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Hey, West Midtown / Collier Hills! This week: Restaurant Week is here, MOCA GA cut the ribbon on its new permanent home, Darkly Rooted Books is set to open a BIPOC-focused sci-fi and horror bookshop on Joseph E. Boone Blvd, and City Council is weighing a resolution that could bring light rail to the full 22-mile Beltline loop. Throw in Beer & Bourbon Fest, Open Hand fundraiser and Bold Monk Oktoberfest, and there's plenty to plan your week around.

- News — MOCA GA's ribbon-cutting, Georgia Tech's Tech Square milestone, and a looming Beltline light rail vote all point to a neighborhood in transformation.
- Business — A new Westside bookshop, Darkly Rooted Books, is bringing a curated BIPOC sci-fi, fantasy, and horror collection to Joseph E. Boone Blvd this fall.
- Events — From Nitzer Ebb at King Plow to Open Hand's Party in the Kitchen and a Westside Beer & Bourbon Fest, this week's calendar is stacked with music, food, and fundraisers.
- Government — Council froze District 8 subdivisions, advanced the zoning code rewrite, and held off on a $68 million jail sale to Fulton County, while NPU-D takes up a Collier Road event space permit.
- Construction — A Chipotle rebuild is underway on Marietta Blvd, two Howell Mill properties are upgrading amenities, and crews are still working through a backlog of downed trees and potholes across the corridor.

Let's dive in.

NEWS

Images: How uniquely elevated Atlanta Beltline section is taking shape
Newly poured concrete and column structures on Segment 4B of the Beltline's Northwest Trail will carry a multi-use path over active railroad tracks, linking the Westside trail system with the broader Beltline loop.

MOCA GA cuts the ribbon on its new West Midtown home
The Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia celebrated the official ribbon-cutting for its new permanent home in West Midtown, expanding exhibition space for local artists.

Georgia Tech moves into new high-rises at Midtown tech hub it fostered
Georgia Tech has completed the third phase of Technology Square, moving into new high-rises in Midtown Atlanta, capping a 25-year effort that transformed derelict parcels into a corporate, educational, and research anchor.

Your 3rd Spot Joins inaugural West Midtown Restaurant Week with Date Night Dinner Special
The inaugural West Midtown Restaurant Week runs September 20-26, with more than 30 neighborhood establishments offering curated prix fixe menus and multi-course dining specials.

Atlanta City Council to vote on 22-mile Beltline light rail plan
The Atlanta City Council will vote on a resolution backing light rail around the full 22-mile Beltline loop, directing officials to clarify funding and construction plans and protect reserved transit corridors, including along the Eastside Beltline.

BUSINESS

Darkly Rooted Books Opening on Westside — Darkly Rooted Books is opening this fall at 839 Joseph E. Boone Blvd, offering a curated selection of sci-fi, fantasy, and horror titles that highlight BIPOC authors.

EVENTS | Presented by

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Monday, September 21
- Oktoberfest | Bold Monk Brewing Co.
- Nitzer Ebb | Actor's Express – King Plow Arts Center

Tuesday, September 22
- French Police w/ Social Order | Actor's Express – King Plow Arts Center
- Trap Yoga Tuesday | The Interlock

Wednesday, September 23
- Emmaline – Sinatra, My Sweetheart Tour | Actor's Express – King Plow Arts Center
- Bluegrass Open Jam | Ormsby's ATL
- Wellness Wednesdays: HIIT Like a Pro | The Interlock
- Wellness Wednesday | Atlantic Station
- Pulse Run Club | Atlantic Station

Thursday, September 24
- Harvey Street | Terminal West
- Little Bear x Fum | Fum
- Atlanta F.A.M. – Fashion, Art & Music | Chattahoochee Food Works
- Atlanta's Culinary Community Comes Together for Open Hand Atlanta's 23rd Annual Party in the Kitchen | The Foundry at Puritan Mill
- Tasting of Baja: A Five-Course Anniversary Dinner at Chicheria Mexican Kitchen | Chicheria Mexican Kitchen
- Screen on the Green | Atlantic Green

