And as for Midtown…as long as giant developers keep moving in to build one cookie cutter hi-rise development after another, there will never be a true sense of individuality or community there.

I’ve been wondering about the continued development, too, especially when no one is supposed to have any money. The best I’ve come up with is that developers are spending money they secured a while ago and unless they build the loans go out of date. I think everyone is hedging their bets that it’s better to build than not build so if the economy bounces back they’ve got brand new properties to sell.

Yes, it is currently oversaturated with chains and high priced furniture stores, but when Gordon Biersch first opened, it was the only active building on the block, stuck in between an empty parking lot and a long-since abandoned motel. When the CVS opened it served a population that at the time had very limited pharmacy options. You can give Starbucks crap, but they deserve a lot of credit for taking a chance and opening a store on the corner of, judging by the amount and frequency of broken glass that littered 7th Street every morning, one of the highest theft areas in Midtown. At least now there are options. Before there was nothing but a long ugly stretch of parking lots, abandoned buildings, an empty nightclub, and drug dealers and hustlers galore. Even the late, lamented Backstreet presented nothing more than a gargantuan, windowless cement fortress on the Peachtree side. The only thing I miss from that stretch is the bar that was where Silk now stands (I forget the name).

As far as for why the retail options all seem to be high-end furniture stores, give it time. All those people flocking to that corridor had to fill their new condos with something. Once the population there has settled, you’ll likely see a greater variety of stores. In the meantime, the developers needed that cash these luxury stores provide to begin to pay down the massive costs they had for the buildings in the first place.

As far as Atlantic Station is concerned, you again have a thriving development that not even 5 years ago was an abandoned, polluted eyesore. Despite the inconvenience of the parking situation, you have to appreciate the fact that the developers had the foresight to incorporate an underground design, which allows for one of (if not the most) pedestrian-friendly outdoor retail zones in the city. All without having to hike across a vast ocean of blacktop to get anywhere (I’m looking at you, Edgewood).

And finally, if it was a beautiful Saturday afternoon, perhaps everyone had just walked over to Piedmont Park?

I love Midtown. I live in Midtown. I support Midtown! I just wish there was more Midtown to support! And now it might take a bit longer to be what we all hope it will be!

I’m forwarding a link to your blog to my friends at Midtown Alliance….and hope you will check out our website, Midtownatlanta.org for more about the PEOPLE that live in Midtown and what we do!