-up and drop-off locations at the Midtown arts venue to simplify travel before and after a visit.

Continued on page 22

Also at Ponce City Market, Coco + Mischa has expanded to its own permanent space offering vintage clothing, accessories and décor. Find out more at cocoandmischa. com.

Atlanta’s GYN & Surgical Specialists

Continued from page 20

Wellspring Treasures has closed its thrift store at Toco Hills shopping center, according to Tomorrow’s News Today. The thrift shop provided funding for coaching and community integration for survivors of sexual exploitation. The group’s other locations in Duluth and Peachtree City will remain open.

IS THERMIva RIGHT FOR YOU?

Has child birth or menopause relaxed or stretched your feminine tissue?

· Do you occasionally dribble or leak when you sneeze, cough or exercise?

· Have you ever “not quite made it” to the bathroom on time?

“Party bike” service Southern Pedaler is now offering alternative transportation to local restaurants, bars, and other attractions in Midtown and Downtown. The large party bike can hold 15 people, while the smaller version holds 6. Everyone helps pedal the vehicle, which resembles a streetcar, while a “pedal guide” steers. For more information, visit southernpedaler. com.

A new 157-room Element Hotel is planned for Downtown at Marietta and Mill streets near Centennial Olympic Park, according to Curbed Atlanta. Element is also planning to build a hotel near the Fox Theatre in Midtown.

Jessica Killeen, APRN; Obiamaka Mora, MD, FACOG; Kadie Simonds, APRN; Lynley Durrett, MD, FACOG

Home & Real Estate

Hot! Hot! Hot!

Demand remains high for Intown condos and townhomes

By Kathy Dean

New condo and townhome communities continue to spread across the metro Atlanta landscape, and homebuyers can’t seem to get enough. Quite a few new projects are coming available. Still, there’s room for more.

“Condo and townhome inventory continues to be at an all-time low in all Atlanta submarkets. One indicator of market conditions is the statistic that tracks months of inventory,” said Anne Schwall, Vice President of Developer Services at Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby’s International Realty. “In Buckhead, months of inventory has hovered at three months or less since January 2017.” She explained that a market is considered favorable for sellers when there’s four months of inventory or less.

Schwall reported that, in the first quarter of 2018, 351 condos/townhomes were sold in Buckhead, and 325 condos/townhomes sold in Midtown. “Shortage in inventory is especially apparent in Midtown condo sales where many condos coming to market are seeing multiple offers, resulting in condos selling for higher than list price,” she said.

Buyers have gravitated to townhome communities because they allow a maintenance-free lifestyle they can’t experience in single-family homes in desirable walkable neighborhoods.

Despite the low supply, existing condos in 2017 sold at a faster rate than in 2016 and at higher prices, according Christa Huffstickler, president and CEO, Engel & Völkers Atlanta.

“Buyers are increasingly demanding homes in the city’s core, allowing amenity-rich, centrally located developments to thrive under current conditions,” Huffstickler said. “New construction Intown condo projects like 40 West 12th, The Sutton and No.2 Opus Place are expected to come online in the next few years, so it will be interesting to observe their effects on the market.”

Huffstickler noted that buyers want high-end design features – chef’s kitchens, expansive master suites, terraces or patios – but what’s just outside the home is also a major factor. “Location isn’t just about a shorter commute, it’s about the lifestyle, and Intown offers a rich suite of amenities just outside your front door in your choice of several vibrant neighborhoods. Buying an Intown condo gives you that coveted walkable, culturally-connected lifestyle…and it’s low maintenance, so it’s a win-win for today’s city dwellers.”

David Tufts, president/principal, Ansley Developer Services, predicted that with the three-month supply of new inventory in most Intown markets, “the projects that are being planned are likely not going to move the needle on inventory shortages.”

He pointed to a long list of new developments that have buyers excited. Buckhead Park North, luxury townhomes on Peachtree Street, start at $1 million. The 17 homes have classically elegant, elevator-ready interiors, and rooftop terraces that offer breathtaking city views.

Also in Buckhead, Broadview Place is a new community

in the Lindbergh neighborhood that features 33 sophisticated 3-story townhomes ranging from the $300s to $400s. Residents enjoy Intown living and walkability along with a modern open floor plan and small, semi-private yard. With pre-construction pricing that starts in the $900s, Belvedere on Peachtree’s 20 townhomes, with 3 or 3.5 bedrooms, boast a Peachtree Street location and finishes like hardwood floors and top-of-the-line appliances.

The townhomes at 3700 Peachtree in Brookhaven give homebuyers open layouts, high ceilings and elegant finishes. Available homes offer 3- to 3.5 bedroom and range in price from the high $700s to low $800s. The Swift sits in the heart of the Grant Park community, near a future branch of the southeast BeltLine. Pricing starts from the $390s for the townhomes with urban styling and modern amenities that include a community garden and social lawn.

“Townhomes and condos offer a happy medium between a single-family home and an apartment,” said Huffstickler. “It’s an investment opportunity. There are a variety of space and floorplan options and many condo buildings are offering amenities you’d normally find at a luxury hotel.”

In Midtown, it’s all about condos and who offers the best lifestyle, the best amenities and the homes with the best views and design touches, Huffstickler said. “Buyers want to live in mixed-use settings, whether in the context of a master-planned community like Atlantic Station or on Peachtree Street with walkable access to shops, dining, entertainment and daily errands.”

She reports that there’s been a lot of early interest for 40 West 12th, which will be part of Selig Development’s new Midtown project with an Autograph Collection hotel, retail and office spaces. Sales for the 73 luxury condos will start this summer. The condos start in the $500s and top out at $1.3 million, targeting the underserved “move-up” market, according to Huffstickler. Features are uniquely tailored to the Midtown lifestyle and include a one-acre sky garden, onsite bike facility, residential concierge and access to all hotel amenities.

“Many people are looking for an easier lifestyle but still want the feel and space of a single-family home,” said Tacha Costner, Intown Real Estate Expert at Ansley Atlanta Real Estate & Ansley Developer Services.

“There’s a big demand from empty nesters moving into town who are looking for a lifestyle change, but still need space for all their prized possessions.”

The Residences at Studioplex is a new Thrive Homes development that sits directly on the Eastside Trail of the Atlanta BeltLine in the Old Fourth Ward neighborhood. Nineteen luxury townhomes, starting at the pre-construction price of $1.2 million, will be built above SPX Alley, space that will house specialized shops and exceptional restaurants. Residents can choose from 4- or 4.5-bedroom layouts with features that

Continued on page 26

The Charles Dowling at the Park

Continued from page 24

include floor-to-ceiling windows, custom kitchens, indoor fireplaces and handcrafted millwork.

“This is Atlanta’s ocean front property,” Costner said of the BeltLine location, and reported that the demand has been incredible. Phase One is sold out, but precompletion prices are still available for the next phase.

“Prime location has always been a key factor in the success of real estate and that is why projects such as the Residences at StudioPlex are able to break the price barrier for Old Fourth Ward, achieving a price tag over a million dollars,” Schwall said.

“Other projects such as the new condo project in Buckhead, The Sutton, provides an ideal location within walking distance to the Shops at Buckhead Atlanta and allows buyers breathtaking views of downtown.” She added that what sets the high-rise condos in Buckhead Village apart from other typical Buckhead projects is the attainable price point of homes starting in the mid $500s. “The Sutton opened for sales in late February and buyers have flocked to take advantage of this amenity-rich building in the heart of Buckhead at these great attainable price points,” Schwall said.

The Charles Buckhead, another new condo project in Buckhead, is now 60 percent sold, she reported. “The Charles allows buyers an opportunity to have a spacious well-appointed home right in the heart of Buckhead Village,” Schwall said. “Buyers enjoy large outdoor terraces with room for fireplaces and outdoor kitchens. Homes have designer Gaggenau appliances, custom Pedini cabinetry and Franke fixtures.”

Dowling at the Park, on 14th Street in Midtown, allows residents to enjoy the Ansley Park lifestyle just steps from Piedmont Park and Colony Square. Eight luxury flats, ranging from $1.6 to $2 million, are expected to be move-in ready next spring. There are many highlights, which include 10-foot ceilings with abundant natural light, outdoor living rooms with fireplaces and controlled access entry.

According to Abby King, Associate Broker, Ansley Atlanta, the homes provide

lock-and-leave living at its best. “The Dowling offers all the finishes of a high-end home, and the low maintenance lifestyle appeals to a large range of buyers who want to create equity but don’t want the burden of maintaining a large home or yard.”

King said that there has been phenomenal interest, and one of the penthouses is already under contract. “We see this as a bellwether to the success of the community,” she said. “This is a unique

offering in that it’s a boutique property with all of the high end finishes that one would expect in a $3 million single-family home. During this early phase, home customization is possible.”

Tufts noted a couple more projects that are drawing great interest, like the 24 modern townhomes of Ironside East Atlanta, with pre-construction prices from the high $400s. Located at Flat Shoals and Glenwood, the townhomes offer private patios and balconies, custom lighting, concrete countertops and unique tile.

Eighty percent of the condos at 764 Memorial in Cabbagetown are already sold. The 24 1- and 2-bedroom condos, starting in the high $200s, feature 10-foot ceilings, sealed concrete floors and quartz countertops. The controlled-access building has street-level retail and a rooftop deck with a fireplace.

