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Hey, Memorial Drive Corridor! This week: giant pandas Ping Ping and Fu Shuang are about to touch down at Zoo Atlanta, the Atlanta City Council just sent a Beltline light rail resolution to the mayor's desk, and Pullman Yards is turning into an arts destination with Banksy, the Atlanta Art Fair, and a new Toy Factory experience all opening within days of each other.

- News — Pandas return to Zoo Atlanta, the long-vacant Grant Park Gateway building finally gets movement, Trestletree locks in $31M for affordable housing, and a contentious detention center sale debate boils over.
- Events — From a speed jigsaw puzzle race to Oakland Cemetery's pumpkin patch and a stacked Pullman Yards weekend with the Art Fair and Toy Factory opening, this week's calendar is packed.
- Government — DeKalb debates a data center moratorium and big infrastructure spending while Atlanta Council committees tackle the detention center sale, park acquisitions, and a Beltline rail timeline push.
- Construction — Stein Steel's building is getting wired for move-in, new pedestrian crossings are going in along Glenwood Ave, and traffic signal and pothole crews are working through a busy service request queue.

Let's dive in.

NEWS

Two giant pandas will soon arrive at Zoo Atlanta
Male panda Ping Ping and female panda Fu Shuang, both born at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, are set to arrive at Zoo Atlanta "in a few days" under a new International Cooperative Research Agreement with the China Wildlife Conservation Association, following the 2024 departure of Lun Lun, Yang Yang, Ya Lun and Xi Lun.

Forever-empty Grant Park Gateway building shows signs of life
The City of Atlanta Department of Procurement has scheduled an in-person pre-solicitation conference for Oct. 2 regarding the more-than-7,000-square-foot space, now dubbed the "Grant Park Gateway Rooftop Food and Beverage Commercial Enterprise," after prior deals with Savi Provisions and Terminus Commercial Real Estate Partners both fell through.

With $31M financing secure, Trestletree development plots next moves
The Invest Atlanta Board approved $29 million in bond financing plus a $2 million Tax Allocation District grant for Wingate Companies' redevelopment of Trestletree Village's 188 Section 8 units across 44 buildings on 21 acres, with relocation of residents from the Ormewood Park parcel set to begin in November 2027.

The Art of Banksy returns to Atlanta with more than 200 works
"The Art of Banksy: Without Limits" opened Sept. 25 at Pullman Yards, featuring prints, photographs, sculptures, murals and stencil art alongside an infinity room, hologram installation, video mapping and a section on Banksy's work in Ukraine, with VIP tickets offering hands-on spray paint and stencil T-shirt making.

Atlanta detention center sale sparks heated debate
A Sept. 23 work session on the proposed $68 million sale of the 1,300-capacity Atlanta City Detention Center to Fulton County, appraised at $144 million, ended in a shouting match, with Southern Center for Human Rights' Tiffany Roberts citing 2025 inmate deaths and Sheriff Patrick Labat countering that Rice Street hired 141 new employees in 2026 despite staffing still at 54% of required levels.

Shedding light on 3 recent construction failures along Atlanta Beltline
Beltline officials confirmed no cost estimates exist yet for fixing three recent construction issues, including a Grant Street stairway connecting the Southside Trail to The Beacon that was fully ripped out in August after inspectors found "cosmetic and dimensional deficiencies," with repairs by contractor Reeves Young expected complete by late October.

Atlanta City Council sends Beltline rail resolution to mayor's office
The council unanimously passed Kelsea Bond's resolution, with nine co-sponsors, calling for the city, Atlanta Beltline Inc. and MARTA to deliver a light rail implementation plan and timeline by January 2027, after Byron Amos's amendment stripped language supporting use of Beltline Tax Allocation District funds, which sunset at the end of 2030, for the rail project.

