Presented By Neil Hediger Real Estate

Hey, Southwest Beltline! This week: Beltline officials dropped a $3.5 billion light-rail proposal, lantern-making workshops kicked off ahead of the big September 19 parade, and a long-blighted floodplain west of Midtown is turning into an actual wetland park. Stick around for a packed events calendar, a Fulton County budget update with real housing money attached, and a Lee Street corridor that's suddenly buzzing with generators, HVAC units, and new tenants.

- News — The Beltline's transit study lands with a $3.5B price tag, Microsoft's donated Westside land gets a party date, and APS pushes its redistricting plan forward.
- Events — From lantern puppet workshops to the Atlanta Food & Wine Festival at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, this week's calendar is stacked with music, markets, and a 5K for a cause.
- Government — Fulton County greenlights 55 affordable units and jail elevator upgrades, APS turns a shuttered school into housing, and a church-to-multifamily conversion hits NPU-T's agenda.
- Construction — A 75kW generator lands on Lee Street, SR 14's Beltline bridge rebuild rolls on, and crews are clearing out a dozen overgrowth complaints across the corridor.

Let's dive in.

NEWS

Workshops offered ahead of annual Atlanta Beltline Parade
Community lantern-making workshops are now underway across the city ahead of the 15th annual Atlanta Beltline Lantern Parade scheduled for September 19. Beltline neighbors and families can learn how to craft illuminated art pieces and giant puppets to take part in the evening procession.

Beltline-adjacent 'Valley of the Hawks' project barrels ahead
Construction is progressing rapidly on the "Valley of the Hawks" wetland restoration project near the Atlanta Beltline just west of Midtown. The initiative is turning a long-blighted floodplain into a greenspace featuring marshes, ponds, and walking trails designed to mitigate local stormwater flooding.

Beltline officials propose $3.5 billion light-rail system for Atlanta
Atlanta Beltline officials released final recommendations for the Beltline Transit Study, proposing a $3.5 billion light-rail system to connect neighborhoods across the city. The plan identifies preferred route alignments intended to improve travel times, access to major medical centers, and integration with the wider regional transit network.

City announces big party on Westside land donated by Microsoft
The City of Atlanta and the Atlanta Urban Development Corporation have scheduled a community celebration on Saturday, September 12, at the former Quarry Yards parcel donated by Microsoft. The event marks the next public phase of planning for civic redevelopment, affordable housing, and park space along the neighboring Westside corridor.

Atlanta Public Schools moves into next phase of redistricting plan
Atlanta Public Schools is moving forward with the next phase of its district-wide redistricting initiative. The planning process aims to balance facility capacity and enrollment numbers, with potential boundary changes that could affect families across the city.

'Housing Forward 2035' plan tackles Atlanta metro housing affordability crisis
The Atlanta Regional Commission has launched "Housing Forward 2035," a long-term strategy designed to mitigate the region's escalating affordable housing shortage. The initiative outlines coordinated regional strategies to preserve existing low-cost housing and incentivize workforce development across intown communities.

EVENTS | Presented by

Peace of Mind Recycling is your one stop shop for a convenient and affordable way to make sure your recyclables actually get… recycled! With Atlanta's city recycling services your guess is as good as ours in regards to what actually gets recycled. We document where we take your glass, metal, electronics & everything else so you can rest assured it's going to the good place 100% of the time.

Tuesday, September 8
- Book Journaling with @OpinionNoted | Offbeat Books

Wednesday, September 9
- Small On-Site Tour: September 9th 2026 - 11:30 am and 2:30 pm | Pittsburgh Yards
- Atlanta United FC vs. Orlando City SC | Atlanta's Stadium
- Walk with Ease | Lee + White - Great Lawn
- Speculative Fiction Book Club | Offbeat Books

Thursday, September 10
- George Porter, Jr. & Runnin' Pardners with Tinfish | The Garden Club at Wild Heaven West End
- Workshop: Acorns Aglow – Acorn Lantern Puppet Work | Trees Atlanta Kendeda Tree House
- Atlanta Food & Wine Festival 2026 | Home Depot Backyard at Mercedes-Benz Stadium
- Hayloft, Towne Park Drive, Rachel Burdge | Boggs Social & Supply

Friday, September 11
- Hissy Fit Comedy: Jay Badlani | Wild Heaven West End Brewery & Garden

Saturday, September 12
- NFC Brew Jitsu #18: Guns vs Hoses | Monday Night Brewing - The Garage
- Nonsense ATL | Wild Heaven West End Brewery & Garden
- Staying on Track: A Spending Plan for Real Life | Pittsburgh Yards
- Race for P.A.C.E.S 5K/10K Walk/Run | Westside Beltline
- Pittsburgh Community Market - March 7th to Oct 2026! | Pittsburgh Yards
- Don't Shoot the Messenger, Close to Midnight, Kanes Grip, and Nihilus | Boggs Social & Supply

Sunday, September 13
- Ken Carson – xperimenting tour | State Farm Arena
- The Goth Flea Market | Boggs Social & Supply
- Black on the Block | Pullman Yards

GOVERNMENT | Presented by

Want to spruce up your home or get a unique gift for a loved one? Check out Hightower Photo + Art, a local Atlanta artist that makes these extremely cool Atlanta neighborhood prints (and much more).