Other popular choices for Intown

3700 Peachtree

Buckhead Park North

homebuyers include: MODA Lavista, with 36 Intown homes available in 3-, 4- and 5-bedrooms, starting in the $500s and delivering this fall; MODA Decatur, offering 3- and 4-bedroom townhomes that start in the $700s located 10 minutes from Decatur Square; and MODA Reynoldstown, 1- and 2-bedroom condos a short walk from Inman Park, starting in the $200s.

“The Atlantic is also doing well, with over 100 homes sold last year after a conversion from apartments to condos,” Huffstickler said. “People love being part of a walkable neighborhood with Target, Publix and a movie theatre while having easy access to Midtown’s main business district through a free shuttle.”

The 2- and 3-bedroom homes in the art deco tower are priced from the $500s to $1,400,000, and offer all-new floorplans, stunning skyline views and white glove amenities.

Huffstickler reported that townhomes are the hot product in Atlanta’s traditionally upscale submarkets further north.

“Brookhaven Wilshire offers ultra-stylish townhomes by Harrison Design, so you get that luxury home feel

Intown and in the Mountains

Bill Gilmore

inside and can walk to Town Brookhaven and other area hotspots right nearby,” she said. The townhomes are priced in the $800s, and offer covered terraces and a private, gated entrance.

“They’re large – four stories and over 3,700 square feet – and offer a lock-and-go lifestyle without sacrificing the space of a single-family home. It’s perfect for a submarket like Brookhaven that balances the best of both the city and the suburbs.”

All this development goes back to the real estate market’s downturn, Schwall explained. Developers took advantage of lower land prices and began buying up smaller in-fill lots in neighborhoods that were being primed for new mixed-use developments such as Ponce City Market.

“Over the last several years, these lots have been developed into new townhome communities that give buyers the ability to live in new homes with upgrades, finishes and features in the most desirable and trendy neighborhoods,” Schwall said.

That looks like exactly what Intown homebuyers want.

Ansley Above the Park - Unit 1207

Magnificent Renovation - Downtown and Piedmont Park Views SOLD $440,000 MLS 5982886

1-828-526-8128 - Office 1-404-455-5712 - Cell www.highlandscoverealty.com NC license 283355

404-455-5712 - Cell 404-876-4901 - PHP Office William.Gilmore@comcast.net GA license 359350

CARMEN POPE

c. 404.625.4134 o. 404.874.0300 carmenpope@atlantafinehomes.com atlantafinehomes.com // sir.com

For an exceptional real estate experience, give me a call. I am your dedicated real estate expert with more than 20 years of experience!

The Sutton Buckhead

The Swift

764 Memorial

The Belvedere on Peachtree

Each office independently owned and operated.

Every child can excel with 21st Century STEM Academy

Plugging In

Shipping containers offer affordable housing, entrepreneurial space alternative

By Clare S. Richie

21Century STEM st Academy is a globallyengaged, accredited, human-scale K-12 school in an inspirational environment led by accomplished teachers. Students thrive through individualized and personalized education, featuring UC Davis math and coding, recognizing the interdependency of STEM and liberal arts.

Schedule

1549 Clairmont Rd, Decatur GA 30033

404•618•3599

Small classes and project-enhanced mastery-based learning with one-to-one tutoring motivate every child to achieve their highest potential.

ReJuve, an Atlanta-based, women-and minorityowned nonprofit recently launched Plug-In-Pods, shipping containers repurposed as affordable housing and entrepreneurial spaces in low-wealth communities.

It started as an ifundwomen.org crowdfunding campaign to build a prototype, which recently led to a contract in the 31-acre Pittsburgh Yards development along the Southside BeltLine corridor.

“It’s a holistic approach to community development. How do we disrupt the displacement of low-wealth communities, of seniors and veterans? By providing equitable space where people come together to solve problems,” ReJuve founder Wanona Satcher said. “It’s about identifying real problems, developing new systems and investing in people.”

Satcher’s vision is a culmination of her professional experiences in landscape architecture, city planning, economic development and community engagement. Her idea six years ago on behalf of the city of Durham, North Carolina to transform dilapidated properties into community lab spaces was a Bloomberg Philanthropies National Innovation Program finalist.

After retiring from government and heading back home to Atlanta, Satcher sought to use containers as a quicker cost effective approach “to create quality equitable communities and build local economic capacity.”

“Plug-In-Pods name came from the notion of not telling residents how they should live, but plugging into the existing context,” Satcher said. “Residents should always be at the front-end of any engagement process.”

Though used overseas and in other U.S. cities, this concept received mixed reactions in Atlanta. “People say ‘I’ve seen that on HGTV, that’s awesome’ or ‘why would you want to live in something like that?” Satcher said.

She’s eager to show that she can design and construct these pods in a way that’s comfortable, secure and affordable.

It’s a tool to help alleviate displacement. “For example, our goal for a senior in fear of being displaced is to have a rental Plug-In-Pod behind their house for a millennial or a veteran. This allows the resident to stay, gain income and have a sense of companionship,” Satcher said. “Our biggest challenge is the current City of Atlanta zoning code. We hope the ability to build accessory dwelling units expands to larger sections of the city.”

With 60 percent of her $20,000 ifundwomen.org goal met, Satcher began the 160 square feet prototype in West End. It will serve as her ReJuve office, and a compelling model for other homeowners, renters, start-ups and community services.

“They create a necessary buzz as communities see a new business, community space or mobile clinic on the ground quicker than what they have been promised in the future,” Satcher said. And the containers can be replaced by a more permanent structure when a startup has gained traction.

The Anne E. Casey Foundation took notice of the prototype campaign and hired ReJuve to build two Plug-In-Pods for the mixed-use Pittsburgh Yards project in Southwest Atlanta.

“It’s exciting because my family is originally from the Pittsburgh neighborhood,” Satcher said. One pod is for storage and the other is for an office space. A covered courtyard between the two will serve as an outdoor community meeting space.

“Developers love that you can quickly activate a site with the pods, generate income and move them to make way for more development,” Satcher said. Depending on the use, she can build a space in half the time and for half the cost of construction.

Her sustainable innovative pods have also caught the eye of the state. “We heard that the Department of Community Affairs is highly interested in figuring out how to certify these kinds of buildings in a way that makes the inspections process easier,” Satcher added. “We’re here to help.”

Satcher believes Plug-In-Pods should also be a major part of the city and state workforce development conversations.

“I can hire people from the community to build a very simple building and provide practical experience for students,” Satcher said. She’s already connected with Atlanta Technical College’s Construction Worker Certificate Program.

Taking her vision to scale will require additional funding and more partners. With a large manufacturing space on the Westside, Satcher could produce more Plug-in-Pods ideally for affordable housing and small viable commercial spaces.

“It would be great to connect with the BeltLine and the Mayor’s new blighted properties program,” Satcher said.

“There’s an opportunity to reutilize existing materials, practice sustainability, promote economic development and design for equity in a way that can challenge this notion of gentrification and displacement in a growing city like Atlanta. That’s really what it’s about.”

For more information and to donate, visit ifundwomen.com/projects/plug-in-pods.

Wanona Satcher, pictured above, and a rendering for one of the shipping containers transformed into a home.

The team at Candler Park-based Balance Design is back this month with ideas how to make your home more comfortable and authentic. Here are 8 tips from Balance Design’s interior designers that you may not have heard before. Find out more at balancedesignatlanta.com.

Invest in what matters. Like rugs, a sofa should be something you pay close attention to the quality of. A good sofa should last 15 years, so make sure it’s one you love and feel comfortable in.

Start with the rug, and make it a good one. If you begin with a well-made wool (preferably handknotted) rug, you can build the room around it. It’s a lot harder to find a rug that works in your color palette than it is to base your color choices on the rug you love. Plus, a quality rug will withstand guests, pets and life in general.

When selecting lighting, make sure to take notice of electrical outlet access. You don’t want to fall in love with the perfect lamp only to realize you have nowhere to plug it in!

Choose art that you feel connected to. Meet the artist, research the piece, shop local –whatever makes a piece of art near and dear to you. It’s going to give personality to your space and tell a story through you.

Forget what you may have heard about bold color. Often times using bright/bold/dark colors will make your space look bigger, not smaller, and it’s always a good way to bring some vitality to a room.

Measure your space before making purchases. This will help you determine the scale of furniture you need, which is usually the biggest issue people run into: buying too big.

Good window treatments finish a room, but they’re more complicated than you think. Hire a professional to take measurements, suggest hardware and install them.

Stay true to yourself. What do you want from your home? What is your lifestyle like? Make sure that your space is visually pleasing to you but also functions in the way you need it to.

BIKE THE BELTLINE YOUR WAY

Fun Versatile Quiet

Eastside Trail Update

BeltLine getting new homes, retail and information center

ElectroBikes are now available at the Atlanta Bicycle Barn right on the Beltine. Rent or purchase an ElectroBike and enjoy power when you want it.

Atlanta Bicycle Barn

Rentals, Sales, Service

151 Sampson Street, NE

Atlanta, GA 30312

Open Daily 10 a.m. - 7 p.m. www.ATLBikeBarn.com

ElectroBike Georgia

Sales, Service, Accessories

2484 Briarcliff Road

Atlanta, GA 30329

Open Tuesday-Sunday www.ElectroBikeGA.com

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Thrive Homes is building 19 townhomes along the Eastside Trail to be called The Residences at Studioplex. The four-story, $1.2 million homes will feature elevators and other luxury amenities. On the ground level, known as SPX Alley, there will be retail and restaurants, including Beetnix Superfood & Juice Bar, ice cream from Butter & Cream, Freedom Barber Co., Hawkers Asian Street Food, cocktails at The James Room, margaritas and Mexican food at Guac Y Margy’s, and fitness from Madabolic and Dancing Dogs Yoga.

