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Hey, O4W / L5P / Candler Park! This week: the Civic Center redevelopment hit a major milestone with its first tower topping out, Rivian officially moved into its new East Coast HQ right off the Beltline in Krog District, and the Lucian Books + Wine team is opening brasserie Sargent on August 18. Add in a citywide Flock camera audit, and there’s a lot to catch up on.

- News — A 251 Pine St. tower tops out, Rivian's Krog District HQ opens its doors, and Mayor Dickens orders a 30-day audit of APD's Flock camera use.
- Business — The team behind Buckhead's Lucian Books + Wine debuts Sargent, a new American brasserie right on the Eastside Beltline, August 18.
- Events — An Erykah Badu/Jill Scott tribute at City Winery, a sunset tree tour on the Eastside Trail, and Dad's Garage improv running nearly every night this week.
- Government — DeKalb weighs a chronic nuisance ordinance and a wave of rezonings while APS greenlights construction for a new A.D. Williams Elementary and Atlanta Council advances a $99M road fund and self-storage zoning rules.
- Construction — Rooftop HVAC swaps hit Ponce De Leon Ave, and EV chargers are multiplying on Fort St.

Let's dive in.

NEWS

Crane Watch: ATL Civic Center redevelopment's first piece tops out
The first new building in the multi-block redevelopment of the long-dormant Atlanta Civic Center site, located at 251 Pine St. in Old Fourth Ward, has topped out nine months into construction. Facade and window installation is now beginning on the residential structure.

Rivian Unveils New East Coast HQ in Beltline's Krog District
Electric vehicle manufacturer Rivian has officially opened its East Coast headquarters in the Krog District along the Atlanta BeltLine, placing corporate offices directly adjacent to the trail.

The front porch is Atlanta's original social network
The feature draws on stories from Inman Park residents to examine how front porch architecture has functioned as a community gathering point across intown Atlanta neighborhoods.

Atlanta DSA Opens First Office in Little Five Points, Names It for Founder Milt Tambor
The Atlanta Democratic Socialists of America has opened its first physical headquarters in Little Five Points, naming the space after the organization's founder, Milt Tambor.

Atlanta reviews police use of Flock Safety cameras amid advocacy pushback
Mayor Andre Dickens has ordered a 30-day audit of the Atlanta Police Department's use of Flock Safety license plate readers, a review that covers automated surveillance in neighborhoods across the city.

BUSINESS

Lucian Books + Wine team opening American brasserie Sargent along Eastside BeltLine in Old Fourth Ward — The team behind Buckhead's Lucian Books + Wine is set to open Sargent on August 18 along the Eastside BeltLine in Old Fourth Ward, serving American brasserie fare, classic cocktails, and a streamlined wine list.

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EVENTS | Presented by

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Monday, August 17
- CPNO Monthly Meeting August | Candler Park
- In Conversation with Lori Williams | City Winery Atlanta

Tuesday, August 18
- Mo Figgs - A New Legacy | Aisle 5
- Soft Palms: @ Criminal Records In-store performance & Book Q & A / Music Royalties Workshop | Criminal Records
- Sunset Tree Tour: Atlanta Beltline Arboretum Eastside Trail | Inman Perk Coffee
- A Tribute to Erykah Badu and Jill Scott | City Winery Atlanta

Wednesday, August 19
- Kill Bill – The Rapper | Aisle 5
- Maestro | Dad's Garage
- The Christi Show | City Winery Atlanta

Thursday, August 20
- Dad's Garage Vault | Dad's Garage
- Libianca | The Masquerade
- slayr - Half Blood Tour | The Masquerade
- Blends & Blues Vinyl Night Hotbox | 54 Hilliard St NE
- Larry Griffith Band: Larry Griffith Trio@Two Urban Licks,6-10! | TWO urban licks

Friday, August 21
- Toro Y Moi | Variety Playhouse
- Them In Uniform | Aisle 5
- Only Improv in the Building | Dad's Garage
- Catch23 | Dad's Garage
- ASIFAC Animation Festival and Conference 2026 | Georgia State CMII
- Save Ferris | The Masquerade
- TimaLikesMusic Presents: Buga Suga, A Classic R&B Party | The Masquerade
- Daft Punk Night | 18+ | The Masquerade

