A.M. ATL: What’s in it for West End?

Good morning, all. Grab your morning coffee koozie, it’s going to be a sunny, 70-degree day that should continue through the weekend. It’s prime weather for a mimosa festival or, if you live in Rockdale, finally walking outside.

Did I mention it’s Friday? Know what that means? Tyler Estep is almost back from what I can only hope was a restorative family vacation (is that an oxymoron?).

I know you are all eager for his return, but I’ve also loved hearing from the A.M. ATL readers. That includes Paula LaBarbera from Buford who gently disagreed with my apathetic assessment yesterday of Listeria, saying she once had food poisoning from sushi that was worse than chemo. Please keep reaching out! These newsletters are for you, and we don’t want them to be one-sided conversations.

But on to today. The wizards in our video department compiled a fun three minutes that follows some of Georgia’s Gen Zers who are influencing this election — a little respite in a sea of otherwise turbulent political news. Those headlines include:

• An ethics complaint against the Cobb County chairwoman, who is being blamed for the county’s “obvious bias” in favor of a transit referendum on November’s ballot.
• Worries from the city’s top watchdog officer that potential litigation could “weaken” the inspector general’s office.
• And, the AJC’s Mark Niesse and David Wickert examined all the ways the 2024 election could be challenged, as well as the concerns expressed by various observers about the potential problems — including violence — that could result.

We’ve got plenty more from the politics team, including that the NRA canceled a Savannah rally for Donald Trump and (just announced) that Barack Obama plans to join Kamala Harris in Georgia next week. But first, let’s head to the West End.

***

INTOWN’S FACELIFT

A rendering of One West End from the intersection of Lee Street and Ralph David Abernathy Boulevard.

One thing is clear about residents living near West End Mall, which was once a bustling cultural hub and retail destination: They are starving for change.

But like many other intown Atlanta neighborhoods, there’s a gray area in the West End between preserving the past and pushing for progress. Those who’ve followed developers’ interests in the intersection of Lee Street and Ralph David Abernathy Boulevard are likely familiar with pie-in-the-sky promises and half-baked deals surrounding a mall makeover in recent years.

This is where The Prusik Group comes in.

The New York-based commercial real estate developer, along with residential housing developer BRP Companies, are the chief investors in the mall’s recently announced $450 million redevelopment. Take a look at DeMarco Williams’ story that includes reaction to the new owners’ promises of progress.

Bigger Picture: This isn’t the only ITP neighborhood in the midst of a significant transition.

• City leaders Thursday approved the Integral Group as the developer to transform the 22-acre Old Fourth Ward property that housed Atlanta Medical Center into a community hub.

Want more business news? Sign up for our news Linkedin newsletters focused on the airport and workplace trends.

***

DON’T JUMP TO CONCLUSIONS

Ross Mansbach checks his laptop as he and other voters lined up before the polls opened Tuesday at the Joan P. Garner Library in Atlanta.

More than 600,000 Georgians rushed to the polls this week for the first few days of early voting in Georgia, a record-breaking surge that has supporters of both Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump awash in optimism.

What does it all mean? The AJC’s Greg Bluestein breaks down what we know – and don’t know – about everything from the demographics of the voter turnout to how each party is reacting to the big numbers as they count down to Nov. 5.

• Positive sign for Democrats: Far more women than men have cast early votes
• Optimism for Republicans: A broad majority of early voters are 50 and over

***

MORE TOP STORIES

» How Howard University and the Black college experience shaped Kamala Harris

» Georgia school shooting suspect, father indicted by Barrow County grand jury

» Young Thug trial: Judge bars former Atlanta police detective from returning to the stand

» 2 teens found fatally shot in Douglasville parking lot

» Contaminated donor tissue gave Georgia patient tuberculosis, lawsuit says

***

A FAIR SWAP?

The National Park Service says an exchange on Cumberland Island National Seashore would connect more federally owned parcels and give four landowners parcels that would be “less impactful on visitors.” But environmental groups say private landowners are being prioritized over a congressional mandate to preserve the island in its natural state.

Cumberland Island, with about 18 miles of undeveloped beachfront on the Atlantic Ocean, is known for its protected wilderness, diverse biology and feral horses. It also historically has been a retreat for some of America’s wealthiest families.

Conservationists are pushing back against a government plan that would swap hundreds of acres of public and private land on Georgia’s largest barrier island. A public comment period on the proposal ends Sunday. Get caught up with the details here.

• Nedra Rhone: Will climate change chase coastal residents to metro Atlanta?

***

GOODBYE TO A BRAVES VOICE

Kevin McAlpin is leaving the Braves Radio Network and 93.7 and 680/The Fan after 12 years. He was a game reporter for eight years and hosted pregame and postgame shows for the past five seasons. He told the AJC’s Rodney Ho that he found a job with more normal hours.

• Georgia football: Bulldogs fans have “paid out the wazoo” for tickets to see the matchup with No. 1 Texas.
• Falcons: QB Kirk Cousin’s secret weapon to building his relationship with offensive coordinator Zac Robinson: the voice-memo function on his cellphone.

***

POUR ANOTHER ONE OUT

The hits keep coming to Georgia’s beleaguered brewery scene. This time it’s Schoolhouse Brewing, which is closing its Gymnasium taproom at Emory Point. The flagship in Marietta will remain open.

Others haven’t been so lucky. Among the breweries that have closed this year: Savannah’s Moon River Brewing, Dry County Brewery in Kennesaw, Liquid Nation Brewing in Gainesville and Eventide Brewing in Grant Park.

That’s on the heels of a crushing 2023 that saw the end of Anderby Brewing, Candler Rail Brewery, Orpheus Brewing and the Tucker location of Pontoon Brewing, among others. Why is this happening? It’s complicated.

***

MORE TO EXPLORE

» Mike Jordan: It’s funny, or maybe not so much, how we’re mourning Wanda Smith

» Hartsfield-Jackson plans temporary closures of road at Delta curbside

» Winter is coming. Here’s what it could have in store for Georgia

» Morehouse School of Medicine to receive millions to diversify clinical studies

» Son of rapper T.I. arrested in Dunwoody after traffic stop

***

ON THIS DATE

Oct. 18, 1931

A big day for American icons included the imminent death of inventor Thomas Edison and gangster Al Capone’s conviction on tax evasion charges.

***

PHOTO OF THE DAY

A woman and her baby were rescued from a burning apartment building in southwest Atlanta on Thursday morning, according to fire officials. Atlanta fire Battalion Chief Derek Hullender said firefighters were called to the Abby Ridge Apartments on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and found heavy flames coming from a vacant first-floor unit. See more photos of blaze and rescue from AJC photographer John Spink.

***

ONE MORE THING