The Edge development from North American Properties and Vantage Realty will straddle both sides of the Eastside Trail between Edgewood Avenue and DeKalb Avenue. There will be 350 apartments, 29,000 square feet of retail and restaurants and loft office space. Shake Shack, Cold Beer on the BeltLine from Chef Kevin Gillespie and a wine and coffee bar called Hazel & Jane have already been announced.

The Atlanta BeltLine Center located in the Stove Works opened on April 28. The space allows visitors to drop in and find out more about BeltLine projects and events, plus pick up some branded merchandise. The center’s operating hours are Monday through Friday, 4 to 8 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. More information on the center can be found at BeltLine.org/beltlinecenter.

History inspires bold design at MLK Jr. Recreation Center

Perspectives in Architecture

By Melody Harclerode

Architects create building designs inspired by factors such as the project site, environment, construction budget, building users and historical references. In 1927, Oliver Vinour of the architectural firm, Marye, Alger, and Vinour, evoked the heritage of the Shriners of Atlanta with his romantic interpretation of the historical Islamic architecture for the design of the organization’s headquarters. To offset the anticipated financial burden of this new building with sweeping domes and ornamentation, the Shriners leased the auditorium to movie theater mogul William Fox. The businessman and future building owner declared bankruptcy in 1932, yet the Fox Theatre, the opulent concert and event venue bearing his name, thrives today with large audiences.

For the Martin Luther King Jr. Recreation and Aquatic Center in the Old Fourth Ward, global architecture and design firm Perkins+Will, in partnership with KAI Architects, celebrates civil rights hero Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and civil rights history with their inventive building design. Perkins+Will Design Principal Kenneth Luker describes the center as “an example of the good we can accomplish working together.” Observing

the surrounding community, the architect orients the main entrance and the portrait of Dr. King on the exterior skin toward the nearby King Memorial MARTA Station rather than the distant downtown skyline. This orientation offers the most visibility and public exposure for this noteworthy portion of the building.

As visitors approach the entrance, they are immediately drawn to the glass exterior wall with a view of the enormous public pool inside. An amenity once used to promote racial segregation, the transparency of the pool area represents the civil right progress achieved by King and countless leaders through public access to pools, places and institutions. The lobby runs parallel to the street, thereby expressing the center as an expansion of the street life of the city and the civic fabric of the local community. This light-filled corridor with poignant images of the King family provides easy access to a multi-use gymnasium, an indoor track, a climbing wall area, classrooms and other interior spaces.

With his provocative references to history and playful use of aluminum siding and glass on the exterior, Luker generates a bold building design that animates the relevance of Martin Luther King Jr. and his civil rights work fifty years after his death. The local community has enthusiastically supported this center since the October 2017 completion. A recreational, historical and architectural gem, the Martin Luther King Jr. Recreation and Aquatic Center, in the hands of an inspired designer, abounds in inspiration for all.

Melody L. Harclerode, AIA, promotes significant historical, cultural, and natural sites as an organizational leader, architect and writer.

Left: The interior, elevated running track. Center: The MLK Jr. Recreation and Aquatic Center’s swimming pool. Right: The center’s climbing wall.

Photos courtesy Perkins + Will

Arnau Missy Derr Ken Covers Kit Eisterhold Mandi Robertson Michael Gaddy Nancy Guss Wil Hackman Kellum Smith

Ashlee Heath Juan Jaramillo Jana Kato Jimmy Kirkley Judy Kuniansky Chuck Hayes Justine Lee Tom Fahey Emily Windham

E Dunn Construction has begun work on AMLI Oak Valley, a multifamily community featuring a 24-story tower and a five-story mid-rise, which together will deliver 391 luxury apartments near Lenox Square in Buckhead. The 370,000-square-foot concrete tower will provide 307 apartments; the 95,000-square-foot wood, mid-rise building will have 84 apartments. The community will offer one-, two- and three-bedroom apartment homes with a variety of interior features including floor-to-ceiling windows and 10-foot ceilings, as well as outdoor and studio fitness facilities, clubrooms and terrace, pool and outdoor deck among the amenities. The project will be completed in 2019.

The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta announces the GoATL Fund, an impact investment fund designed to support long term sustainability of programs and solutions that address the region’s areas of greatest need. GoATL’s first investment, a $750,000 commitment to Atlanta Neighborhood Development Partnership, will help grow their successful single-family revitalization programs in order to expand housing affordability in targeted neighborhoods in the region. For more information, visit cfgreateratlanta.org.

Engel & Völkers Buckhead Atlanta and residential homebuilder Rockhaven Homes have officially announced a new townhome community, Heights at Grant Park.The three and four bedroom townhomes, starting from the low $300s, is located along the Atlanta BeltLine corridor. For more information, visit rockhavenga.com.

SET Real Estate Group, a top-producing real estate team led by David Sirzyk, Inna Eidelman and Mike Toltzis, have affiliated with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage’s Intown office The group has also added agent Pailey Nooromid and operations manager Leslie Evans to the team.

Nearly 500 pet lovers attended the annual Bow Wow Brunch at Flourish in Buckhead recently, raising $600,000 for the Atlanta Humane Society. Lisa and Paul Brown and Cindy and Bill Voyles co-chaired the event. Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby’s International Realty CEO and Co-Founder Jenny Pruitt received the organization’s top honor as she was named the Anne Cox Chambers Humane Heroine.

Debra Johnston with Berkshire Hathaway Home Services Georgia Properties has been honored as the Number 5 top-ranking agent in the 8,000-plus membership of the Atlanta Realtors Association with more than $40,500,000 in sales volume.

Morningside resident and realtor, Ken Covers, with Engel & Völkers Intown Atlanta, recently competed in the ballroom dance competition Dancing Stars of Atlanta 2018, raising $105,000 for the Alzheimers Association, Georgia Chapter. Covers was dancing for his mother, who has Alzheimer’s and recently moved into an assisted living facility. The gala raised nearly $1 million for the Alzheimer’s Association.

The 2018 Jury of Fellows from the American Institute of Architects (AIA) elevated 152 AIA members to its prestigious College of Fellows, an honor awarded to members who have made significant contributions to the profession. Two of the local Fellows are Melody Harclerode – Executive Director of the Sandy Springs Conservancy, co-founder of Discover Architecture and a regular contributor to Atlanta INtown – and Robert J. Svedberg – a principal at tvsdesign with a focus on convention centers in North America and China.

Shutze Awards

Annual dinner honors architects and designers

The 12th annual Shutze Awards Dinner was hosted by the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art’s Southeast Chapter recently at the Piedmont Driving Club in Midtown.

The award winners, saluted for their design excellence in the classical tradition, included the following architects and designers in specific categories:

• Student/Emerging Professional:

Jacques P. Levet, Jr.

• Residential Architecture – Under 5,000 square feet: Jeffrey Dungan Architects

• Residential Interior Design – Over 5,000 square feet: G. P. Schafer Architect

• Landscape/Garden Design: Alex Smith Garden Design, Ltd.

• Artisanship-Craftsmanship: Wendy M. Graham

• Residential Interior Design – Under 5,000 square feet: Tammy Connor Interior Design

• Residential Renovation: D. Stanley Dixon, Architect

• Institutional: McCrery Architects

• Residential Architecture – Over 5,000 square feet: G. P. Schafer Architect

• Stewardship – Restoration: Shawn Henderson

The awards are named after famed Atlanta architect Philip Trammell Shutze, known for designing some of the city’s most beloved buildings including the Swan House, Academy of Medcine, East Lake Golf Course Clubhouse, The Temple and many more.

Photos by Ross Henderson

Above: Shutze Awards Chair Laura Howard and ICAA-Southeast Chapter Board President Jon Berndsen chat at the reception for Shutze Award winners.

Below: Chad Holman, managing director of Presenting Sponsor Jim Thompson Fabrics, enjoys visiting with guests prior to the Shutze Awards Dinner.

Pictured: Ken Covers with dance partner Morgan Hendrix.

Reading List: Three women and their landscapes

It’s probably not a surprise that I love to read books about nature and people whose outdoor adventures and conservation work illustrate the wondrous variety to be found on this planet: the landscapes that most of us would not be able to experience, but for intrepid individuals and brilliant writing. I have three new favorites, all women nature writers whose books I’ve recently read: Margaret (Mardy) Murie, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings and Terry Tempest Williams. Their experiences and poetic observations span a period of nearly 100 years.

Two in the Far North by Mardy Murie was a gift from one of my sons. Published in 1962 and updated over the years, Two is a memoir and natural history classic that begins in Alaska in 1911, when Mardy is a child. It covers almost eighty years of her long life: from her youth growing up in a Fairbanks log cabin – to her marriage on the banks of the Yukon River to wildlife biologist Olaus Murie – to their challenging river and dogsled expeditions in what is now the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. It ends with Mardy’s tireless work, after Olaus’ death, on behalf of wild places and wild things and her recognition as the “grandmother of the conservation movement.”