Saturday, August 22
- Beltline Bubbles & Bites Brunch Crawl | CHIRINGA
- Medicine Place | Aisle 5
- Dungeons & Mashables: Meg's Mashables X The Tight Acquaintances | Dad's Garage
- The Tight Acquaintances | Dad's Garage
- Cage Match | Dad's Garage
- Reptile Day | Fernbank Museum of Natural History
- Will Swinton - Will Swinton Live | The Masquerade

Sunday, August 23
- Barks & Bites: Beltline Doggie Crawl | Krog Street Market
- The Playground: A Summer Day Party Experience | Trade & Tempo
- Pi'erre Bourne: Made In Paris | The Masquerade

GOVERNMENT

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

Past Week Roundup

DeKalb County Board of Commissioners

The Board of Commissioners Zoning Meeting took up a wave of rezoning requests that would convert industrial land along Henrico Road into single-family subdivisions, alongside new townhome proposals near Chamblee-Tucker Road and Gresham Road. A retail liquor package store request on Covington Highway and a salon suite conversion on Briarcliff Road also went before commissioners, along with a countywide "chronic nuisance" property ordinance meant to crack down on repeat problem addresses. Minutes for this meeting aren't posted yet, so outcomes aren't confirmed. Separately, at the Board of Commissioners meeting, the agenda included multi-million dollar grant applications for lake and dam repairs at several county parks, an $800,000 upgrade to Sugar Creek Tennis & Golf, and hearings on extending the county's moratorium on adult entertainment businesses. Commissioners also considered a historic preservation appeal on Clifton Road and a sewer financing deal tied to a major Decatur development.

Atlanta Public Schools

The Atlanta Board of Education held three meetings this week, with the most substantive action coming on August 10, when the Board of Education approved construction management services for a new A.D. Williams Elementary School and signed off on a bundled demolition plan covering the former West Atlanta, Peterson, Brewer, and Anderson Park sites plus the Pryor Street lot. The board also passed a resolution authorizing a Tax Anticipation Note to smooth out cash flow and approved budget adjustments for both the current and upcoming fiscal years. New policies on facility repurposing and student technology use got their first reading and will come back for final approval later. Two additional board meetings took place on August 13, though detailed agendas for those sessions weren't available.

Atlanta City Council

The council's committees moved a heavy load of business this week. At Finance/Executive, members approved refinancing the public debt on Mercedes-Benz Stadium to lower annual payments, signed off on a land swap with Atlanta Public Schools, and advanced airport bond funding, while tabling a proposed ban on using tax and grant funds for marketing or lobbying. The Transportation Committee approved a $99 million fund for citywide road and street construction and a $4.5 million safety upgrade for Peachtree Street in Midtown, but held a proposal to regulate private parking garages. At a special called Atlanta City Council session, members unanimously locked in pricing terms for the airport's Series 2026 revenue bonds. The Community Development/Human Services Committee approved over $3 million in workforce training grants and forwarded several land-use plan changes across Midtown and the Westside, while holding a proposed vacant-property security ordinance for further review. The City Utilities Committee approved a $57.2 million solid waste contract, a $25 million drinking water renewal project, and a new task force to study data center regulations, and the Public Safety & Legal Administration Committee reviewed a plan to expand community policing officers citywide along with two lawsuit settlements totaling roughly $470,000. As covered in today's news section, the Zoning Committee also took up a citywide rule requiring special permits for self-storage facilities, on top of several major mixed-use rezonings along Ponce de Leon Avenue and Decatur Street.

Notable Neighborhood Mentions

DeKalb County Board of Commissioners
- 1080 Clifton Road, Atlanta, GA 30307 — An appeal of a Historic Preservation Commission decision regarding property alterations is on the agenda for review.

Atlanta City Council
- 460 & 478 Decatur Street SE — A Comprehensive Development Plan land-use redesignation from Low Density Mixed Use to High Density Mixed Use was forwarded to the full Council.
- 686 Highland Avenue NE — A proposed rezoning from Two-Family Residential to Commercial Service within the BeltLine Overlay was considered by the committee.

