July 30, 2004
Creative Loafing
Not one, not two, not three, but four articles in this week's Creative Loafing about (good & bad) urban development in Atlanta.
and Grant Park news.
July 29, 2004
Update!
Been a busy bee at work and around the apartment the past few days. Have been getting up (a little) earlier and falling asleep earlier too. Tuesday Trivia has been really fun the past few weeks. Most recently cross country road tripper Daniel was on our team and helped lead us to 2nd place!
John has been obsessing posting a lot about his recent TiVo purchase, so I thought I would post about my recent purchase... a new media stand. According to UPS, it is in Doraville right now. Yay! I can't wait for the fun of putting it together. Mmm... large, heavy pieces of MDF.
July 24, 2004
My day
So got up early to eat breakfast at Flying Biscuit with Barry and his parents, went to the grocery store, and now am relaxing a bit while watching Dawson's Creek on TBS. I must say I do like the new TBS format. Very funny.
July 23, 2004
Guster concerts
Brian's latest road journal entry makes me wish I had gone to a Guster / Ben Folds / Rufus show... or go to every Guster show possible... you never know what is going to happen.
July 22, 2004
Wal-Mart in my neighborhood
I don't know if this is a good thing or not? Even if it does get built, I will still be a Target girl all the way.
Compact Wal-Mart on way to Midtown
By WALTER WOODS, RENÉE DeGROSS
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 07/21/04
The world's biggest retailer is smiling on Midtown.
Wal-Mart, the Arkansas discount titan, plans to open a new, smaller store made for urban markets at the site of the now-razed Castlegate Hotel off I-75 and Howell Mill Road, developers said Wednesday.
The store would be the second Wal-Mart planned inside I-285 this summer. The discount chain, which has typically shied away from intown locations, is also looking to open in the vacant Avondale Mall in DeKalb County.
The Midtown Wal-Mart would anchor a 300,000-square-foot Selig Enterprises shopping center planned for the old Castlegate site off Howell Mill Road. The 17-acre development also would feature 280 apartment units.
A compact, 150,000-square-foot Wal-Mart would take up one level of the shopping center. More retailers and parking would be on levels above, said David Witt, executive vice president at Selig. The typical Wal-Mart with a grocery store is 220,000 square feet.
"When people think of Wal-Mart, they think 'big box,' but this is the antithesis of big box," Witt said. "This will provide a place for people to shop intown with very competitive prices."
Wal-Mart has not signed a lease, but a company real estate committee has approved the site, Witt said. A Wal-Mart representative could not immediately comment on the location.
Selig had planned a Costco for the center, but that retailer stalled, and Selig approached competitor Sam's Club. Wal-Mart, which owns Sam's, preferred a scaled-down Wal-Mart for the site, Witt said.
Home Depot considered but backed out of Selig's Castlegate development in 2001.
Several neighborhood groups formed the Northwest Community Alliance three years ago to protest big-box retailers at the site. Selig officials have been meeting with nearby residents about the project.
Wal-Mart has not made inroads inside I-285, generally because of the size of its stores.
But the chain has developed urban prototypes to fit in smaller spaces.
Wal-Mart once planned a store for the nearby Atlantic Station mixed-use development, but the deal never materialized.
Daphne Moore, a Wal-Mart spokeswoman, said the chain is taking a closer look at urban areas for growth opportunities.
"We're recognizing there are opportunities in some regions," Moore said. "Where it makes sense, we're going to look at it, but it remains a case-by-case basis."
July 18, 2004
Wish I could go on vacation every week
After a 4-day 3-night vacation to Glen-Ella and Asheville, NC last weekend... I can't wait to start planning my next vacation! But for now, it's work work work and a little bit of play every now and then. Got to take my car in for service tomorrow afternoon. The guy I talked to Friday didn't give me the answer I wanted to hear when I asked him about getting a rental car... so I'll probably call tomorrow to try to get a different answer.
Kenny and John came over a couple nights ago to play a little Trivial Pursuit. We played teams... me and Kenny vs. John and Barry. Kenny and I won... yay! I love to play games when I win.
July 3, 2004
July 1, 2004
is it the weekend yet?
So yesterday was pretty eventful. Barry and I went to lunch at Burrito Brothers while we had some little foreign lady put up new wallpaper in our bathroom. After I got off work, we went to go see Spiderman 2 at Phipps. I do believe Complete Square ™ and his wifey were in attendance as well. After the movie, we went to eat a fancy, schmancy dinner at Bluepointe. I know you're saying... "but how can you afford a dinner at Bluepointe?" Well, I had $85 worth of gift certificates so the meal was pretty cheap. Wine, excellent. Sushi, excellent. Halibut, pretty good. Dinner conversation, pretty crazy... we were seated next to 2 gay guys (Patrick and Brian) and on the other side of them was another young couple (can't remember their names). So basically we all talked... well mainly Patrick talked and asked us questions. Good times. And for dessert, well we all had the same waiter... and it just so happened to be very special occasions for all of us. Barry and I were celebrating a birthday, Patrick and Brian were celebrating their anniversary, and the other two were celebrating their first date. Yay, free very good dessert. Ok, that's the end of my story. Bye-bye.