Kingsley parents upset by broken air conditioning ► PAGE 3
August 8, 2024 | AppenMedia.com | An Appen Media Group Publication | Ser ving the community since 1976
Dunwoody native goes viral at VP Harris rally By HAYDEN SUMLIN hayden@appenmedia.com ATLANTA — A Dunwoody native went viral on social media July 30 at Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign rally in downtown Atlanta, receiving more than 9.5 million views by Aug. 5. Parker Short’s rendition of Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” spread across platforms like TikTok, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Facebook.
More than 10,000 supporters packed the Georgia State University Convocation Center in downtown Atlanta for the rally, which was held just days before former President Donald Trump spoke to a crowd of supporters at the same venue. While Georgia and Fulton County are drawing heightened attention as the presidential election heats up, Dunwoody native Short
See SHORT, Page 11
HAYDEN SUMLIN/APPEN MEDIA
More than 50 Dunwoody residents wait for Branch Properties to begin its July 31 open house for a rezoning of Mount Vernon Shopping Center, a triangular property at Dunwoody Club Drive, Mount Vernon and Jett Ferry roads.
Crowd tunes in to rezoning pitch By HAYDEN SUMLIN hayden@appenmedia.com
PARKER SHORT/PROVIDED
From left, Vice President Kamala Harris stands with Dunwoody native Parker Short after the July 30 campaign rally at Georgia State University in downtown Atlanta.
DUNWOODY, Ga. — Commercial developers with Branch Properties had their hands full during a community meeting July 31 to discuss the firm’s rezoning effort at Dunwoody Club Drive, Mount Vernon and Jett Ferry roads. The properties are in the Jett Ferry character area, which is struggling with a quarter of its commercial space vacant. More than 60 residents showed up to hear about the fate of the Mount Vernon Shopping Center, owned by real estate investors Branch Properties for about the last 10 years. Branch Properties owns three parcels across Jett Ferry Road from Williamsburg at Dunwoody shopping center: 2480 and 2256 Mount Vernon Road and 2495 Jett Ferry Road.
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A statement from Galloway Law Group, representing the property owners, said the purpose of the rezoning is to increase the diversity of tenants in the existing buildings. At the open house, senior management confirmed that the parcels are not being considered for redevelopment, but a rezoning. Nicholas Telesca, partner and chairman at Branch Properties, led the informational meeting at the former Lidl grocery store, vacant for more than 18 months. Telesca said opportunities to land groceries stores have dried up, with Publix Super Markets recently passing on the site for not meeting its criteria. “After years of trying to find a suitable candidate for this location, we’ve been trying to talk to tenants
See REZONE, Page 12