VaHi / Morningside: So. Fox Opens and a Storage Ban Lands

Presented By Green Box Homes

VaHi / Morningside readers: thank you to those of you that gave feedback on potentially combining with Midtown. Though there was a lot of support in favor, we’ve decided not to combine with Midtown for now and re-evaluate in a few more weeks. Ultimately, these two areas are pretty distinct in terms of vibe and identity (which several of you noted adamantly), so no change for now.

One more exciting announcement: We just launched a cross-neighborhood “week in review” edition that highlights the most important stories across all our neighborhoods, and are launching in the near future a “Downtown” edition and a “Southwest Beltline” edition! Re-choose your neighborhoods here if you want to sign up for any of those three.

Happy almost-Fourth, VaHi and Morningside! A brand-new restaurant is about to open its doors right here in the neighborhood, Mayor Dickens just made a sweeping move on self-storage development that hits close to home, and the Peachtree Road Race is days away. Lots to dig into, so let's get to it.

- News — Mayor Dickens has frozen new self-storage projects across Atlanta, a move with real implications for what gets built in fast-growing corridors like ours, plus El Ponce is turning every USA and Mexico World Cup goal into a free round of tequila shots.
- Business — So. Fox. is opening in Virginia-Highland next week, and the menu is already generating buzz worth paying attention to.
- Events — The Peachtree Road Race runs from Lenox to Piedmont Park on July 4th, but the week is stacked before and after, with Cocktails in the Garden, a Tanabata celebration at Nakato, a Beltline Doggie Crawl, and plenty more.
- Government — City Council committees tackled a $200M Southside hospital push, citywide property tax rates, the self-storage moratorium, and a rezoning request on Amsterdam Avenue near Monroe Drive that was sent back to committee.
- Construction — The Atlanta Botanical Garden filed two new permits hinting at its next expansion, electrical work at 1048 N. Highland suggests a tenant buildout is coming, and pothole complaints are stacking up fast on E. Morningside Drive.

Let's dive in.

NEWS

Mayor Andre Dickens issues moratorium on new self-storage projects across Atlanta
Mayor Dickens has signed an executive order putting the brakes on new self-storage development across the city, which is a move that will resonate strongly in fast-growing areas of the city, where neighbors have long pushed for housing and active street life over climate-controlled lockers. The moratorium signals a real shift in how City Hall is thinking about land use, and it could meaningfully shape what gets built on the next vacant lot near you.

Free tequila shots are on the line at this Atlanta restaurant every time the USA or Mexico scores a World Cup goal
El Ponce, a neighborhood staple, is turning World Cup matches into a genuine event, with free tequila shots every time the USA or Mexico finds the back of the net. Extended hours, a special menu, and the kind of crowd energy that only soccer can generate make this a fun spot for anyone in the area.

10 spectacular things to do this Fourth of July weekend in Atlanta
America turns 250 this weekend, and Atlanta is not treating the occasion lightly, with the legendary Peachtree Road Race leading a packed slate of festivities across the metro. If you've been looking for a reason to get outside and into the mix, this is it.

BUSINESS

So. Fox - opening - A new restaurant is set to debut in Virginia-Highland this week at the old Farm Burger space, and the menu is already turning heads, with hyper-seasonal cuisine and low-intervention wines. Definitely worth a try!

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.

The Fourth of July weekend brings one of Atlanta's most beloved traditions right by us at Piedmont Park: the AJC Peachtree Road Race, the world's largest 10K, rolls from Lenox Road down to Piedmont Park on the morning of July 4th. If you're not running, plan around road closures along Peachtree Street early Saturday morning, and if you are running, see you out there.