Based on Mardy’s daily journals, this fascinating book tracks the Muries’ partnership, their passion for wild Alaska, and their four decades of research expeditions and advocacy that helped change the face of American land protection during the 20th century. Testifying to a Congressional committee in 1977 on behalf of the Alaskan Lands Bill, Mardy said: “I am testifying as an emotional woman and I would like to ask you gentlemen, what’s wrong with emotion?” I couldn’t agree more.

About the time the Muries moved to Wyoming in the late 1920s, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, then in her early 30s, bought a seventy-two acre orange farm in the remote swamps of north-central Florida with a small inheritance. A newspaper journalist who had tried unsuccessfully to write fiction, she hoped that a change in landscape would inspire stories that would sell. As she wrote about the people and natural environment surrounding her new home, she produced classic modern literature.

I read Marjorie’s Pulitzer Prize-winning book, The Yearling , about a Florida backwoods boy, when I was young and loved it. But, it took an

ABOVE THE WATER LINE

By Sally Bethea

early spring paddle trip this year to the Ocala National Forest and its spring-fed rivers to compel me to read Cross Creek , Marjorie’s non-fiction book published in 1942 about her years in the Florida hamlet located on the creek between two lakes.

A fearless woman who seamlessly made the transition from city to backcountry, Marjorie embraced adventure: whether hunting rattlesnakes, floating hundreds of miles down the St. John’s River in a small boat with a female friend, or cooking elaborate dinner parties for visitors on a woodburning stove. Evident throughout the book is her deep appreciation for nature and the plants and animals (both wild and domesticated) that surrounded her.

In closing, Marjorie asks: “Who owns Cross Creek?” And then answers: “The red birds, I think... the earth may be borrowed but not bought, used but not owned... Cross Creek belongs to the wind and the rain, to the sun and the seasons... and, beyond all, to time.” I thought of these words, as we paddled on Cross Creek in March, beneath massive cypress trees with osprey flying overhead.

A modern environmental writer and activist, Terry Tempest Williams lives in Utah and was mentored by fellow nature writer Mardy Murie. Although I had heard of Terry’s work for years, it took a chance bookstore encounter with her newest book, The Hour of Land: A Personal Topography of National Parks , for me to become hooked on her writing.

Published in 2016, the year of the National Park Service Centennial, this book is a literary celebration of national parks and monuments, twelve of which she highlights. Terry’s series of park portraits – part landscape, human and natural history and personal memoir – captures the essence and spirit of our country with lyrical language.

The Hour of Land has inspired me to plan a months-long journey to visit national parks that I have not yet seen – and to do whatever it takes to ensure that these special places not be diminished. Like much of Terry’s work, this book is a clarion call to action, a compelling antidote to complacency. Her hope for the future? “May we remain vigilant in protecting our public lands and hold the ground in the years and decades ahead so that ‘the open space of democracy’ remains open.

Sally Bethea is the retired executive director of Chattahoochee Riverkeeper and current board president of Chattahoochee Parks Conservancy whose mission is to build a community of support for the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area.

Walking on Sunshine Atlanta launches first community-based solar program

By Jordan Johnson

Did you know Atlanta experiences more sunlight annually than Germany, the world leader in solar power generation? Residing in the middle of the southeastern states, the sun shines differently in the State of Georgia. It’s always blaring down on you at any given moment with no warning, rude and robust. But what if we took the uncomfortable 90 to 100-degree weather and used it for good? Alternative Energy is not just for the tree hugging hippies anymore. Atlanta has untapped solar potential that many are now using as a renewable energy source.

will enjoy a level of resilience if/when faced with inclement weather, storms or other events that cause the electrical grid to go down

• Are helping the environment by using clean energy, rather than energy generated by oil or coal

• Gain control of monthly electricity bills by generating their own energy

April 12 marked the official launch of Solarize Atlanta, a community-based photovoltaic (PV) group-purchasing solar program for City of Atlanta residents. Solarize Atlanta is making access to solar easy and affordable to all communities with a 20 to 30 percent average savings rate. Think of it as going to your local wholesale store and taking advantage of bulk pricing, but for solar. The more people who sign up, the less the price will be! This is the fifth Community Solarize program to launch in Georgia, but with 410 program participants signed up to date, organizers hope it will be the largest. The program has a target goal of installing 200 plus new solar roofs in Atlanta and establishing a solar roof in every neighborhood.

The Solarize Atlanta Coalition is being led by several entities including Central Atlanta Progress, City of Refuge, Environment Georgia, Georgia Interfaith Power and Light, Livable Buckhead, the Sierra Club, Southface and the US Green Building Council (USBC). The Mayor’s Office of Resilience has been an active participant in the Executive Committee meetings and working groups to partner on these efforts.

Under the Solarize Atlanta program, participants:

• Have access to lower prices for solar panels through bulk purchasing – prices go down as more participants sign up for Solarize

• Receive free solar site assessments

• Receive information about energy efficiency measures that can make properties more efficient and thermally comfortable

• Work with pre-selected solar panel installers chosen by the community

• Benefit from knowing their property

In addition to Solarize Atlanta, the City of Atlanta also recently kicked off our Solar + Energy Efficiency program at the CT Martin Recreation Center. Both programs are financed through contracts paid over a period of time and are financed from the savings in energy costs. The Solar Atlanta Program will install cost-effective solar panels on 24 municipal buildings, primarily fire stations and recreation centers through a publicprivate partnership with Cherry Street Energy and Radiance Solar, two Georgia based companies that provide quality, green jobs to local residents. The Atlanta solar program will displace a significant percentage of energy usage at the city facilities with clean, renewable energy from the sun. Both efforts were spearheaded by the City of Atlanta Mayor’s Office of Resilience in partnership with the City’s Office of Enterprise Assets Management, Department of Watershed Management, Department of Aviation, Department of Public Works, Fire Department and Department of Parks and Recreation.

Mayor Bottoms and Councilmember Andrea Boone commemorated the launch of the Solar Atlanta Program & Energy Savings Performance Contracting with a solar panel community demonstration. The C.T. Martin Recreation Center is the first building to implement both energy efficiency retrofits and solar PV installations. The solar panels are expected to be complete in the next few weeks. Community members had the opportunity to preview samples of solar panels, sign up for the Solarize Atlanta program and take part in activities concerning energy efficiency.

Energy efficiency is paramount to a clean energy future for Atlanta. Not only is it better for the environment but energy efficiency creates jobs and brings revenue into the city. The Atlanta metro area has 2,910 solar jobs as of 2017, an increase of 505 jobs from 2016. Statewide, Georgia has 4,310 solar jobs and ranks 15th in the nation for the number of solar workers.

If you would like to ensure your future is bright, residential, non-profit and commercial roof owners can go to solarizeatl.com to sign-up.

Jordan Johnson is the Communications Manager for the City of Atlanta Mayor’s Office of Resilience.

Ponce City Market is collaborating with Atlanta-based sustainable surplus food management platform Goodr to reduce food waste and provide hunger relief in the city. Goodr’s logistics technology will enable participating Ponce City Market businesses to donate unused food to local organizations in need. Goodr’s certified food handlers and drivers collect donations and deliver them directly to nonprofit organizations in need. This initiative is focused on bringing Ponce City Market’s food waste to zero. A pioneer in sustainable surplus food management and analytics, Goodr has also worked with Atlanta companies Turner Broadcasting Systems, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and The Gathering Spot, and hopes to continue growth in other cities around the country.

Tickets are on sale now for the 2018 Beer Garden + Silent Auction in the Garden on June 23 to benefit the Wylde Center There will be beer, food and items to bid on at the Oakhurst Garden in Decatur. Visit wyldecenter.org for tickets and more information.

June 2 | SunTrust Park

5K, One Mile & 50m Dash

- 5K & One Mile finish on the field

- 5K entry includes game ticket

- Short-sleeve Mizuno shirt

Atlanta-based Oliver & Rain has launched their first new sustainable children’s clothing line. The online shop at OliverandRain.com offers a line of essentials for children sizes newborn through 24 months. Oliver & Rain’s clothing is created with organic cotton and packaged with recycled materials to include biodegradable hangers.

Atlanta-based nonprofits Chattahoochee Riverkeeper and Trees Atlanta have partnered to launch an initiative that simultaneously addresses the needs of enhancing Atlanta’s tree canopy while improving urban stormwater management. The new Green Streets and Clean Streams project will implement streetside tree planters designed to infiltrate and clean stormwater runoff, the largest contributor of pollution to our rivers and streams. Funded through the support of Georgia Center for Nonprofits and The Home Depot Foundation’s Building Community Network (BCN) initiative, this project will provide multiple environmental and quality of life benefits for Atlanta residents and serve as a case study to replicate throughout the region. For more information about the program, visit treesatlanta.org.

If you, or someone you love, is struggling with

HAMSA (Helping Atlantans Manage Substance

can help.

“

had a great job, friends, and a nice Jewish boy...

took it all away.”

News You Can Eat

Spice Up Your Life

Four local restaurants that bring the heat to your meal

By Isadora Pennington

I’m not sure when it was that I first discovered my love for peppers. Historically speaking, I am a fairly picky eater. And yet, throughout the years, I’ve developed quite a fondness for hot peppers, both in my sauces, salsas, as a garnish, and when the pepper IS the dish. Sides like jalapeño poppers, which are traditionally a halved and gutted pepper which is then stuffed with cheese and deep fried, are among the more prolific pepper-based dishes found at pubs and bowling alleys.

On the other end of the spectrum, there are dishes such as chile relleno, which elevate the mild, wide poblano pepper into a full blown dinner. Often filled with meats and cheese, they are then roasted, which breaks down the cell walls of the pepper, releasing juices and softening the structure, infusing the dish with flavor.

