Thursday progress
Dec. 18 — Forge Atlanta, a multi‑phase, mixed‑use district set to transform an underutilized industrial block adjacent to the Garnett MARTA Station, is officially underway, with construction set to begin in 2026. Phase I includes a hotel, luxury condos, retail, and entertainment space.
☔ Light rain with a high of 61° today.
🗣️ Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis testified before a GOP-led state Senate committee Wednesday, passionately defending her office and her decision to pursue a criminal case against President Donald Trump.
⏸️ The DeKalb County Commission voted to continue its pause on new data centers until June 2026. The DeKalb CEO also ended the county’s COVID-era state of emergency and ordered employees back to the office, with limited hybrid work allowed.
💵 A GoFundMe has been created to help 18-year-old Jacob Spears, a Georgia resident who was wounded in the weekend shooting at Brown University.
🎼 State Farm Arena has been ranked a Top 10 venue, both domestically and worldwide, in Billboard’s The Year in Touring 2025 Report.
🏦 The Sandy Springs City Council approved a drive-through for a bank planned in the Aldi shopping plaza.
🖼️ Atlanta Beltline Art has opened three new calls for participation for residents tied to its 2026 exhibition season.
🏈 Sandy Creek, Hebron Christian, and Pope won their respective GHSA football championships yesterday.
ELSEWHERE
🗣️ In an 18-minute White House address, President Donald Trump blamed Democrats for high prices and announced a $1,776 “warrior dividend” for service members.
🍿 From 2029 until at least 2033, the Oscars will stream exclusively on YouTube.
➡ On Capitol Hill, four House Republicans joined Democrats to force a vote on an extension of health care subsidies that are set to expire on Dec. 31. The Senate passed a $901 billion defense bill that forces the release of drug boat strike videos.
🎗️ Peter Arnett, the war correspondent whose reporting spanned Vietnam to Iraq and made him a cable TV fixture during the Gulf War, died at 91.
🕖 Here’s what’s in today’s newsletter:
• The ‘Funwoody’ transformation
• Paint Love
• Perimeter District life
• Hive for house flippers
AND
• Quick Bites
✨ The Underground Rep: Inspired by the multi-year construction project and excavation beneath the Woodruff Arts Center’s Memorial Arts Building, Alliance Theatre will open the new Goizueta Stage for Youth & Families with three productions performed in repertory – all set underground! SPONSOR MESSAGE
1. The restaurants of ‘Funwoody’ transformed a Dunwoody shopping center into a community hub
🥃 Attorney Howard Evans ends most days with a gluten-free beer or two at BAR{n} Booze {n} Bites, the whiskey and wine bar located near his Dunwoody home.
The laid-back watering hole is part of “Funwoody,” a group of indoor-outdoor restaurants centered around a courtyard at The Village Dunwoody complex that transformed the sleepy suburban strip mall on Chamblee Dunwoody Road into a bustling community hub.
Evans tries to frequent BAR{n} daily. The restaurant stocks two of his favorite gluten-free beers: a Redbridge lager and a Lakefront Brewery pilsner. Carrying specific beers for him is one of the many reasons why Evans has been a loyal regular since BAR{n} opened in 2021.
🍻 Evans isn’t the only one. Read more about why “Funwoody” has become the place to be here.
Stunning Buckhead modern retreat
SPONSORED BY ATLANTA FINE HOMES
🏠 This $3.295 million Buckhead home offers 8,000± square feet of beautifully renovated living space with six bedrooms and high-end finishes throughout.
A chef’s kitchen with a waterfall island opens to a four-season porch with stone floors and a fireplace.
The primary suite features two custom closets and a spa bathroom, while the terrace level adds a bar, a wine cellar, a gym, and a media space.
Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby’s International Realty is Metro Atlanta’s No. 1 residential real estate company and No. 1 in luxury home sales above $1 million.
👉🏼 Check out our current listings here.
2. Six Atlanta artists to earn trauma-informed education certificate through Paint Love
VIA SKETCHBOOK, A WEEKLY NEWSLETTER ABOUT ART | SUBSCRIBE
🎨 Paint Love has selected six artists for its latest Artist Cohort — and for the first time, participants will earn a professional certificate in trauma-informed arts education upon completion of the program.
The Paint Love Artist Cohort, launched in 2022, supports artists working in schools and nonprofit settings across Metro Atlanta. This year’s cohort was selected from more than 45 applicants. Each will participate in a yearlong program that requires 20 hours of teaching, six hours of youth mentoring, and 15+ hours of professional development training and coaching to complete.
The six artists selected for Paint Love’s 2026 Artist Cohort work across disciplines ranging from visual art and animation to dance, pottery, and interdisciplinary teaching.
🏺 Click here to meet the selected artists.
3. Perimeter survey reveals new insights on dining, shopping, and district life
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PERIMETER COMMUNITY IMPROVEMENT DISTRICTS
📈 Perimeter’s 2025 Community-Wide Survey found that 85% of respondents agree the district offers great dining options and, 82% say it has appealing shopping, yet many want even more to explore.
The district is answering that call through new developments, diverse restaurants, and revitalized retail, transforming beyond its traditional 9-to-5 rhythm into a true live-work-play destination.
➡️Discover what respondents are asking for– and what’s already taking shape in Perimeter.
4. Atlanta high school founders launch Hive, a Georgia-built platform connecting house flippers and contractors
🏠 Ari Milrud says he has been working on creative business ideas since he was seven years old. But he said he really caught the entrepreneurial bug as a high school student, when he began wholesaling properties.
While building up his burgeoning real estate career, he saw a tech opportunity.
Now, as a senior at Riverwood International Charter School in Sandy Springs, Milrud is co-founder of Hive, a platform connecting house flippers with top contractors.
➡ Read the whole story from Hypepotamus here.
🍑 Celebrate local flavor with Georgia Grown gifts! Build beautiful baskets or grab flavorful stocking stuffers from local craft makers. Enjoy chef demos, tasty samples, and meet the farmers. Visit us Sat., Dec. 20, 9 a.m.-8 p.m. at Cook’s Warehouse Ansley Mall. SPONSOR MESSAGE
5. Quick Bites
VIA SIDE DISH, A WEEKLY NEWSLETTER | SUBSCRIBE HERE
😋 For this week’s Quick Bites, Rough Draft Dining Editor Beth McKibben brings you details on a new Alpharetta Mediterranean-Italian restaurant, an upcoming cocktail bar headed to Westside Paper, and why nostalgia dining is leading to big sales at chain restaurants. She also shares where you can celebrate Noche Buena in Atlanta this weekend, and sad news of the passing of Radio Roasters Coffee founder Chip Grabow.
🍴 Here’s the latest from Beth.
MORE DINING NEWS
☕ European-inspired coffee shop and cafe At Arbeta will open in the former JavaVino space next year.
🍑 Celebrate local flavor with Georgia Grown gifts! Build beautiful baskets or grab flavorful stocking stuffers from local craft makers. Enjoy chef demos, tasty samples, and meet the farmers. Visit us Sat., Dec. 20, 9 a.m.-8 p.m. at Cook’s Warehouse Ansley Mall. SPONSOR MESSAGE
🔤 Don’t miss News Word Atlanta, our daily word game.
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