Business Briefs

MBIKES, an Atlantabased based designer and producer of single speed, fixed-gear bicycles, has officially launched its business. Crafted for urban transit and featuring a simplified, retro design, MBIKES are for sale at Peachtree Bikes in Buckhead, Gear Revival on the Westside and Paris on Ponce on the BeltLine. The bikes are also available at mbikesusa.com.

The Kroger shopping center at 725 Ponce de Leon Ave. will soon have a bike/ pedestrian ramp to the Atlanta BeltLine’s Eastside Trail. The new connector will coincide with exterior upgrades to the 30-year-old supermarket and its parking lot. Along with the ramp, Kroger is also installing bike racks, a bike repair station, new curbs and sidewalks (including paved sidewalk access to Ponce), new trees and landscaping, a “water quality pond” in the parking lot to filter runoff, new LED parking lot lighting and repaving the front and back parking lots. Construction is expected to be complete in November. The store itself, which originally opened in 1984, will get a new paint job, new lights and signage to reflect the recent interior upgrade completed in March.

A second Feather Baby (featherbaby.com) retail store is now open in Buckhead at 3096 Roswell Road. Made from Peruvian pima at a small factory in Lima, the handmade baby and toddler clothing is made to be handed down to siblings, family and friends. There is also a Feather Baby store in Decatur.

The McPherson Implementing Local Redevelopment Authority (MILRA) board approved a resolution authorizing a memorandum of understanding on the sale of part of Fort McPherson in southwest Atlanta to Tyler Perry Studios. The tentative $30 million agreement will allow Tyler Perry Studios to expand its production operations on 330 acres of the property, while allowing MILRA to retain over 144 acres for economic development purposes. No city funds would be used to close the transaction. Tyler Perry Studios will build 15 or 16 sound stages on the decommissioned Army base, which is expected to add over 8,000 new jobs to Atlanta, including the relocation of 350 jobs. Additional green space, new streetscapes and transit improvements are also being negotiated. Shortly after the announcement, another studio, Ubiquitous Entertainment, filed a federal lawsuit to prevent the sale to Perry stating that it had been negotiating for more than three years to build on the site.

Salesforce.com, the cloud computing and customer relationship management company, has moved into expanded offices at Atlanta Plaza in Buckhead. Salesforce.com now occupies the top two floors of the 34-story building and offers its employees sit or stand desks, treadmill desks and scooters to zip to and from meetings.

Brown & Company Jewelers is marking 40 years in business. The jewelry store has locations in Buckhead and Roswell. The Buckhead location, which opened just five years ago, is getting remodeled and unveiling two brand new watch boutiques: Rolex and Breitling.

Gerald Thomas, a partner at Morris, Manning & Martin in Buckhead, has received the National Bar Association’s 2014 Tax Leadership Award. The executive board of the NBA’s Tax section annually chooses an attorney who is proficient in tax law, mentors and encourages minorities to consider tax as a specialty, and has outstanding moral character.

To celebrate its 25th anniversary, the Museum of Design Atlanta (MODA) will host a celebration honoring architect John C. Portman, Jr. for his contributions to MODA during its early history. The event will be held Sept. 4 from 6:30 to 9 p.m. The rankings of the 25 Design Achievements voted on by the public will also be revealed exclusively to event attendees during the celebration. Tickets are $75 and are available at museumofdesign.org or by calling (404) 979-6455. Gerald Thomas

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Greening Buckhead Atlanta

Local media got a chance to go behind the construction fences at Buckhead Atlanta last month to see the hive of activity taking place in the run-up to the opening of its first shops and restaurants in mid-September. Developer OliverMcMillan is spending a whopping $10 million on landscaping for the live/work/ play mecca that stands in the heart of Buckhead Village. Workers were busy with landscaping, including the creation of colorful flower beds and the arrival of the first of four 35-foot tall oak trees being planted around the property. The first tenants at the Buckhead Atlanta development set to open on Sept. 18 include Brunello Cucinelli, Canali, diptyque, Hermès, L’Occitane, Moncler, Scoop NYC, theory and Warby Parker. Restaurants planning to open include Corso Coffee, Gypsy Kitchen, Shake Shack and Thirteen Pies.