It’s also important, in my opinion, to add some cheese to any pepper dish. Whether cojita cheese sprinkled on top as a garnish, or cream cheese infused into the pepper, or cheddar mixed in with the meat, adding some creamy, melty cheese seems to always please my palate.

For this month’s feature, I went out in search of my favorite pepper-based dishes in the city. From deep fried to upscale, these local restaurants each pay an homage to the humble and versatile pepper with their own unique flair. If you, like me, love some spice in your life, check out these delicious options.

AGAVE

242 Boulevard SE agaverestaurant.com or (404) 588-0006

◄ Huevos Poblanos: fire roasted poblano pepper topped with charred tomato serrano stone ground grits, a fried egg, lime crema & cilantro, $7

Beef & Pepper Poblano Chile Relleno ► large roasted poblano chile stuffed with strip steak, mixed peppers & white Mexican cheese, pan seared and baked over a fire roasted tomato & serrano pepper puree, $9

◄ LEON’S FULL SERVICE

131 E Ponce de Leon Ave., Decatur leonsfullservice.com or (404) 687-0500

Peppadews: goat cheese stuffed peppadews, $5

FOX BROS BAR-B-Q ►

1238 DeKalb Ave. NE foxbrosbbq.com or (404) 577-4030

Stuffed Jalapeño Poppers: fresh jalapeños stuffed with our BBQ Pork and cream cheese and deep fried. Served with ranch, $9

◄ WHISKEY BIRD

1409 N. Highland Ave. NE eatwhiskeybird.com or (404) 600-5797

Stuffed Peppers: skewers of grilled sweet peppers stuffed with smoky chorizo and topped with cojita cheese, served with house-made pickles and slaw, $3.50

Photos by Isadora Pennington

Southern Fare

Atlanta Food & Wine Festival returns with tastings, dinners & more

The annual 8th Atlanta Food & Wine Festival returns to Midtown from May 31 to June 3 with more than 150 chefs, sommeliers, mixologists and pit masters.

The event focuses on food and drink from the South with learning experiences, tasting tents, dinners and other events.

The learning experiences will include pairing sessions, tasting seminars, panel

discussions and more. Piedmont Park’s Greensward Promenade will once again provide the backdrop for the tasting tents, which will take place on Friday and Saturday nights and Sunday afternoon. Visitors can sample the South’s top food and drink, relax in the cocktail garden and listen to live music. There are a variety of ticket packages, including the $85 individual Tasting Tent

Celebrate Mother’s Day with Alon’s! Celebrate Mother’s Day with Alon’s!

On Sunday, May 13from 9 am to 2 pm, enjoy an elaborate buffet at our Dunwoody location filled with hand‐crafted selections, including house‐roasted meats carved to perfection, authentic entrées, gourmet sides, specialty desserts.

The specialty menu is guaranteed to “wow” mom on her special day!

Adults • $38.99

Children under 12 • $14.99

Pass, day and weekend passes ranging from $135 to $370 and the $500 to $1,500 Connoisseur Experience including special classes, dinners, special hospitality area and food and beverages at the Connoisseur Lounge.

To purchase tickets and see a full schedule of events, visit atlfoodandwinefestival.com.

2090 HOWARD CIRCLE

$710,000

3 BEDROOMS | 2 BATHROOMS | BONUS ROOM/OFFICE

One level living at its finest in desirable Lake Claire neighborhood. This exceptional renovation features an open concept with generous living space and high end finishes throughout. The spacious master boasts a large walk-in closet and a luxurious bathroom. Outside you will find a gated driveway, new garage and a beautiful backyard made for entertaining.

ASHLEY BOWMAN SHAW

To make a reservation, call our Dunwoody location at 678.397.1781. We can accommodate parties of up to 10 guests.

Children under 5 eat free 4505 Ashford Dunwoody Rd NEAtlanta, GA 30346 | www.alons.com

C: 404-281-1687

O: 404-233-4142

Ashley.Bowman@HarryNorman.com

Zak Wallace

Food Forethought is a new Q&A feature with local chefs, mixologists, servers and restaurateurs. This month we feature Zak Wallace, founder of Local Green Atlanta.

Q: Why did you get into eating healthy in the first place? Was it necessity, or driven by your relationships or just an interesting side project for general self-improvement?

Q: Most people think eating healthy means giving up our comfort foods, but with Local Green Atlanta it’s more of a substitution game. What are some of your favorite substitutions?

FOOD Forethought

By Megan Volpert

A: It’s hard to pinpoint one motivation. The change actually began when I met my wife in ’06, when I was over 300 pounds. She would question my eating choices and ask “how is this even an option” as I would pull into a drive-thru, which began my ten-year journey on the search of discovering and balancing a lifestyle and my eating choices with the responsibilities and demands of travel. It wasn’t until an extended trip to San Francisco that I would discover “my healthy” in whole foods that connected with my Southerneclectic palate that was not only healthy, but I actually knew what I was eating.

A: In our wild albacore tuna, we substitute mayonnaise for Greek yogurt. Of course I’ve substituted almond milk for all dairy. I would have to say my favorite is Daiya vegan cheese on our pizza and our Slim Shady egg white sandwich. The health benefit of all of these substitutes is maintaining a low cholesterol intake, which can prevent high blood pressure and hypertension.

Q: What’s the difference between how you cook at home versus at work? Do you use your own kitchen as a lab, or save experiments for your partnership with Monday Night Brewing’s kitchen?

A: Ninety percent of our menu at Local Green comes from dishes I created in my kitchen at home. I would have my friends over to sample my creations and they would

have the same response that I felt personally with my food. So I kept it going and brought it to the city.

Q: Kitchens are an intense atmosphere. What does your kitchen sound like? Is it deadly silent, does somebody pick a radio station or playlist, or do you just fling witty banter?

A: We are definitely a playlist kitchen. We released a playlist on Apple Music entitled “Local Green Atlanta vol. 1.” The theme of it is 70’s vibes with songs from Quincy Jones, Stevie Wonder to Freddie Hubbard. You should look it up; it’s an amazing ride.

Q: Your work experience revolves around both food and music. How are those different creative enterprises, and how are they similar?

A: I find the creative experiences more similar than different in that they both really start with a vibe. Eating healthy means shopping healthy and produce sections are some of the most colorful, vibrant experiences. It’s like art and it’s a spiritual process. You’re hand-selecting your fruits and vegetables, down to rinsing them and slicing them to be prepared for a meal for someone’s consumption. As with music, it’s finding a beat that speaks to you, then eventually to the consumer.

Q: Why Monday Night Brewing? Where do you get inspiration for partnerships? Do you study pop-ups or particular chefs, certain social media or magazines?

A: My cheat sheet in everything I do is intuition and instinct. The moment I stepped foot in Monday Night Brewing I knew it was the type of establishment I wanted to position our brand alongside. They have a great team over there and their premise for encouraging human interaction is similar to Local Green Atlanta’s. We’re both all about contributing to the experience.

Q: It can be hard to eat with one hand and participate in Monday Night Brewing’s game night with the other. How do you keep plates manageable so as not to destroy somebody’s precious childhood board game?

A: We are a quick serve so the majority of our menu items are handheld, leaving you flexible to play your games and rotate from food to brew if need be – unless you’re playing Twister.

Q: What’s the relationship between healthy eating and reasonable drinking? Don’t all those wonderful beers cancel out the smart entree I ordered?

A: It’s actually damage control. Calories are in everything edible, especially everything we like. It’s about balancing our daily intake and being sure to not waste unnecessarily when you can find the same satisfaction, without eating processed meats and fried foods, while you’re drinking. Our menu offerings are filling and taste divine. It satisfies your hunger without leaving you feeling sluggish.

Q: If I want to be at the cutting-edge of healthy eating right now, what’s the news? Is there some new technique or ingredient starting to make the rounds? What’s going to be trending in a minute?

A: Anything new in food is reason for alarm for me. I like to stick to the old-fashioned fish and plant-based regimen: wild caught fish only and very minimal dairy (yogurt) and poultry (egg whites), no beef, no pork and the rest fruits, grains and veggies. A lot of money is being invested in vegan production, but just be mindful of the soy and sodium.

You can find Zak Wallace on social media at @localgreenatlanta.

Megan Volpert lives in Decatur, teaches in Roswell and writes books about popular culture.

photo by Kin Evans

QUICK BITES

Grindhouse Killer Burgers has opened its seventh location at 701 Memorial Drive in Grant Park. The restaurant is a single-story location that boasts three different outdoor dining options including a pet-friendly patio with Astroturf, a patio with full-size shuffleboard and ping pong, and a front patio that includes outdoor bar seating. The burger joint also has its own parking lot. Visit grindhouseburgers.com for more information.

Farm Burger, the 100 percent grass-fed and locally sourced burger joint is now open at The George building in Grant Park, 275 Memorial Drive SE, Suite 2B. Steps from historic Oakland Cemetery, this is the fifth Atlanta location, with others in Decatur (Farm Burger’s original restaurant, first opened in 2010), Buckhead, Dunwoody and at the newly opened Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Find out more at farmburger.com.

Woodward & Park will join the growing roster of tenants at the Larkin on Memorial mixed-use development. Set to open this fall, the European-inspired bistro will offer innovative and locally-sourced interpretations of American cuisine.

