What’s Going on
in “Hotlanta”?
It’s bustling with life, people are
finding jobs, and the city is making
some big quality-of-life improve-
ments. Atlanta is undergoing a big
redevelopment plan. That’s contrib-
uting to those jobs and making the
city a more attractive place to be.
Just to give you an idea of the
kinds of things Atlanta is doing,
there’s a huge project underway
called the “Atlanta Beltline”. It’s
a project that will connect 45 city
neighborhoods with a 22-mile loop
of multi-use trails, streetcars, and
parks. The Beltline website says it
has received several awards as for
its visionary approach to making the
city more walkable, bikeable, and
oriented toward public transit. The
project is making use of long forgot-
ten rail lines that circled the city.
There’s also the former Bell-
wood Quarry that is being turned
into a huge park and reservoir. You
may have seen the stunning granite
quarry walls and bright blue tint of
the water in scenes for “The Hunger
Games”, “The Walking Dead”, and
“Stranger Things”. The city is in-
vesting at least $300 million dollars
to turn the water-filled quarry into
a 2.4 billion gallon reservoir. When
it’s done, it’s expected to hold a 30-
day supply of drinking water for 1.2
million people. Once the reservoir
is finished, the city will develop the
surrounding 300 acres as the city’s
largest park. The new Westside Res-
ervoir Park will also be connected to
the city via the Beltline.
There’s also the conversion of the
former Fort McPherson Army base
into a huge movie studio complex.
African American filmmaker Tyler
Perry bought the historic 330-acre
piece of real estate in 2015 and is
turning it into the latest version of
Realty411Guide.com
his Tyler Perry Studio. The L.A.
Times reports that when it’s done
later this year, it will be one of the
largest studios in the country. The
paper also says that Tyler hopes
to create 3 to 4,000 news jobs at
the studio, and recruit people from
low-income parts of Atlanta.
Major upgrades are also coming
to one of Martin Luther King Junior
Drive which runs right through the
city center -- past the state capi-
tal, the historic Atlanta University
Center, and the Georgia Dome. It’s
a 12-mile stretch that has become
an eyesore with old or abandoned
buildings in need of repair. The city
plans to convert the 4-lane road
into two traffic lanes, and two for
bicycles. There will also be new
roundabouts, plant-filled medians,
small parks, and new pedestrian
crosswalks.
And then there are two new sports
stadiums in the making. Both the
Falcons and the Braves are building
new stadiums. That’s expected to
bring tens of thousands of new jobs
to the city. And the city is already
experiencing job growth that’s high-
er than the nation’s average.
The latest report from the U.S.
Department of Labor shows that
Atlanta experienced a 3.6% growth
rate for non-farm jobs in the last
year. Jobs for the professional and
business services industry grew the
PAGE 19 • 2017
most at 4.6%. That’s well above
the 3% growth rate for that sector
nationally.
Percentage of Suburban
Renter Growth
These are just a few things go-
ing on in “Hotlanta”. As for the
percentage of suburban rent growth
for the other areas, Phoenix and
Riverside County came in with a
23% increase. Tampa, Dallas, and
Minneapolis range from 18% down
to 15% growth in suburban renters.
Detroit, Miami, and Denver expe-
rienced a 14% renter growth rate in
the suburbs. Houston, Washington,
D.C., and Seattle were all at 13%.
Chicago was at 12%. San Francisco
at 10%. San Diego and St. Louis
were at 9%. Los Angeles, Boston,
New York, and Philadelphia were
at the bottom of the list with a 7%
to 3% suburban rental growth.
The Real Wealth Network offers
opportunities for investors to own
single-family rentals in several of
those suburban markets. We will
be talking about opportunities in
suburban Atlanta at some of our
upcoming live events. For infor-
mation about our calander, visit
Realwealthnetwork.com and just
click on the “learn” tab and then the
“live events” tab. v
reWEALTHmag.com