Friday, September 25
- Georgia Tech Volleyball vs. Virginia Tech | O'Keefe Gymnasium
- Asydequest & The Captain Midnight Band with special guest Isaac Hadden & Ian Klin | Actor's Express – King Plow Arts Center

Saturday, September 26
- Creator's Market | Atlantic Station
- 3rd Annual Westside Fall Beer & Bourbon Fest | Chattahoochee Food Works
- Adam Doleac | Terminal West

Sunday, September 27
- Georgia Tech Volleyball vs. Virginia | O'Keefe Gymnasium
- Sunday Sweat Series | The Interlock
- Sunday Famers Market | Chattahoochee Food Works
- Cooking Class: Sushi 101 at a Local Wine Bar With Chef Jennifer | Taste Wine Bar and Market
- H3adband | Terminal West

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

Atlanta City Council: The Finance/Executive Committee approved a bond refinancing for the Atlanta BeltLine, signed off on hosting the 2028 Olympic Torch Relay at no cost to the city, and pushed through million-dollar contracts for HVAC maintenance, electrical services, and architecture and engineering work, while holding a $68 million plan to sell the Atlanta City Detention Center to Fulton County for further review. The Zoning Committee approved a 180-day freeze on new subdivisions of three or more lots in District 8, unanimously advanced a substitute version of the city's sweeping zoning code rewrite, and backed landmark status for southwest Atlanta's historic Just Us neighborhood. Over at the Public Safety & Legal Administration Committee, members approved a $40 million expansion of police body and fleet cameras and higher fire inspection fees, and they held the detention center sale for more review before it heads to Finance. As covered in today's news section, the Transportation Committee took up a resolution backing the full 22-mile Beltline light rail loop, and its agenda also included $7 million in grants for the Beltline's Southside Trail, a $71 million Plane Train car purchase, and a cap increase pushing Concourse D's airport expansion past $1.28 billion. That meeting's agenda, along with the City Utilities Committee's agenda covering a proposed ban on data centers using drinking water for cooling and over $8.5 million in added street resurfacing money, hadn't yet produced posted minutes as of this writing. The Community Development/Human Services Committee also met, but a corrupted file kept its minutes from being reviewed this week.

Fulton County Board of Commissioners: Commissioners set a proposed 2026 General Fund millage rate of 8.87 mills, a required step before public hearings finalize how much you'll pay in county property taxes this year. They approved grant funding to help build a 54-unit affordable housing complex in Atlanta's English Avenue neighborhood, and they voted to ask state lawmakers to ban over-the-counter sales of synthetic kratom while requiring natural kratom to sit behind pharmacy counters. The board tabled several contentious governance proposals, including a plan to abolish the county's citizen-led Ethics Board in favor of an independent hearing officer and a measure that would have limited public comment strictly to items already on the agenda. A resolution encouraging community gardens and local food resilience failed after two commissioners declined to vote. Commissioners also approved renewed employee health benefits that exclude Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield plans and signed off on a $660,878 maintenance contract for the South Annex Jail.

Atlanta Board of Education: The board's Budget Commission spent its September 16 session on early-stage financial planning, reviewing Fiscal Year 2027 revenue projections and fund balances and getting a first look at funding priorities for Fiscal Year 2028, though no votes on spending or tax rates came out of the discussion. The Policy Review Committee discussed a draft policy on how artificial intelligence tools should be used in classroom instruction, but the meeting produced no formal vote or final language. And the full board held a Special Called Meeting that consisted entirely of a closed executive session, with no public votes on contracts, budget items, or school policy. None of this week's school board sessions touched on zoning, construction, or other neighborhood-level decisions.

Notable Neighborhood Mentions

Atlanta City Council
- 1425 Ellsworth Industrial Blvd NW — The committee held a proposed rezoning to convert the 8.54-acre industrial property to a mixed-use commercial and residential development for further review.
- 1475 Ellsworth Industrial Blvd NW — A proposed rezoning to allow mixed-use commercial and residential redevelopment across the 8.54-acre site was held in committee for further review.