Chef Ian Winslade has opened Mission + Market inside the new Three Alliance Center building in Buckhead. The menu features “globally influenced fresh flavors, rich textures and simple ingredients,” including brick oven pizzas, steelhead trout, fresh pasta and more.

Drafts + Dogs, a new cocktail and craft hot dog stall from the team behind 18.21 Bitters, will open inside the Central Food Hall at Ponce City Market this month. Located next to Lucky Lotus Juice Bar on the first floor, the walk-up eatery will boast an assortment of craft cocktails and hot dogs made from locally-sourced, farm fresh ingredients.

Coming this summer, Charleston-based bread bakers Root Baking Co. will move their headquarters to the Central Food Hall at Ponce City Market offering freshly baked breads in addition to breakfast and lunch menus. During breakfast and lunch, guests can visit the café for vegetable-driven fare and freshly baked breads and pastries. Root Baking Co. also plans to bring in chefs from around the South to host dinner pop-ups throughout the year.

Savi Market has opened its fifth outpost in Buckhead at the corner of Pharr Road and North Fulton. The market is offering more grocery items, as well as serving breakfast, lunch, wine and beer and Jittery Joes’ coffee has a walk-up counter inside. For more information, visit saviprovisions.com.

Tickets are on sale now for the 10th annual Attack of the Killer Tomato Festival on July 15 from 1 to 5 p.m. JCT Kitchen & Bar in Westside Provisions District. Along with guest chefs there will be a special music performance by G. Love and Special Sauce. Tickets are available at killertomatofest.com.

Atlanta dining scene pioneer and executive chef of Kyma, Pano I. Karatassos, will release his debut cookbook, “Modern Greek Cooking: 100 Recipes for Meze, Main Dishes and Desserts,” in September. The Greek-inspired cookbook will celebrate recipes that chef Pano grew up cooking with his family, combined with his contemporary approach and healthminded edge for enjoyment at home.

The busy McDonald’s at 526 Ponce de Leon Ave. in Midtown has reopened after an extensive remodel, including digital menus and self-ordering kiosks.

The 11th annual Brew at the Zoo will be held May 26 at Zoo Atlanta. The event will feature sampling of more than 70 beers, select wine sampling, live music on stages throughout the Zoo, and more in the home of over than 1,000 animals from around the world. Visit zooatlanta.org for tickets.

On Saturday, May 19, MillTown Arms Tavern and a portion of the surrounding Cabbagetown neighborhood will be transformed into an afternoon block party for the fifth annual Crawfish for Cancer Atlanta Boil benefiting the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation. The event will feature unlimited crawfish and specialty cocktails, live music, giveaways and more, from 2 to 7 p.m. Tickets are available at crawfishforcancer.org/atlanta.

The Studio

Legacy of Sound

Little Five Points recording studio has rich history

By Isadora Pennington

Tucked away on Seminole Avenue in Little Five Points, American Sushi Recording Studio has played host to some of the biggest names in music: Bob Dylan, Velvet Underground, The B-52s, Wu Tang Clan, Rage Against the Machine and Mick Jagger.

Stepping inside is a bit like going back in time; there’s a classic Motown-era vibe about the space. Flaking plaster reveals aged brick underneath, while wood paneling and well-worn furntiture harken back to the studio’s opening in 1976. Then there’s the wall that has been covered in signatures from the musicians who have recorded there. The studio somehow feels both old and new simultaneously, and just as comfortable as a den in your family home. But there is musical history everywhere you look.

Back to Jagger for a minute. According to legend, the Rolling Stones frontman was in Little Five Points watching a band perform, when someone told him there was a recording studio nearby. Jagger dropped by in the middle of someone else’s session and asked to join in. The band obliged, and Jagger performed in the space for several hours. At the time, there was a hot tub on the porch of the studio, so Jagger and the musicians took time out for a soak as well.

American Sushi co-owner and head engineer Jamie Lake immediately felt the history on his first visit to the studio two years ago.

“I was looking for a studio and thinking about moving to the Goat Farm or West End, when saw this place pop up in a listing that it was for sale,” Lake said. “Before then I had only been to Little Five Points once, and I thought I needed to get a bigger space. I had only worked in bigger studios around the city, and after working everywhere at one point or the other, I thought it would be cool to have my own studio, something I can have my own vision tied to.”

With the support of his wife, who urged him to choose the modestly sized space, Lake began working on developing the style, aesthetics and concept for his incarnation of the studio. During his time working in the music industry, Lake increasingly saw that musicians couldn’t afford to hire their own producers, often operated without management and didn’t have proper recording space. In the past, Lake ran into trouble with supervisors who thought he was helping musicians too much without charging them. He said the idea of opening his own studio seemed like the perfect way to give assistance to local bands from start to finish.

The look and feel of American Sushi

remains almost the same as it was when he first saw it. “I decided to keep it original. I could have upgraded and made it more high tech, but it seemed like everybody liked the aesthetic of it, so I kept it.”

Beyond offering recording services to local bands, American Sushi has an overarching commitment to being a positive part of the local music scene.

“We actually want to be connected to the community,” explained Michael Dean, American Sushi’s creative director who is also a recording artist as well as activist for minorities and immigrants.

“We are a business that cares about the neighborhood. Especially as Atlanta is

changing and growing, it’s important to maintain culture and empower people.”

These days the space hosts a diverse array of musical acts, both for private recording and engineering and occasional live performances as part of their Vibe Night series. These free shows have grown in popularity and have served as an introduction to the studio for much of the community, many of whom may not have had prior knowledge of the studio’s existence and rich history.

“The creative community is almost like a fan base for the studio,” Dean said. “All of them are family, we consider everybody to be family. We see them at every Vibe Night and they know us and expect to

just come here and relax and really just get revitalized to inspire themselves.”

Lake said the studio is fulfiling a need for local musicians to reconnect with the process of making music.

“Atlanta musicians needed some place to come back and unwind and just enjoy music again, instead of thinking about ‘what’s my brand like, what’s my image, I have to sell tickets’,” Lake said. “It’s about more than that.”

To learn more about American Sushi Recording Studio, book it for a recording session, or to find out more about upcoming events, visit americansushirecording.com.

Photos by Isadora Pennington Jamie Lake, holding son Phoenix, and Michael Dean inside the historic American Sushi Recording Studio in Little Five Points.

Fromleft:Phil Hadaway,Mick Jagger,Joey Huffmanand StevePelletier inthestudio.

In Full Swing

Underground dance club keeps jazz era hip

By Grace Huseth

If you’ve got the Monday blues, an underground swing dance club might just put a little pep in your step.

An underground swing dance club? Groovy!

Every Monday night, swing dancers from the metro head to Ambient+Studio in Castleberry Hill to start off the workweek by cutting a rug at Hot Jam Swings. Some arrive at 8 p.m. sharp to attend the beginner’s crash course (30 minutes of basic steps) before the dance floor opens to newbies and old timers alike.

Echoing the etiquette of the Jazz Age, Hot Jam encourages a social scene where partners switch every dance. There’s no possessiveness among couples, no competition to dance with the more experienced. A courteous “Would you like to dance?” is offered to every dancer, beginner or seasoned. Extending a hand to everyone is how Hot Jam got its start.

The group began more than a decade ago, hosting small dance nights in local bars, before starting a weekly event at the Garden Hills Community Center, where Hot Jam really took off.

“Atlanta has always been known for being a friendly, open and inclusive dance scene,” says Russ Ruddell, one of the original Hot Jammers. “Everyone dances with everyone and makes you feel welcome.”

Ruddell remembers when he got caught up in the swing scene after noticing intriguing footwork on the floor at a country dance. Not long after learning east coast swing, he started taking lessons and now teaches swing himself at Down South Swing, a dance school in Decatur. Like the best teachers, Ruddell meets students where they are. While students learn to feel the beat, he feels each student’s energy and caters the dance to their level of proficiency.

“I wanted someone to dance with, so I started showing all these people how to do it so I would have someone to dance with,” Ruddell joked. “I wanted to share that with someone else and help them learn to enjoy it as much as I do.”

Once you’re in the swing of things, Atlanta offers a variety of swing dance opportunities. Georgia Tech Dance Association (gtda.gtorg.gatech.edu) hosts a lively dance once a month in the student union ballroom. Down South Swing (downsouthswing.com) offers weekend workshops and on June 1 kicks off a full weekend of the Atlanta Lindy Exchange (atlantalindyexchange.com), an annual event full of fast swing held in various venues around the city.

For more information about Hot Jam Swings, visit hotjamswings.com.

FESTIVAL FEVER

Art, music & more in May

OUTLANTA CON

The annual LGTB convention for sci-fi, pop culture, multimedia and gaming will be held May 11-13 at the Renaissance Concourse Hotel near the airport. outlantacon.com.

MOVIES IN CENTRAL PARK

The 2018 season of Movies in Central Park at Atlantic Station will highlight films from the 2000s. Screenings begin May 17 and continue through July. atlanticstation.com.

CHASTAIN PARK ARTS FESTIVAL

Nearly 200 artists representing all disciplines, a children’s play area, local food trucks and live acoustic music will be at this year’s event, May 12-13. chastainparkartsfestival.com.

SWEET AUBURN SPRINGFEST

Entertainment, kids’ fun zone, international food court, and plenty of live music along historic Auburn Avenue on May 12 - 13. sweetauburn.com.

