Storefronts for local, Blackowned businesses coming to Atlanta BeltLine BUSINESS BRIEFS

►CBRE has announced the sale of the city’s tallest building, the 55-story Bank of America Plaza in Midtown, to Boca Raton-based CP Group. The building, most recently owned by San Francisco-based Shorenstein, recently underwent more than $20 million in improvements including the addition of a 1.2-acre park fronting Peachtree Street.

Sales execution platform Outreach is opening its regional headquarters at Allen Morris Company’s Star Metals Offices in Atlanta. Outreach is the latest office tenant addition and will occupy 33,000 sq. ft. on the 10th floor. Additional info at allenmorris.com.

By Dyana Bagby

Atlanta BeltLine Inc. and The Village Market are teaming up to provide space along the popular multi-use trail for local, Black-owned businesses.

The “BeltLine MarketPlace” is expected to launch along the Eastside and Westside Trails this summer. According to an ABI news release, plans are to include “artistic shipping containers” for up to six businesses that could sell retail, soft goods, food-based or artscentered ventures. The program is made possible with help from a $750,000 grant from The Kendeda Fund.

“With new funding, ABI is developing and advancing commercial affordability strategies aimed at stabilizing, preserving, and creating affordable spaces so that Blackowned, legacy, small, and local businesses can grow and flourish around the 22-mile loop,” said Clyde Higgs, president and CEO of Atlanta BeltLine, Inc., in a news release.

“Providing access to the well-traveled BeltLine corridor is one avenue to connect businesses with new economic opportunities,” he said.

The pilot program aims to give entrepreneurs direct access to the BeltLine’s roughly 2 million annual visitors. The commercial spaces are being implemented by Atelier 7, a Black-owned architectural design firm. According to the news release, the firm specializes in shipping containers, modular systems, and pre-fab building systems for bespoke mixed-use, residential, and adaptive reuse projects.

The Village Market connects Black-owned businesses to community partners, like ABI, as a way to tackle racial wealth gap issues. According to the Prosperity Now report, Atlanta’s Black businesses are valued at $58,085 compared to Latinx businesses at $457,877 and white businesses at $658,264.

Also, 92% of Blackowned companies reported experiencing financial challenges since COVID-19, and only 43% received all PPP funding requested, compared to 79% of white-owned firms, according to the Federal Reserve Bank.

“This collaboration ensures economic mobility, accessibility, and a progressive way forward as the BeltLine begins to nurture relationships with local, independently owned, Blackowned businesses that have been displaced due to the surge in commercial rents,” said Dr. Lakeysha Hallmon, founder and CEO of The Village Market, in the release.

“It’s imperative that local, Black-owned businesses can stay in the communities where they have always been – sharing in economic prosperity,” Hallmon said.

►YOYOSO, a fashion and athleisure department store, is set to open this fall at Atlantic Station. Located at 260 18th Street, the 8,244-squarefoot space will include both men and women’s apparel at affordable prices from over 600 suppliers across the globe. YOYOSO, which stands for “Yes, Optimal, Young, Only, Sweet and Optimistic,” has more than 1,000 locations across 36 countries. The upcoming Atlanta store will be its fourth location in the US. Find out more at yoyosobrand.com.

◄The Beach Town neighborhood of Las Catalinas in Guanacaste, Costa Rica has been awarded the prestigious Charter Award from the Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU). The award was given to Beach Town’s design team, including developer and Las Catalinas Founder Charles Brewer, Intown resident and founder of Mindspring; Architect and Planner Bill Tunnell, Midtown resident and founding principal of Atlanta-based TSW; Architect and University of Notre Dame Professor Douglas Duany; Senior Town Architect Sara Bega; and the project’s in-house design staff. The award was presented at the organization’s 30th annual gathering, held in Oklahoma City, Okla. in March. More at lascatalinascr.com.

Tower 15 at Piedmont Center has received The Outstanding Building of the Year (TOBY) Award, which recognizes quality in commercial buildings and rewards excellence in building management, from the Building Owners and Managers Association of Georgia (BOMA Georgia). Details at piedmontcenteratl.com.

In April, Merge Home opened in a custom-built, three-story building in the Westside Design District. The latest furniture and interior design destination from industry leader Marty Mason, Merge Home combines elements of Mason’s Savvy Snoot and Collected Home stores with Marty Mason Design Group, and offers interior design services by Merge ID designers, Marty Mason Collected furniture and much more. Find out more at MergeHome.com.

One of the nation’s largest banks will open an innovative new workspace in Atlanta and create hundreds of tech jobs in the region. With the opening of its new office, located at Ponce City Market, Capital One will hire hundreds of engineer positions focused on cloud, data, machine learning and cybersecurity. The bank will also seek product managers to work on unique, challenging technology problems. Learn more at capitalonecareers.com.