Midtown apartment residents frustrated over forced moveout (Atlanta: apartment complex, leases)

[LynnHarris1]

ATLANTA — Dozens of Midtown Atlanta residents are scrambling to find a new place to live after management said they must leave.

"I have my fiancée, I'm going to go move in with her," said resident Mark Diemer. "But my heart goes out to all my friends. They don't know where they're gonna go. Some will probably be facing homelessness after this."

Atlanta-based Selig Enterprises wants to tear down Crescent Place and other surrounding buildings near Crescent Avenue and 13th Street in Midtown Atlanta. Selig plans to work with Google to lease space in a new high-rise that will later be built. The news has floored longtime residents just hoping to find a new place to sleep or work ..."

FULL STORY/VIDEO: https://www.11alive.com/article/news...0-9e145d475148

SOURCE: 11 Alive News

[bryantm3]

Sadly, the general consensus here will be that this is but a small sacrifice to our tech overlords for graciously bestowing a jewel in Atlanta's crown (aka a another building whose redeeming features seem to fade like a mirage the closer you get to it).

[Atlanta-Native]

Originally Posted by bryantm3

Sadly, the general consensus here will be that this is but a small sacrifice to our tech overlords for graciously bestowing a jewel in Atlanta's crown (aka a another building whose redeeming features seem to fade like a mirage the closer you get to it).

Although it's unfortunate for the tenants, especially the 30 day notice, it seems that Selig has been buying up that area over the past few years, with plans to redevelop. I guess my question is, did the people living in Crescent Place not have leases in place, or were they all month to month? If month to month, I see no issue.

[MichiganderTexan]

Originally Posted by bryantm3

Sadly, the general consensus here will be that this is but a small sacrifice to our tech overlords for graciously bestowing a jewel in Atlanta's crown (aka a another building whose redeeming features seem to fade like a mirage the closer you get to it).

There was no chance this apartment building in its current state would last for too long. It feels out of place in the area that increasingly seeing more high end development. The real question is for what Atlanta is and what it has to offer is it worth the cost it is now to get an apartment or house? I would probably say no but that's true for a lot of places in the country right now particularly Sun Belt cities that are a no longer the bargain they used to be and while most places are still cheaper than the West Coast and East coast, most of the larger cities in the sunbelt have become significantly more expensive than most of the Midwest.

[Atlanta-Native]

Originally Posted by MichiganderTexan

There was no chance this apartment building in its current state would last for too long. It feels out of place in the area that increasingly seeing more high end development. The real question is for what Atlanta is and what it has to offer is it worth the cost it is now to get an apartment or house? I would probably say no but that's true for a lot of places in the country right now particularly Sun Belt cities that are a no longer the bargain they used to be and while most places are still cheaper than the West Coast and East coast, most of the larger cities in the sunbelt have become significantly more expensive than most of the Midwest.

Additionally, you can't have your cake and eat it too. You can't be a cheerleader for massive growth, both from a business perspective and people moving in to the state and then complain about the cost of living rising. They seem to go hand in hand.

[Datdudebrah]

Originally Posted by MichiganderTexan

There was no chance this apartment building in its current state would last for too long. It feels out of place in the area that increasingly seeing more high end development. The real question is for what Atlanta is and what it has to offer is it worth the cost it is now to get an apartment or house? I would probably say no but that's true for a lot of places in the country right now particularly Sun Belt cities that are a no longer the bargain they used to be and while most places are still cheaper than the West Coast and East coast, most of the larger cities in the sunbelt have become significantly more expensive than most of the Midwest.

Jobs, the people that work for Google in the building going up here won't have any issue paying Midtown rent.

I agree with you though that prices are going up and ATL needs a strategy to mitigate that.

Government funded affordable housing projects aren't going to be enough IMO. ATL left a modest rezoning plan on the table last year, they need to bring that back up along with several more strategies to preserve existing affordable housing and to get more housing built in general.

[MichiganderTexan]

Originally Posted by Datdudebrah

Jobs, the people that work for Google in the building going up here won't have any issue paying Midtown rent.

I agree with you though that prices are going up and ATL needs a strategy to mitigate that.

Government funded affordable housing projects aren't going to be enough IMO. ATL left a modest rezoning plan on the table last year, they need to bring that back up along with several more strategies to preserve existing affordable housing and to get more housing built in general.

That's a small percentage of people though this is not Silicon Valley, Google has a max of 2000 people probably in this area that will have those high paying jobs, the entire building isn't even Google they are only taking up a portion of it. I'm not really talking about one particular apartment building I'm talking about the whole of metro Atlanta.

[Datdudebrah]

Originally Posted by MichiganderTexan

That's a small percentage of people though this is not Silicon Valley, Google has a max of 2000 people probably in this area that will have those high paying jobs, the entire building isn't even Google they are only taking up a portion of it. I'm not really talking about one particular apartment building I'm talking about the whole of metro Atlanta.

Google is going into the building replacing this apartment complex too with rumors of them adding thousands of additional jobs in Midtown. There's a ton of tech job growth in ATL right now, its not really even worth mentioning everything coming in, but as you know its significant and those people have been able to afford the new more expensive ATL.

I don't agree that there is a scenario where ATL is just too expensive for people to continue moving here, but I agree that more needs to be done to keep the city affordable for people not making high salaries.

[Smocaine]

I’m just surprised all those janky apartments in that area have lasted as long as they have. Does anyone really care about the sob story aspect? The days of anyone using land right in Midtown for a squat little low-end apartment building are just over.

The other building I’m really waiting to see get torn down (or at least gutted and renovated) is Solace at 3rd & Peachtree. I can’t believe that building lasted through this entire boom period unaltered.

[MichiganderTexan]

Originally Posted by Datdudebrah

I don't agree that there is a scenario where ATL is just too expensive for people to continue moving here, but I agree that more needs to be done to keep the city affordable for people not making high salaries.

It's not a matter of it being too expensive for certain people to move here but 1) Is desirable for those people and given what the city offers and 2) The majority of the people Atlanta attracts up to this point do not work in tech. Maybe that changes but Atlanta isn't exactly Austin when it goes to tech, all of these companies announcing all these jobs have happened recently and most of the jobs aren't even here yet.