Atlanta Galleria Now

Galleria Chat: April 18, 2013

The Galleria Chat appears on this blog each week. The Chat provides a hearty helping of events and announcements to keep you in the know about the area surrounding the Atlanta Galleria Office Park. So without further ado…

Sampling Smorgasbord. Attention area foodies: the 2013 Taste of West Cobb will take place on Saturday, April 20, at Hillgrove High School. Come out for this free event featuring samples from area restaurants like Smallcakes Cupcakery, Okinawa, Yogli Mogli, La Parilla and more. The event also features entertainment by the Hillgrove Band, booths with representatives from local businesses, bungee trampolines and other activities for kids.

Tickets for the Taste of West Cobb are sold in packs. Each pack costs $10 and includes 10 taste tickets and two raffle tickets. Most samples require two or three taste tickets. Buy them online at www.tasteofwestcobb.com. The event runs from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Hillgrove is located at 4165 Luther Ward Road in Powder Springs.

Spring Cleaning. Clean out your clutter while helping the environment at this Saturday’s Earth Day Recycling Event sponsored by Keep Cobb Beautiful. Bring your reusable and recyclable items including electronics, latex paint, Styrofoam, textiles and batteries to dispose of them in an environmentally friendly way. The event also features free and secure document shredding.

The event will take place from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Jim R. Miller Park, located at 2245 Callaway Road in Marietta. Click here for a complete list of accepted recyclables.

Chasing Away Cancer. Lace up your running shoes for this Sunday’s Chastain Chase, which features a variety of road races in support of Cancer Support Community Atlanta, a non-profit organization that provides education to cancer patients and their families.

The races — a 6K run, one-mile run and a “tot trot” for kids — begin and end at the RoadRunner Sports at 3756 Roswell Road and wind through Chastain Park. Your registration fee supports the organization, includes access to an after-party with DJ entertainment and gets you a free t-shirt.

To pre-register, visit www.cscatlanta.kintera.org/chastainchase.

Festival Season Is Here. You’re in for one giant celebration at the 37th Annual Kennesaw Big Shanty Festival this Saturday and Sunday in downtown Kennesaw.

At the center of the festival is the Smithsonian-affiliated Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History. The festival features more than 200 crafts booths, activities for kids, entertainment, and performances from local schools and dance groups. The weekend starts Saturday at 9:30 a.m. with a downtown parade, which will include marching bands from local schools and a number of floats.

The festival takes place on both sides of Main Street in downtown Kennesaw. Hours are Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. Admission is free, sponsored by the City of Kennesaw and the Kennesaw Business Association. Visit www.kennesawbusiness.org for more information.

Galleria Chat: April 11, 2013

The Galleria Chat appears on this blog each week. The Chat provides a hearty helping of events and announcements to keep you in the know about the area surrounding the Atlanta Galleria Office Park. So without further ado…

A Life-Saving Lap. Kennesaw State University will hold a Relay for Life on Friday, April 12, beginning at 7 p.m. Relay for Life is an event held in communities across the country to celebrate the lives of those saved from cancer and those that have lost their lives to the disease, while raising money to find a cure. The overnight event features activities and entertainment, a survivor lap and luminary service.

For more information on the event or to make a donation, visit www.ksurelay.org. Kennesaw State is located at 1000 Chastain Road in Kennesaw.

Keeping Our Planet Green. Celebrate our planet with the Earth Day Kids Fest on Saturday, April 13, at the Chattahoochee Nature Center. Captain Planet will be in attendance to help everyone learn how to protect our world. Listen to music from family band Laughing Pizza, talk to local green organizations in the Eco-Village, canoe on the Chattahoochee Nature Center pond, take a hike or complete a scavenger hunt in the garden.

The festival begins at 10 a.m. and ends at 3 p.m. Tickets are $10 for adults and $6 for children. Visit the Chattahoochee Nature Center online for more information. The center is located at 9135 Willeo Road in Roswell.

Derby Date. If you’ve never been to a roller-derby bout, here’s your chance. The Marietta Derby Darlins are hosting the Skatergirl Scuffle at the Cobb Civic Center this Saturday.

Starting at 4 p.m. the Muscogee Roller Girls will take on the Rolling Arsenal of Derby. The second bout is the main event, with the Marietta Derby Darlins facing the Burn City Rollers.

Tickets are $15 in advance or $17 at the door. To purchase tickets, visit www.mariettaderbydarlins.com. The Cobb Civic Center is located at 548 South Marietta Parkway in Marietta.

Marietta Market. Now that the weather’s warming up, it’s a good time to head back to the Marietta Square Farmers Market, held each weekend at the Marietta Square. The market features local vendors selling fresh, locally grown seasonal produce and garden products.

Through December, the market is open each Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Through November, it will be open on Sundays from noon to 3 p.m.

For more information on parking and hours, click here.

