Dunwoody envisions Perimeter Center future

through their various endeavors, such as winning the 1996 Summer Olympics, and their various business and philanthropic initiatives.

Sometime in 2008, I asked Charlie Loudermilk if we could have lunch. As chair of the Atlanta Press Club’s debate committee, I had been trying to get an endowment for our debates. We met at the Atlanta Fish Market in Buckhead, where I made my pitch.

“There are a lot of things in Atlanta named after you. And there are a lot of things in this town named after Andy,” I told Loudermilk. “But there’s nothing that honors the two of you and your unique friendship. What about endowing the Loudermilk-Young debate series?”

I could tell he was intrigued. But it took more than two years (countless lunches, dinners, drinks) to get him to a yes. Finally, in 2011, the Atlanta Press Club was able to announce that Loudermilk had pledged $1 million for our debate series.

One of my fondest memories was inviting Young and Loudermilk to Georgia Public Broadcasting on Dec. 6, 2020, for the run-off debates between U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler, Rev. Raphael Warnock as well as Jon Ossoff and U.S. Sen. David Perdue (a no-show). The Loeffler-Warnock debate was simulcast on CNN, Fox News (Loudermilk’s favorite channel) and countless other media platforms – a high-water mark for our debate series.

“That really was a special night,” said Degolian, who had accompanied her father to GPB. “They sat there looking like old friends.”

“Charlie was in good spirits every time I saw him,” said Young, adding they rarely discussed partisan politics. “The main thing we disagreed on was Georgia Tech versus North Carolina. Charlie liked the fact that we could talk about the business of the city.”

Young went by Loudermilk’s hospital room to pay his final respects two days before his friend died from the after-effects of a stroke.

“It was incredibly tender,” Degolian said. “It reminded me of when my dad and Andy went to tell John Portman goodbye.”

The last several weeks offered a series of memories.

On July 12, Loudermilk celebrated his 95th birthday, which turned into a quasi-family reunion. On July 19, Loudermilk attended the 80th birthday party of his friend, Charlie Smithgall III, fully dressed as a cowboy with two young cowgirls.

His son, Robin Loudermilk, said a couple of weeks ago, his father told him he was broke.

“’I need some money,’” Robin remembered his father saying. “I gave him $500. It was like giving ice cream to a kid. That last memory of him is so sweet.”

For me, I’ll always remember interviewing Charlie Loudermilk and Andrew Young in a video about his gift to the Atlanta Press Club.

“People over the years have asked me how does a white conservative Republican have a close relationship with a Black liberal Democrat?” Loudermilk said in the video. “I just say, that’s the way we do it in Atlanta.”

Charlie Loudermilk and Andrew Young sat side-by-side at the memorial service for their dear friend, architect and developer John Portman on Jan. 5, 2018.

At the ribbon-cutting of John Portman’s hotel on Peachtree. From left, Charlie Loudermilk, John Portman and Andrew Young as. A.J. Robinson, president of Central Atlanta Progress, makes remarks.

Dunwoody envisions future development around Perimeter Center

BY SAMMIE PURCELL

The Dunwoody City Council viewed three possible future development scenarios in the Perimeter area at an Aug. 22 meeting.

The presentation was part of the Edge City 2.0 project, an effort between the city and the Perimeter Community Improvement Districts (PCIDs) to study future economic growth and development in Perimeter Center. “Edge City” comprises a two-mile radius around the Dunwoody MARTA Station.

Andrew Kohr, a principal with consultant Pond & Company, said the company has done market research to come up with three different growth scenarios.

Kohr said that Pond held a workshop on July 21, where they allowed community stakeholders to provide feedback on the three scenarios. He also said the hope would be to combine elements from the three for a final scenario. Each scenario is projected over a 20-year forecast.

“There’s no one scenario. It’s not like you have to pick one or the other,” he said. “What are the best ideas from each?”

Kohr called the first possible scenario for growth “Live + Walk.” This scenario would decentralize development throughout the Perimeter Center, focusing on mid and low-rise development and greenspace spread throughout the area and connected by walkable roads and pathways.

The second scenario is called “Gather,” and would include redevelopment around a central gathering space along Ashford Dunwoody Road. The developments would be a mix of low, mid, and high-rise concentrated around greenspaces. Residents would be able to get to the gathering space via pedestrian pathways.

“Part of the challenge we have in the Perimeter area is there’s no one central gathering civic space,” Kohr said.

In a diagram, Kohr showed a possible large greenspace in front of Perimeter Mall.

The last scenario, called “Transit-Oriented,” would emphasize development around the Dunwoody MARTA station. Higher density developments would be located at Perimeter Mall and the adjacent areas. Bicycle and pedestrian paths would connect properties on the outskirts to the MARTA station.

Kohr said that based on stakeholder input, the consultant team plans to create a refined scenario that includes higher density development around the MARTA station, central greenspace and smaller surrounding pockets of greenspace, a bicycle and pedestrian trail network, and a street grid to alleviate congestion on Ashford Dunwoody Road and promote walkability.

Kohr said the consultant team plans to hold public engagement sessions on a final scenario by mid-October and bring a draft back to the city by mid-November. Officials say Edge City 2.0 will result in a “blueprint for strategic growth” for Perimeter Center.