Meetings This Week
- Atlanta City Council — Committee on Council | Sep-21, 11:30 AM | key topics: public comment procedure revisions, police presence at recreation center polling precincts, Ethics Board appointment of Felicia Moore
- Atlanta City Council | Sep-21, 1:00 PM | key topics: BeltLine light rail support, Buckhead subdivision moratorium, BeltLine Southside Trail funding, airport expansion contracts
- Atlanta NPU — NPU-D | Sep-22, 7:30 PM | key topics: special use permit for event space on Collier Road, alcohol licenses for Hop City and Vivide Atlanta, seven-day agenda notice bylaw amendments

CONSTRUCTION

Permits
- 2275 Marietta Blvd NW — Full interior demolition and rebuild for a new Chipotle location, following the chain's Habanero prototype design. Expect noise and dust in the Blandtown area while crews gut the space.
- 2200 Marietta Blvd NW — New 1,639 square foot tenant space going into a multi-story building on Marietta Blvd. Another sign of the corridor filling in with retail and office users.
- 1016 Howell Mill Rd NW — Two permits here. One rewires lighting in a package and leasing room, and the other renovates the pool deck, pool clubroom, and restrooms along with revised guest access. Sounds like a multifamily property upgrading its amenities.
- 1500 Northside Dr NW — Sprinkler heads getting added and relocated to work with new ceilings and floor plans under an existing wet system. Standard build-out support work, but it points to interior renovations happening at this address.
- 1050 Howell Mill NW — Sprinkler head additions and relocations to bring the system up to code. Likely tied to a broader interior renovation.
- 241 20th St NW — Atlantic Station's Pinnacle Lot has an electrical permit tied to the 2026 AHA Heart Walk on Saturday, September 26. Plan for road closures and foot traffic around the lot that weekend.
- 260 18th St NW — Fire alarm modifications filed for this commercial building.
- 1121 Huff Rd NW — A previously expired plumbing permit just got renewed, so work here is picking back up.
- 1260 Foster St NW — New data room build-out with 52 Cat6 cables getting installed. Low impact, but signals office space upgrades in the area.

Road Work

Under Construction
- SR 3/US 41 from Tech Pkwy to Hemphill Ave (Fulton County) — Crews are reworking the intersection cluster where Northside Drive, 14th Street, and Hemphill Avenue meet, simplifying the layout to give signal timing more flexibility.
- I-75 from Musket Ridge Drive to I-85, Lighting (Fulton County) — GDOT is swapping out old HPS lighting for energy-efficient LED fixtures along this stretch, with pole, conduit, and wiring replacement included in the scope.
- SR 9 from SR 3 to North of Paces Ferry Rd (Fulton County) — This is a resurfacing job aimed at fixing SR 9's low pavement condition score.
- Buford Spring Connector at I-85, Tunnel Lighting (Fulton County) — Crews are upgrading the tunnel's HPS lighting to LED fixtures, with replacement of conduit and wiring where needed.

Service Requests
- Downed Trees — Six reports on Bohler Rd NW (two separate spots), Harper Rd, Northside Dr & Peters St, Lofton Rd NW, and Lofton Rd. Most are in progress, one's resolved, and one's closed out.
- Overgrowth and Visibility Issues — Five reports along Bohler Rd NW, Echota Dr & Greystone Rd, La Dawn Ln & Sumter St, Maid Ln & Sumter St, and Defoors Ferry Rd & Bohler Rd. Crews have already cleared four of them.
- Potholes — Four reports on Howell Mill Rd NW, Woodmont Ln NW, W Marietta St, and Spring Valley Rd NW. Three are in progress, and one's flagged as a duplicate in the backlog.
- Traffic Signal Repairs — Reports on 16th St and Ferst Dr & Fowler St, both in progress.
- Sign Repair, Replacement, or Installation — Reports at Dupont Ave & Marietta Rd and on Marietta Blvd NW, both in progress.
- Litter Removal — A right-of-way cleanup request on Parkview Run NW is in progress.

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Until next week,
West Midtown / Collier Hills Busybody

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