And Will, it seems that none of us disagree, and greater density is certainly something that most people can agree with ITP. What you seem averse to acknowledging is that a 40-story tower is not in character with that area. I think if Mason had proposed a 5-10 story development, there wouldn’t have been an issue, or at least not the outcry that has ensued. It’s a question of scale, not a question of goals. We all agree that density is needed, just not to the outrageous limits that Mason was proposing we take it…

Ultimately, even with the state’s new restrictions on eminent domain, the city can make the Beltline happen, and Mason would be dumb not to develop something along all that property he owns.

For the most part I don’t think that this is a liberal/conservative issue. If we (those who live ITP including myself) want a more walkable, livable community, we are going to have to accept greater density. Those ITP who want less density should move out to Cumming.

The neighborhoods surounding those proposed towers are not, contrary to popular opinion, NIMBY’s. Those towers, because of the way they would run North/South would cast a shadow over the Meadow in Piedmont Park until mid afternoon.

That gravel parking lot has been slated to be open space in the CDP far longer then Mason has owned the property. I am also in development, and when I buy a piece of property that I would like to build on I check the zoning to make sure I can legally do what I want. Mason assumed that he could have his way with us “limo libs” the same way he had his way with Gwinett County. He was wrong!

How much profit is too much for someone who may go a year or two without bringing in a dime?

Somehow, I think Wayne Mason will find the scratch somewhere to buy canned peas at Kroger whether these new condos are five stories or 50.

But we do really need to think more and more about the way we re-develop our intown land in a broader sense, not just street by street, neighborhood by neighborhood. If we cannot have higher density in already existing neighborhoods then Atlanta will never been the transit friendly, walkable city that we all say that we want. It is just a fact that some now low density residential neighborhoods are going to have to become more dense in order for it to work. You can’t have it both ways.

The Beltline may not be a foregone conclusion, but the momentum is certainly moving that way, and Wayne Mason isn’t going to stop it, because then his investment would totally go to crap. And the neighbors aren’t going to stop it, because they’re limo libs, and they need people on the light rail to free up roads and parking spaces for their limos…

I chuckle at those of you who purport to know anything about how developers make their money and the financial structure of development deals. How many of you have ever been involved professional in commercial real estate or development? I’m guessing few if any. I have and am. What some of you view as too much profit for developers is what they may have to live off of for years between deals. Developers and brokers do not draw a salary. Commercial real estate and development is one of the hardest and riskiest jobs on the face of the planet. How much profit is too much for someone who may go a year or two without bringing in a dime?

I agree with RiverRat, Wayne’s not interested in compromise. It’s his way or the highway. So bully to those people who stand in his way. The Beltline’s going to happen one way or another. Hopefully Wayne will get on board.

Now, speaking of the NPU’s and neighborhood organization, how truly representative of overall sentiment can they be if they can come close but can’t even win a low turnout city council election against a candidate that was MIA who nobody liked? I mean, the neighborhood organizations were completely against this candidate and she still carried (albeit slightly) some of these neighborhoods.

What you miss is the same thing that Mason missed – the NIMBYs in Atlanta are particularly organized, and carry a fair amount of power, especially in the area he is trying to build in. Some of the folks involved likely still remember when they fought then-Mayor Andy Young, then-POTUS Jimmy Carter, and federal highway money to stop a highway going through the neighborhood. The compromise was Freedom Parkway and Freedom Park.

Mason thought he could take the same approach that has worked elsewhere – offer city council members lots of tax dollars for his new development, plus a very generous incentive package in the form of donating the BeltLine land, play some hardball, and he’d win. The problem is that he didn’t focus on the local interests and needs, and underestimated their influence among the City.

A city council member came within 3 votes of losing her seat in large part because she supported a parking deck in Piedmont Park – can you imagine what a vote for two 40 story towers could do if it was opposed more vocally than a parking deck? The neighborhoods were at least split on the parking deck, EVERYONE agrees that 40 stories is too high for that corner.

And Mason hasn’t really tried to compromise or work with the groups very much. His public statements have been very confrontational, threatening the city and condescending the community. His slash and burn approach that maybe worked in Gwinnett simply will not work in Atlanta. More than anything else, Mason simply underestimated what the neighborhoods would support. I may be wrong, and the City may grant everything he wants. But I would put the blame squarely on Mason for this – he simply misjudged things.