A.M. ATL: Haunted malls

Morning, y’all! I miss the heyday of American mall culture. Not because of the roving packs of teenagers or even the garish displays of overconsumption, but because mall architecture was high art. What an imaginative exercise, to turn what is essentially a Warehouse of Stuff into an airy, welcoming paradise. Nowadays, commercial architecture has all the character and charm of a DMV office.

Let’s get to it.

NORTH POINT’S POST-MALL AMBITIONS

This is a rendering of a proposed mixed-use redevelopment of North Point Mall in Alpharetta, which includes a central arena large enough for a professional hockey franchise. (Courtesy of Jamestown Properties)

North Point Mall in Alpharetta hasn’t succumbed to the slow, wasting death of many suburban shopping meccas, but it’s only a matter of time and the property is too promising (i.e. valuable) to not consider something … bigger.

• The 1.3 million-square-foot shopping center is owned by insurance giant New York Life, and for simplicity’s sake we’re going to pretend that makes sense.
• New York Life has been trying to redevelop the property for years. Their latest strategy: Knock the mall down and create a dense entertainment district.
• Oh, and try to woo an NHL expansion franchise with a fancy new arena.
• There are a few problems with this strategy. The NHL hasn’t shown much interest, the buy-in for an NHL franchise is a cool $2 billion and another development company has launched a similar proposal a few miles north.
• Whatever happens, shop owners in North Point point out it will be years until a decision is made or a project begins. Until then, they want people to keep shopping.

The whole situation belies a reality that even North Point’s general manager believes. Malls aren’t coming back.

🔎 READ MORE: What longtime North Point tenants have to say

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MARTA’S NEW BUS ERA IS HERE

MARTA's new routes will cover less distance geographically, but will run more frequently. (Miguel Martinez/AJC)

MARTA’s bus network redesign — its first since the agency was founded in 1972 — goes live on Saturday.

• The NextGen network reduces routes from 113 to 81.
• However, MARTA says the route redo focuses on frequency rather than geographic reach. That means more trips along high-demand routes and consistent service seven days a week.
• It also means, despite the reduced routes, MARTA expects to exceed its current levels of service.
• Two-thirds of the new routes have buses that come at least every half hour.
• Twelve zones will be serviced by on-demand van pools.
• On a dozen routes, buses will come every 15 minutes or faster.

A few speed bumps …

While MARTA’s plan may sound workable, reliability will be key.

• Bus service cancellations happen routinely and far exceed the agency’s target rate, according to an AJC analysis.
• Not a single bus route met the agency’s service target in 2025.
• On some routes, cancellations were so frequent a 5-day-a-week commuter would face one bus no-show every two weeks.
• This unreliability pushes possible bus customers to other forms of transportation.

🔎 READ MORE: What improvements frequent riders want to see

MUST-KNOW POLITICS AND BUSINESS

🗣️ Vice President JD Vance’s Turning Point event in Athens this week drew sparse crowds near the University of Georgia. It also drew poor press after the VP, an adult Catholic convert, suggested the Pope, the supreme pontiff of the worldwide Catholic Church, should be “careful” when talking about theology.

🎤 Here are the takeaways from a debate between the leading Democratic candidates for Georgia governor. Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, former Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan and former DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond each laid out their policies before the midterm races heat up this summer.

DON’T MESS WITH WALT WEISS

The Atlanta Braves’ new manager Walt Weiss wasted no time reintroducing himself to baseballkind when he entered a benches-clearing fracas during a game against the Los Angeles Angels and leveled a giant baseball player with one well-placed tackle.

• It turns out, 62-year-old Weiss has a black belt in taekwondo, stays up on his martial arts training and is a menace in the weight room.
• “You can’t hide the fighter’s ears,” Braves first baseman Matt Olson said about his new skipper. “You see a guy like that, you know that’s somebody you don’t want to mess with.”

💪 TODAY’S MUST-READ is a look at Weiss’ athletic prowess, complete with commentary from Braves players.

WEEKEND SPOTLIGHT: BOOM BALL

See Chaos Crew player Richie Kiernicki in action this weekend at Gwinnett Field as his team faces the Lucky Llamas. (Courtesy of Boom Ball)

Speaking of baseball, if you’re looking for something fun to do this weekend that’s also kid‑approved and perhaps reminiscent of the Savannah Bananas, allow us to introduce Boom Ball.

AJC contributor Mary Caldwell describes Boom Ball as baseball entertainment that’s “high on adrenaline and high-jinks,” featuring co-ed teams at Gwinnett Field in Lawrenceville. Like the Bananas — whose ballpark turned 100 this year — Boom Ball is a reinvention of baseball that delivers a fast, rule‑bending show.

This Saturday’s event includes a pregame festival with player appearances, a stadium-wide light show and fireworks.

⚾ READ MORE: Get scheduling details, ticket prices and parking info

NEWS BITES

Georgia chef named one of Time100 Most Influential People for 2026

Congratulations to Savannah-based chef Mashama Bailey of The Grey!

QVC prepares for bankruptcy protection as TikTok, Temu shopping frenzies rise