Presented by Rally Built Homes

Hey y’all, before we get into it, two quick things: 1. Did you know if you have any questions or feedback you can just reply to this email? We read and reply to pretty much everything. 2. Next week we’ll be publishing Tuesday morning due to some staff vacation time, but then we’ll be back to our normal Monday morning routine.

Hey, Southwest Beltline! This week: the Westside's first bike park is nearly finished at Shirley C. Franklin Park, and the Atlanta City Council voted 8-7 to sell the city detention center to Fulton County. Add a groundbreaking on $147 million in HBCU student housing and a Halloween week packed with events, and there's plenty to dig into.

- News — Beyond the bike park and the 8-7 jail sale vote, you'll find The Den at Eight50 West breaking ground for Morehouse and Spelman students, a new StationSoccer field at H.E. Holmes, and residents at Westside Village describing months of water and fungus in their hallways.
- Events — Halloween week brings a Murphy Infill Station kickoff meeting on Thursday, a Hill House horror book club, Boggs-o-ween and a Nonsense ATL dance party, plus free Beltline fitness and a Monday night Addams Family screening.
- Government — Fulton commissioners swapped a $9.59 million senior ride contract extension for a $1.06 million bridge deal, while this week's Atlanta City Council committees take up Murphy Triangle and BeltLine rezonings.
- Construction — EdgeConneX is adding another data hall on Donnelly Ave, a new duplex on Byewood Ln has its electrical permits, and the SR 14 bridge over the Beltline is being refurbished.

Let's dive in.

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At doorstep of Atlanta HBCUs, 'transformative' project full speed ahead
The $147-million The Den at Eight50 West at 850 West End Ave. calls for 305 units with 793 beds for Morehouse and Spelman students, and it is scheduled to open for the fall 2028 semester. Develop Fulton approved up to $144.5 million in bond funding in January, and the project is expected to generate 350 construction jobs and 14 permanent ones.

Atlanta City Council votes to sell detention center to Fulton County for $68 million
The council authorized the sale of the Atlanta City Detention Center in an 8-7 vote on Oct. 19, with a target closing date of Dec. 2. If negotiations go past that date, the City will pay $150 per detainee daily.

Residents say water, fungus have plagued Westside Village hallways for months
Residents at the Washington at Historic Westside Village describe standing water, slippery floors, and a fungus-like growth in the building, and say their calls to management have gone unanswered. They said they have not been given a repair timeline, and the only response so far has been cardboard placed over some wet areas.

New StationSoccer field opens at H.E. Holmes MARTA Station to serve metro youth
The H.E. Holmes field is the seventh StationSoccer pitch and opened during the program's 10th anniversary year, a decade after the first one at Five Points Station. It was partly funded through Invest Atlanta's Westside Tax Allocation District and is set for league play in the 2027 StationSoccer season.

Images: Atlanta's first bike park set to open soon on Westside
Phase one at Shirley C. Franklin Park includes an asphalt pump track, jump lines, a bicycle playground, and hiking trails, and is expected to finish by the end of 2026. Phase two would add 2.25 miles of mountain bike trails, with fundraising at $12.9 million toward a $15-million goal.

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Monday, October 26
- Walk with Ease | Lee + White - Great Lawn
- Monday Night Spookies - The Addams Family | Monday Night Brewing - The Garage
- Atlanta Drive GC at The Grove | Monday Night
- Black Men Run Atlanta | Lee + White

Wednesday, October 28
- Homebuying Nightmares | Wild Heaven Beer
- Horror Cult Classic Trivia | The Grove’s

Thursday, October 29
- Southwest Study Group Meeting: Murphy Infill Station Kick-Off & Redevelopment Updates (In-Person) | Wild Heaven Brewery, The Garden Club
- Horror Book Club: The Haunting of Hill House | Offbeat Books

Friday, October 30
- Yes Dear: Halloween Eve at Eyedrum | eyedrum art & music gallery
- Bad Guru, Wardrobe Malfunction, Futon | Boggs Social & Supply

