Groundbreakers Finalist

The Arbor Terrace assisted living facility in Alpharetta is typically a pretty quiet place. But on Wednesday and Friday mornings, the space is filled with an unexpected sound: the excited chatter and squeals of young children.

The City of Decatur has garnered plenty of awards for its environmental work. Last year it became the first local government to reach platinum status in the Atlanta Regional Commission’s Green Communities program, a designation that recognizes an all-encompassing effort.

Arthur Blank’s intentions for the dazzlingly complex, $1.6-billion Mercedes-Benz Stadium were to create a similar cultural hive for downtown Atlanta, the heartbeat of an entertainment and parks district that would bolster its neighboring communities. An instant landmark, the stadium’s wing-like exterior sections (an allusion to falcons in flight), 16-story “window to the city,” immense video halo board, and ocular roof of eight translucent petals have certainly made a splash.

Neurotrack is a testing system that uses eye-tracking and can determine with uncanny certainty who will develop Alzheimer’s disease in the next three to six years. It was developed based on decades of research by Stuart Zola of Emory University.

The folks behind the decision to transform the old Lakewood Fairgrounds into a thirty-three-acre film and television production campus want you to know two things: Part of the reason they came here was because of Georgia’s vaunted tax incentives for moviemakers, but no, their company doesn’t get a break on its own taxes. The crucial point is that, by creating the largest studio and soundstage complex in the state, EUE/Screen Gems has made it possible for lots of other filmmakers and TV networks to take advantage of the state’s tax deals.

Many children are anxious about reading aloud in class. But they relax when asked to read to dogs. Through READing PAWS, specially trained therapy dogs like Echo the Beagle visit schools and libraries throughout metro Atlanta and help make learning to read fun.

Costing $190 million, the 725 Ponce project is the largest investment in new construction on the BeltLine to date. Jim Irwin, 38, a Buckhead native, says quality design and experience are the top priorities guiding his company, New City, and its ambitious development rising across the BeltLine from Ponce City Market—the gargantuan project Irwin led as senior vice president of Jamestown Properties.

For years, Paces Properties’ most recognizable Atlanta development was Vinings Jubilee, a “lifestyle center”—or, as others may put it, an outdoor mall. That reputation changed with the 2012 announcement of Krog Street Market.

A partnership between Georgia Tech and the Midtown Alliance, Buzz brings together residents, businesses, and students to develop community-focused smartphone apps like OneBusAway and CycleAtlanta.

As evidence for the maxim that one person can indeed make a difference, consider that, all by his lonesome, arts enthusiast Louis Corrigan gave more money to local arts groups last year than the entire Atlanta Office of Cultural Affairs. Corrigan, a successful investment firm research analyst, is the majority funder of Flux Projects, which sponsors creative installations and performances around the city, and he provides about 40 percent of the backing for professional dance troupe gloATL. But he’s not simply a modern Medici seeking a tax write-off; in keeping with his financial background, Corrigan leverages his assets so the grassroots community gets the biggest bang from his bucks. Through his nonprofit foundation, Possible Futures, he targets grants to enable arts journalism websites artsatl.com and burnaway.org to cover and promote local goings-on. Through Flux and his support for gloATL, Corrigan underwrites public arts projects in such highly visible venues as Freedom Park and Centennial Olympic Park, with the aim of reaching audiences that might not otherwise seek out experimental visual art, photography, or dance.