EVENTS | Presented by

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Monday, September 28
- Starbomb w/ Scoochie Boochie | The Eastern
- Oakland Tour | Oakland Cemetery
- Elephant Wild Encounter at Zoo Atlanta | Downtown Atlanta Inc. (ADID)
- Author Talk with Sarah McCoy | Atlanta Silent Book Club
- Speed Jigsaw Puzzling | Puzzle Buzz
- Musicians Networking Night | 529 EAV

Tuesday, September 29
- Green Detectives: Exploring the Urban Ecosystem at Oakland | Oakland Cemetery
- Senior Day presented by Kaiser Permanente | Zoo Atlanta
- Reverend Horton Heat | The EARL
- Kilometer Kids - DH Stanton Park (Youth) | DH Stanton Park Soccer Field
- Magic Movement | Grant Park- Greenspace F
- The Reynoldstown Yoga Reset | Lang-Carson Park

Wednesday, September 30
- Toy Factory Opening | Pullman Yards
- Mary Chicken Soup And Rice & Shutdown Shipyard | 529 Bar

Thursday, October 1
- Atlanta Art Fair | Pullman Yards
- Sylvan Esso | The Eastern
- White Denim | The EARL
- Core-ography (Dance Fitness) | Lang-Carson Park
- Atlanta Beltline Thursday Run Club | 3 Taverns Imaginarium

Friday, October 2
- ATLiens w/ Richard Finger | The Eastern
- FACE 10 Days of Fashion Atlanta Art Fair | Pullman Yards
- Finally, Friday: Pumpkin Patch | Oakland Cemetery
- Boots on the Beltline Dance | Terminal South
- Go Public | The EARL

Saturday, October 3
- Pumpkin Patch at Oakland | Historic Oakland Cemetery
- Georgia State Panthers Football vs Old Dominion Monarchs Football | Georgia State Stadium
- Coffee, Donuts & Community Clean-up | Our Neighborhood Edgewood
- Adventure Cubs at the Zoo | Zoo Atlanta
- Educator Soiree | Zoo Atlanta
- Sunset Honor Unit | The Earl

Sunday, October 4
- Streetlight Manifesto w/ Hot Rod Circuit | The Eastern
- Fit 404 Cardio & Strength | Terminal South
- Tempus | 529 EAV

GOVERNMENT | Presented by

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Note: our information comes from posted meetings documents (agendas and minutes when available) — latest source document hyperlinked to each meeting.

Past Week Roundup

At its regular meeting, the DeKalb County Board of Commissioners took up a resolution that would block lifting the county's data center moratorium until an independent health and environmental study gets completed, a move that could shape how much industrial development lands near residential neighborhoods going forward. Commissioners also weighed big infrastructure spending, including nearly $3.2 million for new sidewalks along Flat Shoals Parkway, $4.1 million to design a trail extension linking the South River Trail to Flakes Mill Road, and a three-year, $15.85 million countywide paving contract aimed at fixing deteriorating roads across every district. The board considered accepting a nearly $17.9 million state loan to fund sewer upgrades, along with a proposed rebate program to help residents switch from gas to electric lawn equipment and a 500-home composting pilot set to launch in 2027. Separately, at the Zoning Meeting, commissioners reviewed a wave of rezoning requests, including several proposals to convert office and single-family lots into townhome developments, a subdivision expansion, two child daycare permits, and a long-range placemaking strategy for a nearby commercial corridor. Neither meeting has published minutes yet, so final votes on these items aren't confirmed.

As covered in today's news section, the Atlanta City Council unanimously passed a resolution pushing the city, Beltline officials, and MARTA to deliver a light rail implementation plan and timeline by January 2027. At the Committee on Council meeting, members voted 5-0 to recommend former council president Felicia Moore for a seat on the city's Ethics Board and unanimously cleared reappointments to the Atlanta Commission on Women along with a new appointee to the Special Event Technical Advisory Group tied to Piedmont Park security. Several other proposals stayed stuck in committee, including changes to how public comment sign-up works at council meetings, a charter amendment that would require every piece of legislation to have a primary sponsor, and a push for an independent investigation into the city's contracts with Foris Webb III. A resolution asking Fulton and DeKalb election officials to station certified police officers at recreation center polling sites also remains held. These committee delays mean residents will keep waiting on rule changes that affect how public meetings run and how the city scrutinizes its own contracts.

Notable Neighborhood Mentions

NPU-O
- Kirkwood Business District (Hosea L. Williams Dr) — A special event permit is on the agenda for the annual Kirkwood Holiday Tree Lighting scheduled for December 4, 2026.

