The Midas Touch

Atlanta Business Chronicle

The Atlanta BeltLine is steadily wooing companies, partly due to the greater emphasis now placed on locating workspaces in walkable areas.

Over the past decade,both major corporations and small businesses have landed next to the Eastside Trail, a 3-mile section flowing from Midtown to Reynoldstown. The path serves as a commuter route for employees, exercise option for fitness enthusiasts and boardwalk for bars, shops and restaurants. The highest-trafficked section at Irwin Street sees an average of 5,100 people each day.

That same effect is slowly starting to take shape on the Westside Trail, a semi-completed section that could be finished by 2025. The path flows through 11 neighborhoods — including West End, Adair Park, Bankhead and Knight Park/Howell Station — with a connection via a secondary trail into Downtown Atlanta.

There is already $800 million of private investment underway within a mile of Murphy Crossing, a warehouse hub planned to become a walkable and bike-friendly development. That number doesn't include plans by Microsoft Corp. (NYSE: MSFT) to turn a 90-acre site in Grove Park into a tech hub. It will be located beside MARTA's Bankhead rail station and close to the Westside Trail. The decision is a sign of the demand for major companies to locate near transit, viewed as an amenity to offer employees.

Image by the Atlanta Business Chronicle

By Tyler Wilkins - Reporter, Atlanta Business Chronicle