Tuesday, June 30
- Weekly Walking Club | Piedmont Park
- Author Panel | Jimmy Carter Presidential Library
- RACHEL JOHNSON & BACKROAD BLUES | Blind Willie's
- Garden Playtime | Atlanta Botanical Garden

Wednesday, July 1
- Tanabata celebration | Nakato
- Plant. Eat. Repeat. Workshop Series | Atlanta Botanical Garden
- Storybook & Sensory Bin Time | Atlanta Botanical Garden
- Drop-In Kids Gardening Activity | Atlanta Botanical Garden
- LOCALS ONLY | MJQ

Thursday, July 2
- Cocktails in the Garden | Atlanta Botanical Garden
- Food & Street Art Tour on the Atlanta Beltline | 99 Krog St NE
- Garden Grooves | Atlanta Botanical Garden
- BATA! BATA! | MJQ

Friday, July 3
- Shows for Seedlings: Music Party with Travis Murphy | Atlanta Botanical Garden
- Great American Whiskey Throwdown | Kimpton The Shane
- GAIA | MJQ

Saturday, July 4
- Mudcat July 4th Dance Party | Blind Willie's Blues Club
- Fourth of July Family Day | Jimmy Carter Presidential Library
- Denise Kiernan | Jimmy Carter Presidential Library
- Frog Feeding | Atlanta Botanical Garden
- Curious Saturdays | Atlanta Botanical Garden
- Peachtree Road Race | Lenox to Piedmont Park
- Rooftop Rodeo | Ponce City Market

Sunday, July 5
- Barks & Bites: Beltline Doggie Crawl | Krog Street Market
- Watch Party: Round of 16 Game | The Supermarket ATL
- The Reggae Club Sundays | Knock Music House

GOVERNMENT

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

Past Week Roundup

Atlanta City Council — Finance/Executive Committee

The Finance/Executive Committee's June 24 meeting covered an ambitious range of proposals with real consequences for Atlanta residents' wallets and city services. A resolution was on the agenda requesting Fulton County commit $200 million toward expanding hospital and healthcare infrastructure on the Southside and Westside through a partnership with Morehouse School of Medicine — one of the largest healthcare funding requests the city has pursued in recent memory. Homeowners are also watching a pair of proposals that would directly affect their finances: an ordinance to set FY2027 property tax rates across the city's general, school, parks, BeltLine, and Stitch levies, and a separate measure that would allow the city's CFO to add surcharges on electronic payments made to the city — potentially making it more expensive to pay bills online. On the services side, the committee also considered ordinances to make summer camp programming free for all city youth, provide $75,000 to HouseProud Atlanta for zero-cost home repairs for low-income seniors, and create a new competitive pay structure for Atlanta Fire Rescue personnel — items that signal a broad push to expand publicly funded quality-of-life programs heading into the next fiscal year.

Atlanta City Council — Special Called Meeting

In a brisk 17-minute Special Called Meeting on June 24, the full Atlanta City Council voted unanimously 9-0 across four separate ordinances to authorize $8 million in General Obligation bonds split evenly between fiscal years 2026 and 2027. Both the FY2026 and FY2027 budget amendments were approved to anticipate and appropriate $4 million each in bond proceeds, with an additional $150,000 per fiscal year set aside for issuance costs. The bonds will be sold through a direct placement with Huntington National Bank, a financing method that bypasses a public bond sale in favor of a single institutional buyer — a faster and often lower-cost approach. No residents addressed the council during the public comment period, and all items were sent to the Mayor for final signature immediately after the vote.

Atlanta City Council — Transportation Committee

The Transportation Committee's June 24 meeting produced a wide-ranging agenda touching on parking, transit, pedestrian safety, and street infrastructure across the city. A proposed ordinance would create sweeping new consumer protections for private parking lots and garages — requiring clear rate disclosures, payment accessibility options, and formal dispute resolution processes for drivers facing unfair tickets or towing. The committee also weighed a permanent street closure near Grady Hospital to make way for a new pedestrian plaza, and a resolution formally requesting the Mayor to renegotiate the "More MARTA" Intergovernmental Agreement to better reflect current funding realities and neighborhood transit priorities. On the funding side, a $2.63 million contract with Alta Planning + Design for the Pryor Street and Central Avenue Safe Streets project was on the table, alongside a $3.6 million state grant for Peachtree Street improvements and an $824,000 pedestrian mobility contract for Campbellton Road — a combined slate of infrastructure investments that signal continued city attention to street safety and walkability.