Saturday, October 31
- Nonsense ATL | Wild Heaven West End Brewery & Garden
- Art Out Loud Open Mic: All Black Everything Edition | Westview Maker Space
- The Flyway Tour: Bonner Black + Walker Burroughs | Trees Atlanta
- Pittsburgh Community Market - March 7th to Oct 2026! | Pittsburgh Yards
- UGA V.S. FL | Monday Night Brewing - The Garage
- ArtBeat Saturday (Youth) | Lee + White - Great Lawn
- JAZZ JAM SESSION | Lee + White
- Gordo | 1200 White St. Warehouse
- Gelato Smoot | Warehouse 782
- Boggs-o-ween with Graveyard Hours, The Dirty Crumbums, and Fuzzy Wuzzy | Boggs Social & Supply

Sunday, November 1
- FABIO FRIZZI PERFORMING THE FRIZZI2FULCI CONCERT WITH THE F2F BAND | The Garden Club at Wild Heaven West End

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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

Fulton County Board of Commissioners
Commissioners voted 6-0 to bring county taxes into Alpharetta's North Point Mall tax allocation district, but only after they cut language that would have let the money buy real estate. Two proposals from Commissioner Dana Barrett failed, one to lift the 5% cap on department budget requests for 2027 and one urging action against corporate takeovers of medical practices. The board held a $9.59 million, 12-month senior transportation contract extension with Transdev and instead approved a $1.06 million, three-month bridge deal with Common Courtesy, which keeps ride-sharing going for residents 60 and older through March 31, 2027. Commissioners also approved $3 million in standby water distribution construction contracts, split between two firms, so emergency repairs can move quickly through 2027. That keeps your county water service covered if a main breaks. Barrett's proposed county AI policy was pulled from the agenda before anyone took it up.

Atlanta Public Schools
The Policy Review Committee met and talked through a new policy on how students and teachers can use artificial intelligence in classrooms. Members also looked over the draft 2027 legislative priorities the board plans to bring to state lawmakers. Nobody voted on either item, so nothing changes in your child's school yet. Both topics must go back to the full board for formal action. A separate Board of Education meeting the same day has only a bare agenda posted, with no recorded votes or decisions.

Atlanta City Council
Minutes aren't published yet for either meeting, so we can only tell you what was on the agenda. As covered in today's news section, the full council took up the sale of the city detention center to Fulton County. The same agenda included a $2 million federal grant, matched by $500,000 from the developer, for streetscape design at Centennial Yards. It also featured held legislation that would ban municipal drinking water for data center cooling and create a task force to recommend rules, plus a proposal to bar septic tanks at new commercial projects. You'll also see changes to water billing protections for sudden, unexplained usage spikes on the list, along with a pending study of separate bike and motor vehicle lanes on the BeltLine. Over at the Committee on Council, the agenda covered police officers at recreation centers used as polling sites, competing changes to public comment sign-up rules, and an outside investigation into city payments to Foris Webb, III.

Notable Neighborhood Mentions

Atlanta City Council
- 1089 Allene Ave SW, 1078 Biglin St SW, 1050 Murphy Ave SW, and 1100 Sylvan Rd SW — A rezoning from light industrial conditional to industrial mixed-use is being proposed to implement the BeltLine Murphy Triangle Master Plan.
- 1200 White St SW — A proposal is before council to rezone the property from industrial mixed-use to high-density mixed residential commercial along the BeltLine.
- 672 Cascade Ave SW — A rezoning request is on the agenda to convert the parcel from single-family residential to residential general to allow duplexes or small townhomes.
- 947 Sims St SW — A special use permit application is being considered to authorize the operation of a personal care home facility.