KIRKWOOD SPRING FLING

Artists market, live music, food, barbecue cookoff, 5K race and tour of homes takes place May 19 at Bessie Branham Park. kirkwoodfling.com.

DECATUR ARTS FESTIVAL

Giant artists market, live music, dance, performing arts, literary events, food and more are part of the 30th annual festival, May 25-27. decaturartsfestival.com.

ATLANTA JAZZ FESTIVAL

Dianee Reeves, Jon Batists & The Dap-Kings and The Bad Plus are some of the headliners at the free festival, May 26-27 at Piedmont Park. atlantafestivals.com.

CANDLER PARK MUSIC & FOOD FESTIVAL

Gov’t Mule, Lettuce, Houndmouth, Larkin Poe and Webster are part of the line up for the annual event, June 1-2. candlerparkmusicfestival.com.

Russ Ruddell cuts a rug during a recent Hot Jam Swings event at Ambient+Studio in Castleberry Hill.

Photos by Grace Huseth

Anniversary Season

Alliance Theatre announces lineup, return to Woodruff

The Alliance Theatre will celebrate its 50th anniversary this fall with a return to its dramatically revitalized home at the Woodruff Arts Center in Midtown. The lineup of shows for the 2018-19 season, which begins in October, has been announced and tickets are on sale.

The Alliance has been “on-the-road” performing shows at various venues around the city as work is completed on a new stage (to be christened the Coca-Cola Stage at Alliance Theatre, thanks to a partnership deal), seating and rehearsal and education spaces inside the Woodruff.

“The Alliance turns 50 this year. Half a century of exploring what it means to be human in a world that renders that inquiry more complicated every day,” said Artistic Director Susan V. Booth. “The best part of theatre, I’ve always thought, is the living and breathing pulse it gives to human language. The elevation of the spoken word to an art form, and the pure wonder that a mere mortal can say exactly the right thing at exactly the right time.

And in the time honored tradition of marking zero-birthdays with large parties, we’re celebrating 50 years of art by throwing a season-long doozy.”

The anniversary season will still be on-the-road, while work is being completed, with a production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” at the Atlanta Botanical Garden Sept. 5 through Oct. 21.

Also this fall, the Alliance will produce two world premieres by Atlanta playwrights in its 200-seat Hertz Theatre starting with “Nick’s Flamingo Grill” by Phillip DePoy and “Knead” by Mary Lynn Owen.

The Alliance will open its first production on the Coca-Cola Stage in January 2019 with “Ever After,” the musical based on the hit film inspired by the Cinderella fairytale. Also on the new Coca-Cola Stage will be the world premiere of “Angry, Raucous and Shamelessly Gorgeous” by Atlanta playwright and author Pearl Cleage and the critically-acclaimed musical “Ride the Cyclone.”

The Alliance will also stage two more world premieres: the Kendeda National Graduate Playwriting Competition winner “Goodnight, Tyler” by B.J. Tindal and “Approval Junkie” by and starring Faith Salie.

For youth and families, there will also be productions of “WinnieThe-Pooh,” the hip-hop musical journey “Paige in Full,” the 29th annual production of “A Christmas Carol” and “The Wizard of Oz,” featuring songs from the iconic film.

Season tickets for the Alliance’s 50th season are on sale now. For more information and a complete schedule, visit alliancetheatre.org/season. ADVERTISEMENT

Making Theatre Happen

An appreciation of Atlanta actor and director Carolyn Cook

By Manning Harris

If you ask almost anyone working in theatre in Atlanta about Carolyn Cook, you will invariably get a smile of appreciation, admiration and affection. The same is true with any longtime audience member in the

city.

I remember the first time I heard her name: It was the summer of 1999, and Georgia Shakespeare was doing an outstanding “Hamlet,” starring a New York actor named Saxon Palmer. I met Mr. Palmer, and he promptly asked me if I had

seen Carolyn Cook in Shaw’s “St. Joan,” also being performed at GA Shake that summer. I had not, and never did for some perverse reason, and I’ve always regretted it – especially when she told me the other day that “St. Joan” was one of her all-time favorite roles. Happily, I’ve seen her in quite a few roles since then.

Yes, Ms. Cook is an actor, but she’s also a director, teacher and lately, a writer. When we sat down to lunch, in the middle of the conversation she paused, smiled and said simply, “I love making theatre happen.” That is Carolyn Cook in a nutshell, and it is the opinion of a great many people in our fair city that no one does it better.

A French major in college, she didn’t start acting professionally until she was 28. She was born in Alexandria, Virginia, and moved to Atlanta some 28 years ago. She’d been fascinated by the stage as a girl;

Dear Neighbor,

she observed her sister in a high school production of “West Side Story” and in dance recitals. Perhaps her inner voice said something like “I Can Do That,” as the song from “A Chorus Line” says.

Carolyn (anyone who knows her calls her that; so will I, occasionally) got a two-year acting internship at the Alliance Theatre; she’s studied the Meisner technique, and with acting teacher Robert Mello and others. She has taught acting and theatre studies at Emory University, Oglethorpe University, Pebblebrook High School and the Robert Mello Studio. She is also happily married to Matt Cook and has a 21-year-old daughter named Emily.

Professionally, Ms. Cook’s first love is acting; but perhaps her proudest accomplishment is the founding of Théâtre du Rêve (theatre of the dream), Atlanta’s first and only professional French-language

I am Cassandra Kirk and I was appointed Chief Magistrate Judge by the Honorable Nathan Deal in December 2014. I am the first Chief Magistrate Judge to preside over Fulton County Magistrate Court since the General Assembly made the position an elected office. Now, I stand for election and humbly seek your support and vote on May 22, 2018. With your blessing, I hope to continue to build upon my 25 years of service to the citizens of Fulton County. Since 2015, it has been my mission as Chief Magistrate Judge of Fulton County to empower litigants through innovation, effici ency and accessibility. I have over 25 years of experience serving in a variety of roles: full -time judge, prosecutor, defense attorney, civil litigator and administrative director. Drawing on this experience, I guided Fulton County Magistrate Court through the transition period and achieved the goals envisioned by the General Assembly when they reformed the Court. While serving as a full -time judge on the Fulton County Juvenile Court, I spearheaded the establishment of Choices, Fulton County’s first juvenile accountability court for youth battling substance abuse, and I was the first judge in Georgia to become a certified Child Welfare Law Specialist. It is the combination of thes e positions and experience that uniquely qualifies me to continue to serve as Chief Magistrate Judge.

Highlights of the last three years include: eliminating the Court’s 30,000 small claims case backlog, providing mediation services at the North and South Annexes, supporting the Housing Assis tance Center to provide navigation services to tenants in Landlord -Tenant cases, and creating Fulton’s first Magistrate Court website. Also, during my tenure Fulton Magistrate Court was 1 of 4 courts selected for a Grant from the National Center for State Courts for a pilot project to simply our high volume calendars.

I firmly believe that in order to consider the weight of rendering judgement on others, you must first serve others. I suppor t the community through service to Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., North Avenue Presbyterian Church (Elder), alumni activities with both the Regional Leadership Institute and Leadership Atlanta, and the Boards of Directors of The League of Women Voters of Atlanta-Fulton County, Star C, and Street Grace, a non -profit aimed at ending domestic minor sex trafficking. I received my B.A. from Williams College and my J.D. from Washington and Lee Univer sit y School of Law.

Included below are a few of the people who support me. I hope you will join them. I will continue to put families first and k eep the Court accessible to all. On May 22, 2018, I urge you to vote to Keep Kirk Fulton County Chief Magistrate Judge. Please visit my website at www.judgecassandrakirk.com.

Sincerely,

Chief Magistrate Judge

EARLY VOTING BEGINS APRIL 30, 2018

Former Gov. Roy Barnes

Mayor Vince R. Williams GA House Rep. Wendell Willard

City Councilwoman Carla Smith

City Councilwoman Jennifer N. Ide

City Councilwoman Carmalitha Gumbs

House Rep Meagan Hanson

House Rep. David Dreyer

Past Council President Cathy Woolard

City Councilman Amir R. Farokhi

Mayor Bill Edwards

City Councilwoman Helen Z. Willis

House Rep. Roger Bruce

City Councilman Matt Westmoreland

theatre company in 1996. In 2012 TdR started an educational program. Artistic Associate Park Krausen wrote that the program was “committed to bringing programming into the schools and to using theatre as a means to bringing French language and culture directly to students. Schools have had to make drastic cuts to arts programming and have withdrawn funding to take field trips…we want to bring art to them!”

Ms. Krausen, a fine actor also fluent in French, has some further words to say about Ms. Cook: “Personally, I can say that my life would look completely different if it were not for Carolyn Cook. Often we talk about people, angels who have had a tremendous impact on our lives. Carolyn Cook has been one of those people for me…She has directed me, employed me, but most importantly – befriended me… we are friends and adopted sisters.

“My life as an international artist is due in large part to hopping on the coattails of Carolyn’s dream…I am continually in awe of her as an artist, intellectual, activist, family woman and friend – who continues to grow, stay hungry and curious. She is an inspiring artist, friend, mentor and big sister.”

Recently, I was thrilled by Carolyn’s performance in Actor’s Express’ monumental production of “Angels in America,” in which she played the multifaceted part of Hannah. Meryl Streep played this role in the HBO version some years ago, and I can honestly say that watching Carolyn Cook perform it made me forget Ms. Streep, of whom I am a certainly a fan.

