DIRT-e

A 431,000-square-foot Asian-themed shopping center called Asian Galleria will be located on the site of the Gwinnett Prado and Gwinnett Station shopping centers, both of which are largely vacant.

According to a recent report in the AJC, the owners of Studioplex, a live-work loft community carved out of a century-old cotton warehouse in Atlanta’s Old Fourth Ward neighborhood, is adding more than 9,000 square feet of retail space. The development, which features 112 residences and 18 offices, is about 80 percent sold.

According to a recent report in the AJC, the housing crisis has created a big problem for local governments — too many vacant lots.

A Georgia Trade Delegation visited Brazil last week and Maria Saporta wrote about the trip in the May 7 AJC. Saporta’s single point was: Brazil can make ethanol cheaply using sugar cane, why can’t the US do the same?

According to a recent article in the AJC, Former federal Housing Secretary Henry Cisneros says metro Atlanta’s housing market is being spared the worst of the national slump partly because of the region’s comparatively vibrant economy.

According to a report on www.foxnews.com, The Federal Reserve, which began the year aggressively fighting a severe credit crunch and economic weakness, may pause after delivering perhaps one more quarter-point cut in interest rates.

According to a recent article in the Atlanta Business Chronicle, The Georgia Senate has floated a proposal to give every Georgia resident a 10 percent cut to their total income tax rate over a five-year period.

According to a recent article in the Atlanta Business Chronicle, Panattoni Development Company, known best in the local market as an industrial developer, has started an aggressive plan to build almost from scratch an Atlanta office portfolio of 2 million square feet in as little as three years. 

According to a recent article in the Atlanta Business Chronicle, Atlanta has won $60 million in the 2007 New Markets Tax Credits Program, the U.S. Department of Treasury reported Friday.

Septic Systems — The Red-Headed Stepchild of Sewage Treatment.
 
The draft water Plan has a special place for Septic Systems. The plan recommends that use of septic systems be reduced or is it discouraged? In my translation, the intent appears to be eliminate.