Meetings This Week
- Atlanta City Council — Zoning Committee | Oct-26, 11:00 AM | key topics: self-storage moratorium extension, Murphy Triangle and BeltLine industrial rezonings, Cleveland Avenue parking facility
- Atlanta City Council — Public Safety & Legal Administration Committee | Oct-26, 1:00 PM | key topics: anonymous code enforcement complaint protections, AT&T E911 network contract, retail package alcohol distance waiver
- Atlanta City Council — City Utilities Committee | Oct-27, 10:00 AM | key topics: commercial septic tank ban, water distribution rehabilitation funding, storm sewer infrastructure upgrades
- Atlanta City Council — Community Development/Human Services Committee | Oct-27, 1:30 PM | key topics: BeltLine TAD funding allocation, grocery store tree recompense waiver, affordable housing land transfers
- Atlanta City Council — Transportation Committee | Oct-28, 10:00 AM | key topics: pedestrian safety improvements, street abandonment public hearings, airport runway and terminal grants
- Atlanta City Council — Finance/Executive Committee | Oct-28, 1:30 PM | key topics: Glynn Drive annexation public hearing, urban forestry contract with Trees Atlanta, youth development grants

CONSTRUCTION | Presented by

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Permits
- 1101 Donnelly Ave SW: Commercial alteration filed to convert former shell space into a data center server room (Data Hall 4) for EdgeConneX. The permit is waiting on additional materials. It shows the site is still growing.
- 609 Whitehall St SW: Commercial conversion accepted. The plan replaces old equipment, refaces and paints countertops, adds shiplap accents, repaints the walls and installs new flooring. Expect a fresh look inside.
- 562 Lee St SW: Commercial electrical permit issued for a 56kW power generator. You may hear it during testing.
- 634 Dill Ave SW: T-Mobile wants to modify an existing unmanned telecommunications facility. The work removes eight antennas and several other components. It's routed for review.
- Byewood Ln SW: Two electrical permits issued for a new duplex, each with 200 amp service. New housing is on the way.
- Ontario Ave SW: Residential addition permit for a 1,341 sf single-story bungalow. Plans add 573 sf on the main level and a partial second story. It needs more materials before it moves forward.
- 840 Woodrow St SW: Commercial low voltage permit issued to install a new Emergency Responder Radio Communication System. The system meets fire code requirements for radio coverage inside the building.
- 933 Lee St SW: Fire sprinkler permit routed for review. The work adds and relocates sprinkler heads to meet code.
- 1124 Oak St SW: Electrical permit issued after outlets and lights were added for a commercial conversion of a property that had been residential. A new business is taking shape here.

Road Work

Under Construction
- SR 14 @ Beltline Westside Trail (Fulton County) — Crews are reinforcing the SR 14 bridge over the Westside Trail with a concrete lining. The structure also runs under MARTA, the CSX tracks and Murphy Avenue.
- Sylvan Road @ NS #718082W in Atlanta - Scoping Only (Fulton County) — GDOT is scoping work at the Norfolk Southern railroad crossing on Sylvan Road. Detailed plans haven't been released.
- SR 14 from Norman Berry Drive to CSX #718047H (Fulton County) — Crews are repaving SR 14 from Norman Berry Drive to the CSX rail crossing.
- I-20 @ 2 Locs in Fulton County - Bridge Preventative — Two I-20 bridges in Fulton County are getting concrete patching, new joints and bearings, and fresh paint on their steel beams.
- I-20 from Linkwood Road to I-85 - Lighting (Fulton County) — LED fixtures are replacing the old sodium lights along I-20 from Linkwood Road to I-85.

Service Requests
- Traffic Signal Repairs — Non-emergency reports came in for Pryor Rd, Murphy Ave & Ralph D Abernathy Blvd, Metropolitan Pkwy & Deckner Ave, and Donnelly Ave & Beecher St. Two separate reports cover that Donnelly and Beecher intersection, so it's clearly bugging someone. An emergency Level 1 repair at Metropolitan Pkwy & University Ave is already closed.
- Right of Way Overgrowth — Visibility problems at Evans St & Oglethorpe Ave and on Rogers Ave SW.
- Potholes — Tucker Ave & Lee St.
- Downed Tree — Stokes Ave SW.
- Litter Removal — Delevan St & Fortress Ave.

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Until next week,
Southwest Beltline 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.