In 2015 Ms. Cook mesmerized audiences in the Express’ “Blackberry Winter.” I’ve also seen her in Horizon Theatre’s “Detroit,” “City of Conversation,” and others. One of Carolyn’s favorite plays was also done at Horizon: “The Syringa Tree.” I missed it. Another of her three favorite roles (which I asked her to name) was 7 Stages’ production of Athol Fugard’s “My Children! My Africa!” You recall the third was “St. Joan” at GA Shakespeare.

This gifted artist has been devoting more of her time as a director, in such shows as Horizon’s “How to Use a Knife” (terrific) and Theatrical Outfit’s “Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley,” the most delightful “comedy of manners” that I have seen in ages. One of the stars of that show, Atlanta’s remarkable Jonathan Horne, has this to say about Carolyn Cook:

“Carolyn is a consummate actor’s director. She is constantly pushing for deeper connection and specificity; if you’ve seen her acting work, she demands no less commitment and honesty as a director. That being said, she’s also always in your corner and establishes one of the most welcoming and supportive creative environments I have been fortunate to be a part of.”

I have a strong feeling that Mr. Horne’s sentiments would be echoed by a great many actors, not to mention designers,

lighting technicians, sound engineers and the many people it takes to make theatre, a truly collaborative art form, happen.

I think that Ms. Cook would want me to mention artistic directors Lisa Adler (Horizon) and Richard Garner (Georgia Shakespeare); she said that some of her most satisfying, enjoyable work has been done at these theatres. Of course she’s worked at every important theatre around.

There’s just no getting around it: Carolyn Cook is a marvel, an incalculable gift to Atlanta theatre. I might also say that she puts one immediately at ease and is a pleasure to talk to; the word “diva” is not in her vocabulary.

I am happy to report that Ms. Cook is doing exactly what she wants, with whom she wants to do it and where she wants to do it; and her presence instantly elevates any project she is working on. “I love making theatre happen.”

Long may she wave.

f r e e b o o k s

Your family’s most comprehensive online guide to arts and cultural entertainment

Visual Arts

18th International Juried Exhibition, featuring 93 pastel paintings selected out of hundreds of works submitted. Opens May 11. Free to $5. museum.oglethorpe.edu

Seeking Eden: A Collection of Georgia’s Historic Gardens: Many of Georgia’s significant designed landscapes grew from a strong interest in gardening and garden design that was abloom in the 19th and early 20th centuries, and this exhibit explores the evolution of 12 of these influential properties. Open daily. Free to $21.50. atlantahistorycenter.com

George Long: Omnium Gatherum: For George Long’s exhibit at Marcia Wood Gallery, he has installed a 40-foot-long pile of drawings depicting a mental landscape that is a collection of collections, mental debris, emotional sortings and piles of compartmentalizations. Closes May 12. Free. marciawoodgallery.com

Chastain Park Arts Festival: This two-day outdoor event brings together outstanding local, regional and national visual artists in the largest public park in Fulton County. May 12 and 13. Free. chastainparkartsfestival.com

The DeKalb History Center: This museum features permanent and temporary exhibits relating to all aspects of the county’s history, including the Civil War, ranch-style houses, the Davidson Quarries of Arabia Mountain and more. Monday through Friday. Free. dekalbhistory.org

Andrew Moore: Blue Alabama: Jackson Fine Art presents “Blue Alabama,” a much-anticipated new body of work from photographer Andrew Moore that focuses on Alabama’s Black Belt, a rich and complex region Moore calls “the most prominent social and cultural feature of Lower Alabama.” Tuesday through Saturday. Free. jacksonfineart.com

Atlanta Contemporary Art Center Exhibits: Visit the Atlanta Contemporary Art Center to see “Harry Gould: Harvey IV” up through May 13; “Irini Miga: Reflections” and “Krista Clark: Plotting the Other Side,” which are both up through June 3; and “Sheida Soleimani: Medium of Exchange” and “Dena Yago: The Shortest Shadow,” which run through July 29. Tuesday through Saturday. Free. atlantacontemporary.org

M.C. Escher +: Different Trains Gallery presents “M.C. Escher +,” an exhibition of original prints by the late Dutch graphic artist, plus 2-Dand 3-D works by contemporary math artists. Thursday through Saturday. Free. differenttrainsgallery.com

Seeking Eden: A Collection of Georgia’s Historic Gardens: Many of Georgia’s significant designed landscapes grew from a strong interest in gardening and garden design that was abloom in the 19th and early 20th centuries, and this exhibit explores the evolution of 12 of these influential properties. Open daily. Free to $21.50. atlantahistorycenter.com

Southeastern Pastel Society 18th International Juried Exhibition: The Southeastern Pastel Society presents its

The Dream Machine: The Beat Generation & the Counterculture, 1940–1975: This exhibition at Emory University’s Robert W. Woodruff Library reconsiders postwar literature and the ways it mirrored, predicted and remade the culture around it, with special focus on the influential group known as “the Beats.” Closes May 15. Free. arts.emory.edu

Yousuf Karsh: American Portraits: This exhibition at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum features 48 iconic photographs of Americans who have distinguished themselves in fields as diverse as business, medicine, entertainment, politics and the arts. Closes May 20. Free to $8. jimmycarterlibrary.gov

Decatur Arts Festival: Downtown Decatur comes alive on Memorial Day weekend for the annual Decatur Arts Festival. May 25 through 27. Free. decaturartsfestival.com

Healthyville: Children’s Museum of Atlanta’s interactive exhibit teaches health and wellness lessons through play-filled activities and educational messages that foster learning by doing. Closes May 28. $14.50. childrensmuseumatlanta.org

Performing Arts

Billy Idol: See Billy Idol, who along with Duran Duran was one the first pop/rock artists to achieve massive success in the early ‘80s due to a then brand-new U.S. television network, MTV, in concert at The Battery’s Coca-Cola Roxy. May 1. $39 to $250. cocacolaroxy.com

Mark Steinmetz: Terminus: Using the world’s most heavily trafficked airport as his home base, artist Mark Steinmetz closely considers the activity and interactions that take place at this crossroads of the contemporary South. Tuesday through Sunday. Free to $14.50. high.org

Shaky Knees Music Festival: With more than 60 bands each year, Shaky Knees - this year at Central Park - is a rock-lover’s dream. May 4 through May 6. $99 to $189. shakykneesfestival.com

Carmen: Carmen is a beautiful and free-spirited gypsy who makes men melt in Atlanta Opera’s show at Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre. Closes May 6. $35 to $141. atlantaopera.org

Ripe Frenzy: Atlanta’s Synchronicity Theatre presents Jennifer Barclay’s new play, “Ripe Frenzy,” which tells the story of a mass shooting in a small American town. Closes May 6. $23 to $41. synchrotheatre.com

Xperimental Puppetry Theater: Every year, dozens of artists come together in Center for Puppetry Arts’ Xperimental Puppetry Theater, a program that offers professional and emerging artists the opportunity to explore and experiment, creating original and bold puppet theater guaranteed to inspire and surprise adult audiences. May 10 through 13. $15. puppet.org

The Flower Room: Actor’s Express’ show follows Ingrid, an uptight academic who researches sexual behavior in primitive cultures while remaining completely closed off from her own sexual self. Closes May 13. $20 to $37. actors-express.com

Bach to Broadway: Atlanta Ballet closes its season on a high note at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre with a program including George Balanchine’s spirited “Who Cares?” set to 13 Gershwin classics, San Francisco Ballet Artistic Director Helgi Tomasson’s “7 for Eight,” and a World Premiere by Mariinsky Theatre’s Maxim Petrov. May 11 through 13. $20 to $129. atlantaballet.com

As You Like It: Shakespeare Tavern Playhouse invites you to join them on another trip into Shakespeare’s enchanted woods... where Rosalind disguises herself as a man as Orlando litters the trees with love notes praising her beauty and virtue. Opens May 19. $21 to $42. shakespearetavern.com

Willie Nelson: As a songwriter and a performer, Willie Nelson played a vital role in postrock and roll country music. See him with Alison Krauss at Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre at Encore Park. May 20. $30 to $283. vzwamp.com

Hamilton: Featuring a score that blends hip-hop, jazz, blues, rap, R&B, and Broadway, Hamilton is the story of America then, as told by America now, and it tours to Atlanta’s Fox Theatre for three weeks this Spring. Opens May 22. $80 to $330. foxtheatre.org

Atlanta Jazz Festival: This annual musical showcase celebrates jazz legends and upand-coming jazz greats in venues throughout metropolitan Atlanta during the entire month of May, and the festival culminates over Memorial Day weekend with showstopping performances at Piedmont Park. May 26 and 27. Free! atlantafestivals.com

The Vertical: The artists of Terminus Modern Ballet Theatre return to the natural beauty of Serenbe where they create an evening of virtuosic dance and luminous moments. May 25 through June 3. $20 to $50. terminusserenbe.com

Our contributing photographer and writer Isadora Pennington has been coordinating the artful renovation of our boxes around the city. If you’re in Little Five Points, check out INtown’s latest “art box” designed by Sky Benson (he’s the manager at The Shave Barbershop and can be found on Instagram @efficientpooper). He took inspiration from the nearby Star Community Bar and The Vortex for this eye-popping design. Isadora herself painted the box outside Videodrome in Poncey-Highland, taking inspiration from the shop itself and its namesake film by David Cronenberg. More artists are reimagining INtown’s boxes, so stay tuned for more photos.

Photos by Isadora Pennington

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