Ever felt like you were on the heels of greatness? 

THIS _ close to accomplishment… you can almost taste it?

Can’t sleep- don’t blink and God forbid, you miss a community meeting!  

Maybe it’s just me, and me knowing what I know- seeing THIS scene occur in New York (Harlem… Brooklyn..)but every meeting, every discussion, every media article, every planning  report  received is confirmation to what I feel deep in my soul.

We’re almost there…..

Not only do we have great residents working hard, we have many community advocates who are passionate about our communities and working to ensure we do “gentrification” correctly.  What do I mean? I mean, not only one group benefiting from the revitalization of our neighborhoods but we ALL benefit; our seniors,children, entrepreneurs, all races, cultures  and income levels- ALL, willing to persevere and work to reap the benefits of the vision.

Let me just say, yesterday I did not feel like this AT ALL.  I felt  tired, a bit defeated and  overwhelmed thinking:

“what more can I do? I just want to stay in my little house on my little corner doing nothing but fight with my landscaping “. 

Then Ireceived a call, an invitation to the West End Merchants Coalition. It  was time for their meeting this morning at 7AM.  YES- 7AM??…same thing I said. “Too early, I can’t make it.” However, the call was very timely as I recently completed a tour of our commercial  space, taking inventory of available locations.  Dragging myself out of bed at 6AM was a much needed renewal.  Not only did Council Member Winslow provide information on all the commercial incentives available, my personal SHE-RO, Deborah Scott of Georgia Standup was the guest speaker.  If you don’t know Ms. Scott, you’re missing out! (www.GeorgiaStandup.org)

Ms. Scott discussed how our businesses (and residents) can benefit from the developments taking place in Atlanta.  Do you know how many developments are taking place in Atlanta?  The list is pretty amazing. I have no idea which I should jump into first (all late) but, after the meeting with Ms Scott-  I KNOW I can’t sit and do nothing…or mentally fight with my landscaping much longer. A wise woman said, “If  you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu!”… I really like that  lady!

Here are a few projects and links for you to research:

Multi-Modal Passenger Terminal:

http://www.dot.ga.gov/informationcenter/p3/projects/mmpt/Pages/default.aspx

http://ajc.com/business/gulch-planners-take-big-1476572.html

http://atlantamagazine.com/fivepoints/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10403206

Fort McPherson:

http://www.ajc.com/news/georgia-government/state-aims-to-invest-139780.html

http://www.mcphersonredevelopment.com/

Atlanta Transit:

http://beltline.org/atlanta-beltline-programs/strenghening-the-community/

http://beltline.org/progress/planning/

http://www.atlantadowntown.com/initiatives/atlanta-streetcar/About

Atlanta Stadiums:

http://www.gwcc.com/about/Masterplans.aspx

http://www.investatlanta.com/buildDev/StadiumArea.jsp

http://www.ajc.com/news/sports/football/new-stadium-plan-retractable-roof-demolish-dome-1/nQTK4/

Business Development Opportunities:

www.investatlanta.com/entprnrSmallBus/commercialLoans.jsp

 http://www.dca.state.ga.us/economic/DevelopmentTools/programs/opportunityzones.asp

Community Improvement District:

http://westendcid.org/

Study up, and be prepared to come to the table! NPU-T holds our meeting every 2nd Wednesday of the month at 7PM. www.NPUTAtlanta.org

Please let me know if any links are broken, I’m so excited I can’t type fast enough. 🙂