Atlanta City Council — Community Development/Human Services Committee

Atlanta's Community Development/Human Services Committee took up a broad mix of housing, recreation, and land-use proposals at its June 23 meeting. A proposed ordinance would formally codify free admission at all city-owned pools and indoor natatoria, locking in no-cost recreational swimming as an official city policy rather than an administrative practice that could change at any time. The committee also considered a 20-year agreement with L.E.A.D., Inc. to build and operate a new community center for youth programming on undeveloped city-owned land near Center Hill Park, and a $539,850 federal grant to fund Section 8 rental subsidies for 28 low-income families. On the land-use front, a previously held ordinance to establish a formal Office of Short-Term Rentals — complete with a registry, platform verification requirements, and strict permitting rules — remained under consideration, while companion ordinances proposing to rezone dozens of properties along Logan Circle and Chattahoochee Avenue NW from heavy industrial to Industrial Flex stayed held pending a public hearing; a $250,000 Livable Centers Initiative study for the Ashby MARTA Station area was also on the agenda to plan future transit-oriented development.

Atlanta City Council — City Utilities Committee

Atlanta's City Utilities Committee met June 23 to consider several proposals with direct implications for residents' trash bills, stormwater management, and aging water infrastructure. A substitute ordinance to restructure solid waste service fees and clarify exemptions from "backyard collection" — where crews pick up trash from yards rather than the curb — was on the table, alongside a proposal to restore green infrastructure stormwater incentives that were stripped from city code back in 2020. The committee also considered transferring $2 million to fund a stream stabilization and restoration project at the Chastain Park Golf Course, and a nearly $1.9 million acquisition of 12 parcels for a new constructed wetland designed to naturally manage stormwater. On the infrastructure maintenance side, two major contract renewals totaling more than $36 million were up for a vote to keep up with emergency and mechanical repairs across Atlanta's water and sewer system, joined by a $15.5 million budget amendment for upgrades at the Flint River Pump Station — a reminder of just how much capital it takes to keep the city's underground systems running.

Atlanta City Council — Public Safety & Legal Administration Committee

The Public Safety & Legal Administration Committee approved several significant measures at its June 22 meeting, led by a unanimous 6-0 vote authorizing the city to purchase roughly 2.5 acres of MARTA-owned land for up to $3.39 million to build a new EMS and Fire Station in the Lindbergh City Center — a project that would add emergency services capacity to a rapidly growing corridor. In a closer 3-2 vote, the committee also passed a controversial ordinance giving the city's CFO authority to require alcohol-licensed businesses to submit financial records for forensic audits during active APD investigations, with Councilmembers Boone and Lewis voting against it. A retroactive lease with Israel Missionary Baptist Church was unanimously approved to keep the APD Zone 6 precinct operating on Hosea Williams Drive through August 2027, and two lawsuit settlements totaling $520,000 were approved to resolve personal injury and property damage claims against the city. Meanwhile, a transparency ordinance governing public surveillance technology was deferred for further review, and a proposed 180-day moratorium on new alcohol licenses along the Edgewood Corridor was held in committee without action.

Atlanta City Council — Zoning Committee

The Atlanta Zoning Committee's June 22 meeting produced several consequential unanimously decided outcomes. The committee voted 7-0 to recommend denial of a rezoning request that would have shifted 11-plus acres at West Paces Ferry and West Wesley Roads in Buckhead from single-family residential to a custom Planned Development — a significant rebuff to a project that drew considerable neighborhood attention. In a separate 7-0 vote, the committee approved a citywide 180-day moratorium on new building permits, land disturbance permits, and rezoning applications for self-storage and secure-storage facilities, a measure introduced by Councilmember Dustin Hillis to give the city time to evaluate storage facility proliferation. The committee also unanimously approved an amended special use permit for Ansley Golf Club at 196 Montgomery Ferry Drive — a 52-acre private club — while sending the establishment of the Peachtree Circle Historic District forward to the full Council on the consent agenda. A dozen other rezoning cases, covering everything from duplex conversions to industrial-to-mixed-use transitions, were deferred back to committee for further review, including a proposal to rezone a property on Amsterdam Avenue near Monroe Drive from single-family to two-family residential.

Atlanta Public Schools — Board of Education

The Atlanta Public Schools Board of Education met June 23 to take up a handful of policy items, though the level of detail in the official record is limited. A draft Electronic Payments and Funds Transfer Policy was on the agenda for approval, along with a discussion of Policy IF governing student technology use and instructional materials. Residents with a stake in the school district's physical footprint should note that a policy on facility repurposing and community asset stewardship was also scheduled for discussion — a policy that shapes how the district handles vacant or underutilized school buildings, which can have real effects on surrounding neighborhoods. Because minutes for this meeting are posted but contain limited outcome detail, the final vote counts and any amendments adopted are not fully confirmed in the public record at this time.

