Atlanta, GA
Atlanta Beltline aquires defunct Elleven 45 to expand network
Beltline buys defunct Elleven 45 Lounge
The problematic Elleven 45 Lounge, which was closed down earlier this year after a deadly shooting, has now been purchased by the Atlanta Beltline. Here’s how it will be used.
ATLANTA – The Atlanta Beltline has purchased the property of the now shuttered Elleven 45 Lounge in Buckhead and plans to convert it into a portion of the trail.
“We had a young lady lose her life and people got shot at this club that should not have allowed guns into the premises. So, they were bad actors and bad operators,” said Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, describing the violent events at Elleven 45 on Mother’s Day.
When a gunman shot and killed two people and wounded four others.
In August, a Fulton County Superior Court Judge deemed the club a “public nuisance” and shut it down.
Dickens says the city then saw an opportunity.
“We talked to the ownership and said, ‘hey, we want to buy this property so we can complete the beltline trail,’” he said.
It turned out the property sits in an ideal spot for the Northwest Segment 2 of the Beltline trail.
“The Northwest Trail is perhaps the most technically challenging from an engineering and design perspective,” said CEO for Atlanta Beltline Clyde Higgs.
He says acquiring this property has given them a golden opportunity to connect the trail to Peachtree Road and make that portion of the trail much more accessible.
“This last acquisition piece was significant because it’s going to create a better trail experience from an ADA access perspective of getting access to the Shepherd Center to Piedmont Hospital,” Higgs said.
It came at a hefty price tag. Higgs confirms it cost them around $11 million. Much more than the original plan for this section of the trail.
“This was bigger than our original budget. But because we have realized cost savings in other places along the Beltline, we were able to repurpose some of those savings and bring that to an area in order to make sure Buckhead gets a significant investment from the Beltline,” Higgs said.
Mayor Dickens says it’s a two-for-one special the city previously could have only dreamed of.
“We got rid of a nuisance, and we’re improving the city by putting the Beltline through here. So, you’re going to see something amazing come about from this,” Dickens said.
It’s a big step forward for one of Atlanta’s most ambitious projects.
A project that aims to have much of the trail completed in time for the arrival of the world’s biggest sporting event.
“We will have nearly 18 miles of the Beltline completed before the World Cup arrives in Atlanta in 2026,” Higgs said.
He said that will likely not include the portion with the Elleven 45 Lounge property.
He says the Northwest Segment 2 portion will be completed in late 2026 or early 2027.
The tower at 1105 W. Peachtree St., which bears Google’s logo, recently secured a new loan at a time many landlords are struggling to do so.
1105 West Peachtree (Google Tower in Midtown) is shown Friday, Dec. 19, 2025, in Atlanta. The Google Tower is one of the developments done by Selig Enterprises. (Jason Getz/AJC)
It hasn’t been easy the past few years to be an office landlord.
Many tenants shrunk their workspaces coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, meaning buildings that lost rental revenue also lost value. Interest rates surged. Many banks got gun shy over having too much money lent to office tower owners, and a whole lot of loans have been coming due.
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The tower at 1105 W Peachtree St. in Midtown Atlanta is one of the city’s newest office buildings.
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Zachary Hansen, a Georgia native, covers economic development and commercial real estate for the AJC. He’s been with the newspaper since 2018 and enjoys diving into complex stories that affect people’s lives.
ATLANTA – A Mexican national will spend the next 30 years in federal prison for operating clandestine methamphetamine laboratories across the Atlanta area, federal officials announced Wednesday.
What we know:
Ramiro Contreras-Sandoval, 41, of Michoacán, Mexico, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Eleanor L. Ross following his conviction for running conversion labs that housed more than 135 kilograms of liquid methamphetamine hidden in paint buckets. Contreras-Sandoval, who also went by several aliases including Manuel Santiago Vazquez and “Mirin,” was also convicted of possessing firearms as an illegal alien to protect his drug trafficking operation.
The investigation began in April 2019, when law enforcement seized the methamphetamine mixture from a conversion lab in Morrow, Georgia. Contreras-Sandoval and his co-defendant, Genaro Davalos-Pulido, fled the area after a vehicle they were using to transport the drugs was stopped by police.
The pair remained at large until the fall of 2021, when agents tracked them to a neighborhood in Norcross, Georgia. During a search of a Norcross residence, agents discovered a full-scale liquid meth operation, a loaded Beretta handgun, $84,000 in cash, and a .50-caliber rifle that appeared ready for shipment to Mexico. Contreras-Sandoval was arrested nearby with approximately $12,000 in his vehicle and pockets.
What they’re saying:
“This case should send a clear message to anyone thinking about running drugs or using deadly weapons to protect their operation: the federal government will relentlessly seek justice and protect the community from drug traffickers,” said U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg.
“Operating methamphetamine labs is a reckless and dangerous crime,” said Jae W. Chung, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Division. “This conviction underscores that DEA will aggressively pursue anyone who engages in drug trafficking activities that put lives at risk.”
What’s next:
Contreras-Sandoval’s 30-year sentence will be followed by five years of supervised release. His co-defendant, Davalos-Pulido, previously pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 20 years in prison in October 2024.
The Source: The U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office provided the details for this article.
Highlights include a musical from Alicia Keys, Atlanta Jewish Storytelling Festival, ‘Twelfth Night.’
The Lawrenceville Symphony Orchestra will perform works of Johann Strauss II and George Gershwin (featuring pianist Anna Keiserman) on Saturday. (Photo courtesy of Lawrenceville Symphony Orchestra)
By Mary Caldwell – For the AJC
2 hours ago
From theater to music and dance to visual arts, the metro Atlanta area has a busy arts scene offering something for nearly everyone. This week, happenings include a Lawrenceville Symphony Orchestra performance featuring the iconic works of Johann Strauss II and George Gershwin as well as the second annual Atlanta Jewish Storytelling Festival. This weekly roundup will help you explore Atlanta’s arts and culture over the coming seven days.
“Hell’s Kitchen,” singer Alicia Keys’ autobiographical musical, continues at the Fox Theatre through Sunday. (Photo by Marc J. Franklin)
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New York storyteller Laura Sims leads workshops and performs stories on Saturday and Sunday during the Atlanta Jewish Storytelling Festival at The Breman. (Photo courtesy of The Breman)
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“The Family Album of Ralph Eugene Meatyard” is on view at the High Museum of Art through May 10. (Photo courtesy of the High Museum of Art)
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Sandler Hudson Gallery hosts “primary,” a solo exhibition featuring the works of Georgia artist Betsy Cain through Saturday. (Photo courtesy of Sandler Hudson Gallery)
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