Meetings This Week
- Atlanta City Council — Committee on Council | Aug-17, 11:30 AM | key topics: POST-certified law enforcement at recreation center polling sites, updates to public comment procedures, Councilmember civility pledge, charter amendment requiring legislative sponsors
- Atlanta City Council | Aug-17, 1:00 PM | key topics: $1.3B airport revenue bond authorization, Mercedes-Benz Stadium debt refinancing, $57.2M solid waste contract, Peachtree Safe Street Midtown project, special use requirements for self-storage facilities
- DeKalb County Board of Commissioners — Committee of the Whole | Aug-18, 9:00 AM | key topics: $233.8M Scott Candler Water Treatment Plant overhaul, Michelle Obama Trail extension, Flat Shoals Parkway pedestrian upgrades, data center environmental impact study
- Fulton County Board of Commissioners | Aug-19, 10:00 AM | key topics: bond issuance for new Behavioral Health Crisis Center, St. Mark AME Church historic preservation grant, residential sewer easement dedications, court technology fund restructuring

CONSTRUCTION

Permits
- 1049 Ponce De Leon Ave NE — Permit filed for three 10-ton gas pack rooftop units and one 6-ton unit. Big HVAC swap for a commercial building on Ponce, expect some rooftop work noise.
- 83 Fort St NE — Two separate permits for EV charging station electrical work. Another sign the area keeps adding EV infrastructure.
- 1144 Blue Ridge Ave — Re-roof permit issued, replacing with a new TPO membrane using like materials. No structural work, so this stays a straightforward roofing job.
- 584 Highland Ave NE — Residential addition permit routed for review at a single-family home. Worth watching if it moves to approval, since it'll bring construction activity to the block.
- 1634 Ponce De Leon Ave NE — Ready to issue for a multi-family building, replacing three windows like for like. Minor exterior work, no structural changes.
- 675 Ponce De Leon Ave NE — Two low voltage data cabling permits filed for a commercial space. Likely tied to a tenant buildout or tech upgrade.
- 331 Elizabeth St NE — Small plumbing permit to re-rough a wall sink faucet. Routine commercial maintenance.

Road Work

Under Construction
- SR 42/US 23 @ SR 154 & @ Arkwright Place — Crews are converting the intersection of SR 42 / Moreland Avenue and Arkwright Place into a right-in/right-out setup, building a median that blocks left turns at that intersection.
- SR 8 from SR 3 to SR 42 — GDOT's District Maintenance Office has this stretch of SR 8 under resurfacing to fix a low pavement condition score.
- SR 154 @ 7 Locations in DeKalb & 1 in Fulton, VRU Improvements — Along SR 154 / Memorial Drive, crews are adding a mid-block pedestrian crossing, a right-in/right-out conversion, and a restricted crossing U-turn between Hill Street and Pearl Street. The project spans both DeKalb and Fulton counties.
- I-75 @ Ralph McGill Blvd & Baker Street, Tunnel Lighting — Crews are swapping out old high-pressure sodium tunnel lighting for LED fixtures on I-75, with work possibly including new conduit and wiring.

Service Requests
- Traffic Signal Repairs — Dekalb Ave & Clifton Rd has racked up 4 reports (including an emergency Level 1 case), plus more at Edgewood Ave & Blvd, Dekalb Ave NE, Ralph McGill Blvd & Pkwy Dr, and Edgewood Ave SE & Jackson St. Most are closed or in progress.
- Potholes — Clifton Rd NE has two, with more on Ralph McGill Blvd NE, Oakdale Rd NE, and Irwin St & Jackson St. Crews have most of these in progress.
- Overgrowth and Visibility Issues — Reported at Central Park Pl & N Ave, Somerset Ter NE, and Euclid Ave NE & Candler St NE.
- Downed Trees — Crews are clearing reports on Elizabeth St NE, Ralph McGill Blvd NE, and Terrace Ave NE.
- Litter Removal — Requests came in for Ralph McGill Blvd NE, Ponce de Leon Ave NE, and Terrace Ave NE, with two already marked solved.
- Sign Repair or Replacement — A request on Pine St NE is in progress.

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Until next week,
O4W / L5P / Candler Park Busybody

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.