J. Scott Trubey
Business Reporter
J. Scott Trubey covers economic development and commercial real estate for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He’s previously covered banking, airlines, hospitality and tourism, crime and government at newspapers in Atlanta and Augusta, Ga. He joined the AJC in 2010.
Latest from J. Scott Trubey

Cox Enterprises on Friday announced a deal to sell a majority stake in its portfolio of 14 television stations, including WSB-TV/Channel 2 Action News, to an international investment firm. The TV properties will become part of a new media company headquartered in Atlanta. Investment funds affiliated with Apollo Global Management will...
Could New York’s loss be Atlanta’s gain? On Thursday, the hearts of economic developers in Atlanta and across the country likely skipped a beat with the stunning news that Amazon was abandoning plans to add 25,000 jobs in New York City. In the announcement, which hit the airwaves just before noon, Amazon said it didn&rsquo...
The press secretary for former Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed has been cited for allegedly violating the Georgia Open Records Act in the first-ever criminal complaint filed in connection with the law, the state attorney general’s office announced Monday. Jenna Garland, 34, the press secretary during Reed’s second term, is accused of...
In the waning days of the Great Recession, Atlanta celebrated news that sparked hope for better times. Not one, but two Fortune 500 companies announced they would move their headquarters to the metro area, bringing a jolt of good-paying jobs and confirmation of Georgia’s economic promise. Ten years later, 2019 has opened with a brutal...

Back in 1994, when college basketball’s Final Four tournament came to Charlotte, N.C., pop-up restaurants and bars were set up downtown, former Mayor Pro Tem Lynn Wheeler said. Vacant buildings were temporarily fronted by cardboard facades, almost like a movie set. The city wanted to give a sense of hustle and bustle, she recalled....
Bank mergers often shake customers out of their inertia in search of a better deal, something Atlanta’s SunTrust and Winston-Salem’s BB&T have to consider after their mega-combination. Mergers that create bigger banks tend to lead to some shifts consumers won’t like: branch closings, longer wait times and potentially less...
SunTrust Banks, the last great link to Atlanta’s past as a national banking power, announced Thursday it will merge with Winston-Salem, N.C.-based rival BB&T to create the sixth-largest bank in the U.S., in a marriage that will cost Georgia a Fortune 500 headquarters. The combined bank, valued by the companies at $66 billion, will be...

Southlake Mall in Clayton County has been sold to a joint venture between two New York real estate companies. CityView Commercial LLC and Jacobs Real Estate Advisors in January acquired the 100-acre property in Morrow, about 15 miles south of downtown Atlanta, from Vintage Capital Group of Los Angeles, according to a news release. The two-level...
U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak said Monday his office won’t “take shortcuts” in its corruption investigation of Atlanta City Hall, and suggested Keisha Lance Bottoms’ administration has provided less than full cooperation in a probe that pre-dates her term as mayor. The federal investigation, which dates...

It’s Super Bowl week, and about the only thing worse than a dropped pass in the end zone on Sunday might be dropped calls or spotty internet service. In the ramp up to the big game, major telecommunications companies and broadband providers have spent millions of dollars making permanent and temporary upgrades to their networks...

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank and Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms on Thursday celebrated the renovation of a park in the historic Vine City neighborhood, a gift commemorating Super Bowl 53. The NFL Foundation, the Atlanta Super Bowl Host Committee and the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation are among supporters...