Meetings This Week
- Atlanta City Council — Zoning Committee | Sep-28, 11:00 AM | key topics: self-storage special use permits, BeltLine mixed-use rezonings, citywide zoning ordinance rewrite
- Atlanta City Council — Public Safety & Legal Administration Committee | Sep-28, 1:00 PM | key topics: Atlanta City Detention Center disposition, vehicle booting fees, drug-free commercial zones
- DeKalb County Board of Commissioners | Sep-29, 9:00 AM | key topics: data center zoning definitions, Flat Shoals Parkway sidewalks, public safety facility design funds
- Atlanta City Council — City Utilities Committee | Sep-29, 10:00 AM | key topics: water bill usage spike relief, wastewater storage funding, public trash audits
- Atlanta City Council — Community Development/Human Services Committee | Sep-29, 1:30 PM | key topics: park acquisitions including Memorial Drive Greenway, tree preservation rules, HUD lead paint hazard grant
- Atlanta City Council — Transportation Committee | Sep-30, 10:00 AM | key topics: Centennial Yards Complete Streets grant, traffic signal property acquisition, street right-of-way abandonments
- Atlanta City Council — Finance/Executive Committee | Sep-30, 1:30 PM | key topics: Atlanta City Detention Center sale proposal, Glynn Drive annexations, data center tax incentive criteria
- Fulton County Board of Commissioners | Sep-30, 6:00 PM | key topics: Fiscal Year 2026 general fund millage rate hearing, 2027 employee healthcare contracts

CONSTRUCTION | Presented by

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Permits
- 930 Kirkwood Ave SE — The Stein Steel building is getting wired up unit by unit. Crews pulled a stack of electrical permits for 200A service across multiple units in Building D, plus a low voltage permit for phones, alarms, and internet. This many permits at once points to a multi-unit buildout getting close to move-in ready, so expect steady contractor activity on site over the coming weeks.

Road Work

Under Construction
- Glenwood Ave @ Haas Ave & @ Eastside Ave - Install RRFB — The project includes pedestrian facilities work. GDOT lists DeKalb as affected county.
- Glenwood Ave @ Brownwood Ave & @ Joseph Ave - Install RRFB — The project includes pedestrian facilities work. GDOT lists DeKalb as affected county.
- SR 42/Us 23 @ SR 154 & @ Arkwright Place — The project includes intersection improvement work. Work is on SR 42 / Moreland Avenue. GDOT lists Fulton as affected county.
- I-20 from Capitol Ave to Flat Shoals Road - Lighting — The purpose of this project is to upgrade the existing lighting systems, along this corridor, from HPS to energy-efficient LED fixtures. GDOT lists DeKalb, Fulton as affected counties.
- SR 154 @ 7 Locs in Dekalb & 1 Loc in Fulton - Vru — The proposed project proposes to add one mid-block pedestrian (ped) crossing, one Right-In-Right-Out (RIRO) and one Restricted Crossing U-Turn (RCUT) between Hill Street and Pearl Street. Work is on SR 154 / Memorial Drive. GDOT lists DeKalb, Fulton as affected counties.

Service Requests
- Visibility/Overgrowth Complaints — 16 reports across the corridor, including Ashburton Ave SE, Hosea L Williams Dr & Woodbine Ave, Kirkwood Ave & Chester Ave, Clifton St SE, and Memorial Dr SE & Bill Kennedy Way SE. Crews have resolved most of these, with a few still in progress.
- Traffic Signal Repairs — Emergency-level fixes hit Memorial Dr & Moreland Ave, Cherokee Ave & Georgia Ave, Candler Rd & Alston Dr, and Hosea L Williams Dr at both Rogers St and Rocky Ford Rd, with 16 reports total and most already closed out. A separate batch of 10 non-emergency signal repairs covers Memorial Dr SE, Moreland Ave & Hardee St, Blvd & Glenwood Ave, Millwood Pl SE, and Fulton St, with several still in progress.
- Potholes — 6 reports concentrated on Glenwood Ave SE (3 separate spots), plus Rogers St NE, Blvd near Agave Restaurant, and Richardson St SE. Most remain in progress.
- Downed Trees — 5 reports at Glenwood Ave & Eva Davis Way, Sisson Ave NE, Alston Dr SE, Orchard Ct SE, and Glenwood Ave. The city's closed out four of the five already.
- Litter Removal — 4 reports on Hosea L Williams Dr SE, Stanwood Ave SE, Rogers St NE, and Dekalb Ave & Moreland Ave, all still in progress.
- Sign Repair or Replacement — 2 reports at Bouldercrest Dr & Stallings Ave and Lafrance St NE, both in progress.

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Until next week,
Memorial Drive Corridor Busybody

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Disclaimer: We use advanced data retrieval and analysis techniques across hundreds of sources, and may be prone to occasional error. Independently verify information with a secondary source, and please let us know if we got anything wrong via the feedback form.