Dunkin' Donuts to Present Moreland Store Plan at Inman Park Neighborhood Meeting

Chain wants to build store near Sherwin Williams in Little Five Points.

CANDLER PARK — Dunkin' Donuts, which already has plans to build a store on a stretch of Ponce de Leon Avenue in Old Fourth Ward, has plans to construct another store at 299 Moreland Ave. NE. The proposed site is a former gas station, just north of the Sherwin Williams paint store in the Candler Park portion of Little Five Points. Dunkin' Donuts representatives are slated to present their plans, which include a controversial drive-thru to the Inman Park Neighborhood Association's monthly meeting this Wednesday. The project applicant, Bob Zoeckler, wants a special exception from the on-site parking requirements that stipulate 43 spaces. He wants it reduced to 30 spots according to his application with the city's Office of Planning. A hearing…

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Visions For Vacancies

What Should Go Here? Goodfellas Pizza

Restaurant on Moreland Avenue can't seem to stay open.

It's a head scratcher. The structure at 30 Moreland Ave. SE at the intersection of Wylie St. SE, just can't stay in business. It had been a Church's Chicken fast food outlet for a while before closing down. Then it became Goodfellas, a pizza, pasta and wings place. But that was short-lived, too. It's curious that a quick service restaurant couldn't make a go of it when Moreland is a highly trafficked state road and Wylie is fairly busy, as well. What's more, that intersection is sandwiched between two bustling neighborhoods, Edgewood and Reynoldstown. It seems, then, that it should do well as an eatery, be it a neighborhood joint or chain restaurant. So should it stay as a restaurant or become something else? What would you like to see at …

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Visions For Vacancies

What Should Go Here?: Buffalo China

Restaurant is to move to new location. How should the old property be redeveloped?

With its LED sign flashing daily specials, Buffalo China has been a Moreland Avenue landmark for years. It's outer, gritty appearance notwithstanding, the Chinese restaurant in Ormewood Park, has quite a loyal following. And as the Southeast Atlanta neighborhoods it serves have changed, so, too, is Buffalo China. The restaurant will soon be moving into new digs a couple blocks north on Moreland, near the McDonald's. That will leave its old location empty. That southwestern corner of Moreland and Glenwood avenues is ripe for redevelopment. The graffiti-laden 525 Moreland Ave., site of the old Smooth Ashlar Grand Masonic Lodge, is next door to Buffalo China and shares the parking lot. It, too, has sat vacant for years. Whatever redevelopment…

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Visions For Vacancies

What Should Go Here? 1078 Moreland Ave.

Plans for townhomes and then self-storage facility fell-through.

The property at 1078 Moreland Ave. is quite tricky. SpaceMax Storage wanted to build 90,000 square feet of self-storage at the site, which is just north of the East Confederate Avenue. But a portion of the land, which remains vacant, falls within the city limits of Atlanta. The vast majority of the property is in unincorporated DeKalb. SpaceMax Storage, which has outlets in Virginia-Highland and Midtown, needed to get approval from DeKalb County on the proposal in addition to going through the approvals process for the city of Atlanta. But the company nixed its plans for the site. What's more, homeowners behind the property in unincorporated DeKalb, were vehemently opposed to the project, which raised concerns about traffic, noise and its …

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skullcap

8:53 am on Thursday, September 20, 2012

the "cliffs" are the remains of an old quarry, I'm told the stone house on Skyhaven was built using material from the pit.   more ›

Construction Moratorium Puts Gordon School Project in Jeopardy

Atlanta City Council imposed moratorium following South Moreland Avenue Livable Centers Initiative Study.

A $15 million redevelopment plan for the old John B. Gordon School in East Atlanta Village could fall apart if the Atlanta City Council doesn't act to lift a moratorium on new construction, a party to the project says. Vinings-based Paces Properties has the former grammar school at 1205 Metropolitan Ave. under contract. As planned, it would replace the school with a three-story structure of 125 to 145 apartments. But it could back away from the deal since the moratorium prohibits the company from demolishing the building, which is falling apart, Larry Culbertson, a broker with KW Commercial Atlanta Midtown, told East Atlanta Patch. The issue stems from the 2008 South Moreland Avenue Livable Centers Initiative Study that sought to establish…

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Moreland Avenue Planning Study Meeting Scheduled for Sept. 6

City planning department and Councilwoman Carla Smith to give overview on proposed development guidelines.

The city's Office of Planning, along with District 1 Councilwoman Carla Smith and District 12 Councilwoman Joyce M. Sheperd are hosting a series of neighborhood meetings to present a brief review and update of the proposed zoning changes for the South Moreland Avenue Livable Centers Initiative Study. They also will gather public input from the community with respect to the proposed district provisions and boundaries of the proposed development districts. The first such meeting is scheduled for this Thursday, Sept. 6, at the Martha Brown Methodist Church in East Atlanta. The South Moreland Avenue LCI Study was completed in 2008 and established guidelines about how the corridor south of I-20 ought to be developed. The meetings follow Smith's…

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Traffic Signals

Problem Intersection: Moreland Avenue and Ormewood Avenue

With school back in session, motorists need to be patient and cautious.

If you drive Ormewood Avenue to get to Moreland Avenue with any regularity, you know you have to be prepared for a wait when you get to the traffic light at the intersection — unless you're lucky to catch the green light. Moreland is a state road and controlled by the Georgia Department of Transportation. As such, the DOT's main objective is to keep traffic flowing on Moreland as freely and fast as possible. But Ormewood is a city road and takes a back seat to Moreland in terms of traffic flow. That explains why the red light for motorists turning onto Moreland from Ormewood Avenue is so long, compared with Moreland at the Memorial Drive or Freedom Parkway intersections. It's also led to some testy or impatient drivers. On several …

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Péralte Paul

2:06 pm on Friday, August 10, 2012

No, it's not. The camera is facing west on Ormewood toward Moreland.   more ›

City Zoning Board Denies QuikTrip Site Appeal

'Skanky store' remains for now

The Atlanta Zoning Board of Review on Thursday denied an appeal by an Ormewood Park landowner to an earlier city ruling that, if reversed, would have paved the way for construction of a QuikTrip convenience store and gas station. The ZBR's decision to uphold the city's ruling — by a vote of 4 to 0 — brings to a close a long standing battle between residents of Ormewood Park and Gobind L. Madan, who owns the rundown Jiffy Grocery store on the northwest corner of Moreland and Ormewood avenues. "We are pleased with the board's decision and think it was the correct outcome," said Ron Lall, board chairman of the SouthStar Community Development Corp., which advocates for several communities along the Moreland Avenue corridor in commercial and …

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Marcia Killingsworth

11:29 pm on Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Annabeth, check out the information on the neighborhood's FB page on the issue: No QuikTrip HERE: https://www.facebook.com/noqthere It's much more complicated than it looks at first glance.   more ›