Nov 14, 2026
Greater Atlanta Business Roundup: Early November 2026
Georgia's election, Atlanta real estate, tech, retail and creative opportunities from the first two weeks of November, in plain English.
Hey connectors, this is Andre here! The first two weeks of November moved fast. Election night reshuffled the state's leadership, a new condo tower in Old Fourth Ward cleared its first big vote, Buckhead picked up a run of new stores, and the office market is still very much a tenant's game. I didn't want to wait until December to catch you up, so this is a mid-month edition of the roundup.
Same format as always. I pull the regional headlines that are scattered across a dozen outlets into one place. Each item gets a plain-English recap, a note on why it matters for your business, and a link so you can read the full story yourself.
Political news
Bottoms wins the governor's race, and business groups are already weighing in. Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms beat Republican Rick Jackson on Nov. 3 by more than 360,000 votes. She becomes Georgia's first Black woman governor and the first Democrat elected to the office since 1998. Democrats also won every statewide race on the ballot, including both Public Service Commission seats, and Sen. Jon Ossoff was reelected (Rough Draft Atlanta). Bottoms has said she will restructure the Department of Economic Development to serve smaller firms. The two big chambers aren't on the same page. Metro Atlanta Chamber CEO Katie Kirkpatrick supports routine reviews of incentives but opposes a "wholesale wipeout," and Georgia Chamber CEO Chris Clark wants to keep funding shovel-ready sites (AJC).
Why it matters: if you're a small or midsize firm that has never seen a dime of state economic development money, the rules of that game may be about to change. Keep an eye on who gets appointed to lead the department.
Data centers are "on the table." Bottoms campaigned on a temporary halt to new data center construction and has said "all things related to data centers will be on the table," tax incentives included (Rough Draft Atlanta). Large data centers are currently exempt from Georgia sales tax (AJC).
Why it matters: data centers have been one of the hottest land and construction plays in the metro. If you work in construction, electrical, land brokerage or site selection, plan for a slower pipeline until the policy is settled.
Fulton gets a new chair, and Northlake heads to Tucker. Mo Ivory won the Fulton County Commission chair with about 75% of the vote, and Maggie Goldman unseated Commissioner Bridget Thorne. In DeKalb, Northlake residents voted to join the City of Tucker (Rough Draft Atlanta).
City Hall and state moves worth knowing. Atlanta City Council approved more than $55 million for Hartsfield-Jackson, including fire and safety upgrades (Rough Draft Atlanta). The Secretary of State's office also held hearings on rules for a new law that lets homeowners challenge HOA fines through a state complaint process instead of court (Rough Draft Atlanta).
Real estate news
An 18-story tower clears its first hurdle in Old Fourth Ward. On Nov. 5 the Atlanta Zoning Review Board approved a 225-foot luxury condo tower at the edge of Old Fourth Ward Park. Most buildings around it stand six to nine stories, and residents pushed back over shadows, the environment and neighborhood character (Rough Draft Atlanta). The full City Council takes it up Nov. 16.
Why it matters: this is a test of how much density Intown neighborhoods will accept next to their parks. Developers eyeing the Eastside are watching.
Medley opens in Johns Creek with its office space already full. Phase one of the mixed-use district opened with its office space fully leased. Boehringer Ingelheim moved its U.S. Animal Health headquarters there (73,000 square feet, about 500 employees), and healthcare software firm Brightree took nearly 18,000 square feet. Duracell also moved its R&D headquarters into Science Square Labs, which is expected to bring more than 100 jobs (Rough Draft Atlanta).
The office market is a tenant's market. Atlanta just had its slowest office leasing quarter since early 2023. Renewals made up nearly 78% of deals, and no significant new office projects are underway (Bisnow). Vacancy in Class A and trophy towers hit a record 28.9%, and Class A rents were flat year over year at a little over $33 per square foot (Bisnow).
Why it matters: if your lease is up in the next year or two, you have negotiating leverage. Use it.
A new team for new construction. Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Georgia Properties launched the New Homes Network, a sales and marketing team for builders led by Senior Vice President Chuck MacPhee (Rough Draft Atlanta).
Multifamily folks, save the date. Bisnow's Multifamily Southeast Conference brings owners, developers and investors from Georgia, Tennessee and the Carolinas to Cobb Galleria Centre on Nov. 19 (Bisnow).
Tech in ATL
More robotaxis are coming. Zoox, Amazon's self-driving unit, is expanding testing of its driverless vehicles in Atlanta (Atlanta News First).
MARTA goes tap-to-pay. MARTA's tap-to-pay faregates go live at all 38 train stations this Friday, Nov. 14 (Atlanta News First). Visitors and new hires can tap a card or phone and go.
Construction tech is having a moment. Hypepotamus reports money flowing into Southeast construction tech. Atlanta's Punch raised $2 million to cut paperwork for construction crews, following Tractian's $1.4 billion "unicorn" valuation in late October. Hypepotamus also profiled an Atlanta startup that has helped its users land $3.6 million in grants (Hypepotamus).
Why it matters: if you're a contractor still running on clipboards, local founders are building tools for exactly your problem.
A reminder about single points of failure. A widespread Microsoft outage on Nov. 12 knocked out Outlook and other platforms for many users (Atlanta News First).
Why it matters: if one vendor going down would stop your business cold, now is a good time to sort out a backup plan.
