Episode 5 | Kelvin Collins

The Atlanta Story

The Atlanta Story podcast features meaningful stories of Atlanta’s builders, creators, and entrepreneurs. In this episode Jon Birdsong sits down with Kelvin Collins, Vice President of Economic Development of Atlanta BeltLine. Born and raised in Grenada, Kelvin moved to the United States for college and since, has spent the majority of his career in the public sector — mainly in New York City. Before getting the call to move to Atlanta, Kelvin worked for the Small Business Services Department, a major non-profit, as well as in the Bloomberg Administration. Just over 2 years ago, Kelvin decided to relocate his family to Atlanta and join the generational project we all know as The BeltLine.

In today’s interview, we learn about the current state and future decisions of the BeltLine, what factors are considered into the final stretch of the BeltLine completion - set for 2030, and much more.

The Atlanta Story is put together by the folks at Atlanta Ventures -- and we can’t wait to share some of the personalities behind the brand. Atlanta Ventures invests in entrepreneurs through community, content, and capital -- most notably through our Studio with companies like Greenzie and Intown Golf Club. We believe the best entrepreneurs learn from other great artists in different fields.

In this episode, we discuss…

1. How many years did Kelvin spend in NYC and what got him started in economic development? (1:44)
2. What was Harlem like for Kelvin? (5:39)
3. What are some things learned from Mayor Bloomberg? (6:34-6:37)
4. What was the “hook” to moving to Atlanta for the BeltLine? (8:58)
5. Kelvin dives into what being a VP of Economic Development for the BeltLine means and how the BeltLine will become a transformative movement for all of Atlanta. (10:12)
6. What are some cool things happening for the BeltLine right now? (12:28)
7. What is affordable housing to the BeltLine and how does the BeltLine preserve and accentuate it? (19:30)
8. From his perspective as a seasoned New Yorker, Kelvin describes the transition to Atlanta? What’s missing? What’s better? What can be improved? (26:49)
9. Jon asks about the infrastructure in terms of light rail and biking. (33:43)
10. Why Atlanta and what has Atlanta done for you? (38:39)

Resources discussed in this episode:

The Atlanta BeltLine: https://beltline.org/

How you can get involved:

Visit atlantaventures.com/studio if you’re interested in learning more about Atlanta Ventures and the Studio.

Where you can find us:

Website: www.atlstory.com

Twitter: @theatlantastory

Instagram: @theatlantastory

YouTube: Here

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