Power Reads: 5 Interesting Articles That Will Help You This Week

Each week, I select a few articles that rise above the fray and hopefully help you on your journey in leadership and the CRE world. They pull from one of four "corners": corporate real estate, technology, management science and anything positive. Each day we can become a better version of ourselves.

1. Brian McGowan, seeing parallels with Seattle tech scene, calls Atlanta 'a rising star'

Brian McGowan spent the past few years uniting economic development efforts in Seattle, home to tech giants Amazon and Microsoft Corp.

Now, returning to Atlanta to help lead downtown's largest redevelopment, he sees a much different city than the one he left almost three years ago.

McGowan, the former Invest Atlanta president and CEO and president of Atlanta BeltLine Inc., said he never thought Atlanta could emerge as a major tech hub so quickly. But, with Microsoft's decision to build a 90-acre campus on the city's Westside, Google's expansion in Midtown, and Airbnb's recent expansion announcement, “Atlanta is a rising star," McGowan said. "And, we have not even seen its full potential yet." 

McGowan, 52, previously stood at the intersection of capital investment and economic development before leaving for Seattle. Since 2018, he served as CEO of Greater Seattle Partners, a regional trade and investment organization.

2. FanDuel picks Midtown, Ponce City Market emerges as a frontrunner

Ponce City Market has emerged as one of the frontrunners to land a new FanDuel technology campus in Atlanta.

FanDuel will move into a 68,000-square-foot space in Midtown, the state confirmed earlier this afternoon. It could include up to 900 jobs wherever it decides to land. The division will include software engineering, product development and information technology positions.

Ponce City Market, the former Sears building converted into a home for tech and creative class companies on the Eastside Trail, helped spark economic development on the Atlanta Beltline.

3. New basketball league Overtime Elite to add headquarters in Atlantic Station

A new upstart basketball league, backed by a slew of celebrities and NBA players, is bringing its headquarters to Atlanta.

Overtime, a New York-based media company, plans to open a 103,000-square-foot facility in Atlantic Station for its startup league, Overtime Elite, that launched earlier this year. Overtime Elite, which expects to begin its first season in September, plans to hire at least 100 full-time people locally while supplying over 400 temporary construction jobs on the project which will be completed later this summer.

Retail director Starr Cumming, who brokered the deal on behalf of Atlantic Station and property manager Hines, called Overtime Elite's new HQ a "huge win" for Atlantic Station and the city as a whole.

4. Microsoft is Doubling Down on Office Space

Even as the Covid-19 pandemic sent its workers home last year, Microsoft continued expanding in Redmond and snatching up office space throughout the U.S.

The shift to working from home for the entire U.S. white-collar workforce was so swift, many questioned how relevant the office would be post-pandemic.

But Microsoft — the company that banks off remote working with products such as Teams — continued apace with the multibillion-dollar overhaul of the eastern portion of its Redmond campus, which includes 18 new buildings. It also pushed ahead with a major new East Coast hub in Atlanta.

Microsoft expanded its cloud division in Hillsboro, Oregon, and is reported to be on the hunt for office space in Miami.

5. Timeline: Evolution of the Atlanta BeltLine

December 1999
Georgia Tech grad student Ryan Gravel submits a master’s thesis describing a “belt line” loop of multiuse trails and transit along 22 miles of railroad corridor. City Council President Cathy Woolard soon champions the idea.

April 2005
Atlanta BeltLine Partnership, an engine for raising funds and awareness, is formed. Its mission is to enable construction of parks and trails, engage the public, and empower residents of the BeltLine’s 45 neighborhoods.

April 2006
City buys the dormant, 300-acre Bellwood Quarry for roughly $40 million, in hopes of one day building Atlanta’s largest park and water reservoir, west of Midtown.

Your success blesses others. I wish you a great a hugely impactful week!