Retail and store news
Buckhead's shopping scene had a big two weeks. Jeffrey Kalinsky's luxury boutique Jeffrey reopened at Buckhead Village, with about 3,000 square feet of retail space plus a styling lounge. Birmingham outerwear brand Tom Beckbe opened its first Atlanta store in Andrews Square in West Village. J.P. Morgan opened its first Atlanta Financial Center on Roswell Road, and the interactive children's museum Play Street Museum opened nearby (Rough Draft Atlanta).
A local designer gets her first storefront. Rayna Lee Parks opened the first brick-and-mortar store for her denim jacket brand, Dragon Denim, on the second floor of Ponce City Market's Central Food Hall (Rough Draft Atlanta).
More openings around the metro. Nordstrom Rack opened a 28,000-square-foot store at Atlantic Station. Goodwill of North Georgia opened its 72nd store and career center on Buford Highway in Doraville, creating about 36 jobs. Great Big Game Show opened its second immersive game-show venue at The Interlock in West Midtown (Rough Draft Atlanta). Joystick Gamebar is reopening too (Rough Draft Atlanta).
A closing restaurant owners should know about. CHEF'STORE, the wholesale grocer for restaurant owners, is closing its only Atlanta-area store, on Roswell Road in Sandy Springs, on Nov. 20 (ToNeTo Atlanta).
Why it matters: if you relied on CHEF'STORE, line up another supplier before Thanksgiving.
Business development and people moves
A curtain call at the Alliance. Jody Feldman, the Alliance Theatre's producer and casting director, retires in December after 35 years and more than 375 productions (Rough Draft Atlanta).
Promotions and new roles. Frederic J. Simard was promoted to president of Aflac U.S., and Raees Harris was named general manager of Trilith Guesthouse (AJC). Blaine Palmer left Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby's to become VP of business development and managing broker at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Beach Properties of Florida (Rough Draft Atlanta).
Private equity keeps buying. Chicken Salad Chick, with more than 350 restaurants, could double in size under its owner, Brentwood Associates. Atlanta's Roark Capital keeps adding restaurant and service brands, and private equity-backed accounting firms are buying up competitors (AJC).
Why it matters: if you own a services firm, don't be surprised if a buyer calls. Know what your business is worth before they do.
Deals around the region. Frazier & Deeter acquired Alabama firm JamisonMoneyFarmer, Southwire opened an innovation center in Carrollton, and Pye-Barker Fire & Safety is acquiring St. John's Fire Equipment (AJC).
Money and new platforms for creatives. Qreative Voices launched microgrants for queer artists in the South (Rough Draft Atlanta). On the media side, Heartland Media launched "The Ron Show" with Ron Roberts on WMLB-AM 1690 (Rough Draft Atlanta).
Holiday season outlook. Forecasters expect 8โ10% of holiday packages to arrive late this year, and Per Scholas Atlanta is training people for tech careers, including data center work (AJC). Gas prices in Georgia are falling ahead of Thanksgiving but are still 68 cents higher than a year ago (Rough Draft Atlanta).
Why it matters: if you ship products, push your "order by" dates earlier than you think you need to.
Opportunities for creatives
Muralists and public artists, get on the city's roster. The Mayor's Office of Cultural Affairs opened applications on Nov. 5 for its Moving Atlanta Forward Bond 2.0 Artist Roster. The roster prequalifies artists and businesses for the city's bond-funded public art projects, sorted by medium and project size, and the deadline is 11:59 p.m. Nov. 29 (Office of Cultural Affairs).
Why it matters: this roster is the front door to the city's next round of public art commissions. If you paint murals or build large-scale work, don't let this one slide past Thanksgiving.
A paid trophy commission for designers. The city is also taking portfolios for the Phoenix Award trophy design, open to metro Atlanta designers, artists and art students. The top four portfolios get $250 each to develop a proposal, and the artist chosen gets a $5,000 commission. Deadline: 11:59 p.m. Nov. 22 (Office of Cultural Affairs).
Sculptors, Freedom Park wants your existing work. The annual sculpture exhibition in Freedom Park, near the Carter Center, is looking for pre-existing pieces from artists living and working in Georgia and five neighboring Southern states. Selected works earn up to $3,000 each for a one-year lease. Deadline: 11:59 p.m. Dec. 6 (Office of Cultural Affairs).
Producers and production pros, two jobs worth a look. The Atlanta Hawks are hiring a Manager of Hawks Studio Operations to run the team's in-house studio, lead a creative team and schedule more than 1,000 projects a year. The role asks for 5โ8+ years of experience. The Georgia Film Academy is hiring a Brand and Social Media Manager (FOX 5).
Influencers and content creators, note who's buying. Coca-Cola is hiring an entertainment marketing lead to manage celebrity partnerships and influencer collaborations across film, TV, fashion and gaming (FOX 5).
Beauty pros and music producers. Neither of these two sources had anything for stylists, makeup artists or music producers this period. I'm keeping an eye out for the end-of-month edition. If you know of an open call, send it my way.
Mark your calendar, connectors
- Nov. 16: Atlanta City Council votes on the Old Fourth Ward condo rezoning (City Hall, 55 Trinity Ave. SW, or streaming on the city's YouTube channel)
- Nov. 19: Bisnow Multifamily Southeast Conference, Cobb Galleria Centre
- Nov. 20: Last day for CHEF'STORE in Sandy Springs
- Nov. 22: Phoenix Award trophy design portfolios due (City of Atlanta)
- Nov. 29: MAF Bond 2.0 Artist Roster applications close
- Nov. 30: Comedy feature starts filming (background casting open now)
- Dec. 6: Freedom Park sculpture exhibition submissions due
That's the first half of November. See you at the end of the month, connectors.