Galleria Chat: Feb. 16, 2012

The Galleria Chat is a weekly feature that appears on this blog each Thursday. The Chat will provide you with a hearty helping of links to stories and announcements to keep you in the know about the area surrounding the Atlanta Galleria Office Park. So without further ado …

• There Is No “I” in Team. For a small business, teaming up with another similarly sized firm can pave the way to compete more successfully for commercial and government contracts. On March 1, the Cobb Chamber of Commerce will conduct an education session called “Creating Business Alliances to Win Procurement Contracts.” The two-hour session will feature Karen Mills of Mills Law Associates and Jone Debnam of the Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center. The two will discuss the objectives and benefits of “teaming arrangements,” as well as the legal considerations of the arrangements.

The registration deadline is Wednesday, Feb. 29, at noon. Admission is $40 for the general public and $25 for Chamber members. Click here to register.

• Dinner and a Play? Valentine’s Day may be past, but that doesn’t mean you can’t treat your spouse or significant other to a nice night on the town. Laura Davidson, a.k.a. the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s “Bargain Hunter,” has the lowdown on a package being offered by The Atlanta Ballet and the South City Kitchen in Vinings. For just $53 (plus a surcharge) you get one ticket to “The Princess and the Goblin,” showing at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre, and dinner at South City, home to chic Southern food.

• Decrease Your Carbon Footprint. The EcoAction Factory and Green School will hold a free open house from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. this Saturday in Smyrna to preview its year-round calendar of environmental classes. The topics of the classes range from water conservation and energy efficiency to overhauling residential and commercial properties to perform in an environmentally friendly manner. The Smyrna-Vinings Patch has the details on the open house.

• Here Come the Brides. Maybe you got engaged on Valentine’s Day, or maybe you just have an upcoming wedding. If you have no idea about how to even begin planning for the big event, consider attending the Georgia Bridal Show on March 4 at the Cobb Galleria. Exhibitors include photographers, caterers, florists, gown and tuxedo designers, and even reception DJs.   Visit the show site for all the details. Tickets are $10 at the door. Discounted tickets can be purchased online.

Engel Talks LEED, Green Galleria in AJC

In an Atlanta Journal-Constitution story this week about the pros and cons of obtaining LEED status for existing buildings, Childress Klein’s Connie Engel explained why she has opted against going after the designation for Atlanta Galleria.

“We don’t want to pay the cost,” Engel told AJC reporter Rachel Tobin, “or pass it on to tenants during this economic climate.”

But, she added, that doesn't mean Childress Klein doesn’t believe in conservation.

 “We’ve been doing it for years: recycling, water conservation, all kinds of things generally considered green,” Engel said in the story.

The newspaper went on to say the Engel’s views are becoming increasingly widespread. The price tag of applying for LEED, which stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is up to $27,500 per building, according to the article.

 “That doesn’t seem right to us,” Engel said. “We have to put any extra dollars that we have toward keeping or getting tenants.”

Whether Atlanta Galleria ever applies for a LEED designation or not, Childress Klein has made plenty of improvements to the buildings here that make them both greener and more efficient. That’s good for all of us!

To learn more about Atlanta Galleria’s green efforts, click here.

 

Greening Galleria

Just call us the Green Galleria. Childress Klein’s property management team at Atlanta Galleria Office Park is proud of the initiatives we’ve implemented and others we’re working on. We’re taking a comprehensive approach to making sure the office buildings do what they can to lessen their impact on the environment. This includes programs covering lighting, energy conservation, cleaning, recycling, water conservation and alternative transportation options for the people who work in our buildings. 

“At Childress Klein, we find and implement solutions that are good for the environment and business, and we know our tenants expect us to employ sustainable practices,” says Jack Kennedy, chief engineer.

Here are some of Atlanta Galleria’s green initiatives currently under way.

Lighting: We’ve replaced all fixtures to accommodate higher-efficiency lamps, started recycling lamps to keep them (and potential contamination) out of landfills and upgraded to higher efficiency fluorescent lighting in parking decks.

Energy conservation:  Three of our buildings (100, 400, and 600) have the Energy Star designation, and two others (300 and 700) are in the process of achieving it.  We have an aggressive preventive maintenance program for HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) equipment to ensure maximum efficiency, and though we do offer HVAC on Saturday mornings, we only supply it to tenants who request it.

Cleaning:  Our janitorial contractor uses energy efficient vacuums, green cleaning products and other environmentally friendly practices. Paper towels and toilet tissue are made from recycled materials.

Recycling: Office workers can put all recyclable materials in desk-side bins. The only material that goes to the landfill is trash from break rooms and restrooms.

Water Conservation: We use “grey” water to clean windows and are installing low-flow fixtures and waterless urinals. We’ve chosen drought-tolerant landscaping and also use devices that measure the moisture level in the soil to help us determine whether our sprinklers need to be activated.

Alternative Transportation: We are served by the Cumberland Community Improvement District, which coordinates vanpools and other transportation alternatives for thousands of area commuters, including many working in our buildings.

What about LEED certification? While LEED is the buzzword in green building today, we’ve decided not to apply for the certification now. The LEED-EB (existing building) standard recently changed, so we’ve worked with a consultant to better understand the new rules’ impact. It’s best to wait for the process to stabilize. In the meantime, we’ve achieved the Energy Star rating, a prerequisite to LEED-EB.