Newspaper Page Text
Storefronts for local, Black-
owned businesses coming to
Atlanta BeltLine
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 arts-
centered 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 Black-
owned, 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 Black-
owned 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, Black-
owned 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. Ed
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.
►YOYOSO, a fashion
and athleisure department
store, is set to open this
fall at Atlantic Station.
Located at 260 18th
Street, the 8,244-square-
foot 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.Qi]
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