Notable Neighborhood Mentions

Atlanta City Council — Zoning Committee
- 573 Amsterdam Avenue NE — A rezoning request to convert this .229-acre lot from single-family (R-4/BL) to two-family residential (R-5/BL) to allow a duplex near Monroe Drive was deferred unanimously and referred back to committee for further review.

CONSTRUCTION

Permits

- 1425 Piedmont Ave NE (Atlanta Botanical Garden) — Two separate commercial alteration permits filed for new structures on the grounds: one a one-story maintenance and horticulture support building, the other a one-story-plus-basement expansion. Both are still awaiting additional materials before moving forward, so construction isn't imminent — but the Garden is clearly planning its next chapter.
- 2264 Cheshire Bridge Rd NE — Exterior refresh underway: new low-profile lighting, metal awnings, a code-compliant ladder, and removal of existing seating. Permit is pending additional materials. Worth watching if you frequent this stretch of Cheshire Bridge.
- 842 N Highland Ave NE — Replacement of a 4-ton gas rooftop unit. Issued and likely already underway — expect some noise and equipment on the roof if you're passing through.
- 1048 & 1050 N Highland Ave NE — Back-to-back electrical permits for this address suggest a tenant buildout in progress. Work includes upgraded 200-amp service and meter relocation — the kind of infrastructure prep that comes just before a new business opens its doors.
- 1925 Monroe Dr NE — HVAC equipment replacement for Unit 1133. Routine, but a reminder that this commercial corridor stays busy behind the scenes.

Beyond the commercial activity, the neighborhood logged 52 residential permits this period — mostly HVAC replacements, electrical upgrades, and minor alterations. The usual summer rhythm.

Road Work

Under Construction
- I-85 Lighting Upgrade (Fulton County) — GDOT is swapping out aging HPS fixtures for LED lighting along I-85 between I-75 and just north of Lenox Road. Expect some nighttime lane activity along this stretch, but the long-term payoff is a better-lit corridor through a heavily trafficked section.
- SR-13 Resurfacing (Fulton County) — SR-13 is getting a long-overdue repaving between SR-9 and North Fork Peachtree Creek. The road hasn't been resurfaced since 2012, so this one's been a while coming. If Peachtree is part of your daily routine, budget extra time until work wraps.
- Buford Spring Connector Tunnel Lighting (Fulton County) — The tunnel at the Buford Spring Connector and I-85 interchange is getting an LED lighting overhaul. Work may involve conduit and wiring upgrades inside the tunnel — worth knowing if you use this connection to hop on or off 85.
- SR-9 Resurfacing (Fulton County) — Peachtree Street/SR-9 is being resurfaced from SR-3 northward to above Paces Ferry Road. Another corridor that sees heavy neighborhood traffic getting a surface refresh — anticipate lane restrictions during active paving operations.

Service Requests

Pothole complaints are clustering heavily around E. Morningside Drive and its intersection with Piedmont Avenue, with a dozen reports filed over the past week — the stretch is clearly taking a beating. Additional potholes were flagged on Berkshire Road and the Morningside Drive/Piedmont Avenue junction.

Traffic signal issues popped up at three intersections: Park Drive & Virginia Avenue, Monroe Drive & Montgomery Ferry Road, and Piedmont Avenue & Rock Springs Road (the last of which has already been resolved). A sign repair request is also pending at Virginia Avenue & Rosedale Road.

Litter along the right-of-way was reported at several points, including two spots on E. Morningside Drive, Ponce de Leon Place, and the Piedmont Avenue & Rockmont Drive corridor. Overgrowth is being flagged too, with visibility concerns on N. Morningside Drive and Lenox Road.

A pair of downed tree reports on Lenox Road have been closed out.

Want to alter your neighborhood selections? Submit here

Want to sponsor us? Submit here

Want to promote an event? Submit here

Until next week,
VaHi / Morningside 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.

Kalshi: Trade every World Cup match. Who wins, who advances, who lifts the trophy. Official partner of Argentina's national team. Peer-to-peer, no house, get $10 free. Start Trading.