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 approved funding for 55 new affordable housing units in the Vine City and English Avenue communities, split between single-family homes and multifamily apartments. Commissioners also signed off on a $4.42 million contract to modernize nine elevators at the Fulton County Jail, a project that will take about 560 days to complete. You'll see infrastructure money moving too, with over $1.7 million committed to relocate water mains in Roswell and Milton to support road work and a new multi-use trail. The board also approved a $1.2 million agreement with the Urban League of Greater Atlanta to run a tenant rental assistance program through 2028. On top of that, commissioners signed off on the 2026 Budget Soundings, a key step in shaping next year's county budget.

Atlanta Public Schools Board of Education approved a ground lease with the Atlanta Urban Development Corporation to turn the former Lakewood Heights School site into affordable housing, part of a broader push covered in today's news section on the district's redistricting and property planning efforts. The board also approved intergovernmental agreements covering four more surplus APS properties, all aimed at converting unused school land into affordable housing and mixed-use development. Separately, the board finalized a real estate exchange and a joint use agreement with the city's parks department, which will open up more recreational facilities for shared community use. Members also gave final approval to a new policy setting standards for how the district repurposes empty or underused buildings going forward, plus a policy governing student technology and AI use in classrooms. These moves signal the district is leaning hard into turning vacant properties into housing and community assets rather than letting them sit idle.

Meetings This Week
- Atlanta City Council — Committee on Council | Sep-08, 11:30 AM | key topics: public comment sign-up order rules, police officer presence at recreation center polling sites, elected official civility pledge, and civic board appointments
- Atlanta City Council | Sep-08, 1:00 PM | key topics: major mixed-use industrial rezonings along Chattahoochee Avenue and Logan Circle, consumer regulations on private parking lots, police fleet vehicle financing, and street safety improvements
- Atlanta NPU — NPU-T | Sep-09, 7:00 PM | key topics: church conversion to multi-family housing at 432 Inman Street SW, restaurant and bar alcohol license for Jamrock Grill and Vibez, and 2027 NPU bylaws

CONSTRUCTION

Permits
- 1290 Campbellton Rd SW — New two-story duplex on a slab just got accepted. Another sign of new residential infill hitting the corridor.
- 711 Lee St SW — Commercial reroof in kind, installing TPO roofing. Expect some rooftop work noise near Lee Street this month.
- 835 Oak St SW — Permit filed for a new chainlink dumpster enclosure with privacy slats. Routine, but it means some fencing work on site.
- 918 Dill Ave SW — Certificate of occupancy application tied to a previously permitted multi-family project. This one's been in the pipeline a while and looks close to wrapping up.
- 1292 Oakland Ter SW — Electrical upgrade in progress, adding new branch circuits and boosting service capacity. Likely prep work for a bigger buildout.
- 929 Lee St SW — Two permits here: an electrical remodel of the existing space plus HVAC work installing two new 3-ton rooftop units. This space is getting a real refresh, worth watching for what business moves in.
- 1149 Lee St SW — Installing a 75kW generator. That's a serious power upgrade, often a signal of a larger commercial tenant moving in or expanding.
- 1661 Metropolitan Pkwy SW — Renovation of an existing facility spanning two buildings connected by a breezeway canopy. This is a bigger-scale alteration project and could bring noise and crew activity to the site for a while.

Road Work

Under Construction
- SR 14 @ Beltline Westside Trail — Crews are refurbishing the entire SR 14 bridge over the Beltline, including the stretch that extends under MARTA, the CSX railroad, and Murphy Avenue. Expect this bridge work to continue as crews rebuild it with concrete.
- SR 14 from Norman Berry Drive to CSX #718047H — GDOT's District Maintenance Office is resurfacing this stretch of SR 14 to fix its low pavement quality score.
- I-20 at 2 Locations in Fulton County, Bridge Preventative Maintenance — This bridge rehab covers spall repair on headers and the superstructure, joint replacement, steel beam painting, and bearing and substructure work at two Fulton County spots along I-20.
- I-20 from Linkwood Road to I-85, Lighting — Crews are swapping out old HPS lighting for energy-efficient LED fixtures along this I-20 corridor. The work may also include new poles, conduit, and wiring.

Service Requests
- Visibility/Overgrowth Issues — 12 reports across S Gordon, Hobson St SW, Hobson St SW & Mary St SW, McDaniel St & Mary St, Peeples St SW, and several other spots. Crews already solved 7 of them, and the other 5 are in progress.
- Emergency Traffic Signal Repair — Lee St & Sylvan Rd, still in progress.
- Litter Removal — Coleman St & University Ave, work underway.
- Potholes — University Ave & McDaniel St, now closed out.
- Non-Emergency Traffic Signal Repair — Ralph David Abernathy Blvd & Humphries St, closed out.

Want to sponsor us? Submit here

Want to alter your neighborhood selections? Submit here

Want to promote an event? Submit here

Until next week,
Southwest Beltline Busybody

Every day, 4.5 million readers turn to 1440 for their factual news fix. We sift through 100+ sources to bring you a complete summary of politics, global events, business, and culture — all in a brief 5-minute email. No spin. No slant. Just clarity.

Join for free today!

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.