Today I met with Peter from the Medici Center in Atlanta. I hadn’t heard of the non-profit until he reached out to me to gather feedback on entrepreneurship and incubators in Atlanta. First, some background on the Medici Center.
The Medici Center is a relatively new non-profit created to buy Atlanta’s City Hall East and turn it into a renaissance center with arts, businesses, eco/green awareness, and social entrepreneurship. City Hall East is over two million square feet of office space and is mostly unused. The Medici Center is scheduled to purchase the building from Atlanta on January 1, 2010 and then spend 12 months refurbishing 400,000 square feet for offices, class rooms, galleries, and more. I believe the facility and resources will be a great asset for the City of Atlanta.
Peter was interested in learning more about the entrepreneurship community in Atlanta. I told him that Atlanta could really use a space like his as a co-working facility, for networking and educational events, and for seed stage entrepreneurs because traditional office space is so rigid with terms. In addition, I pointed him to sites like TechDrawl.com, StartupRiot.com, StartupLounge.com, ATLSE.com, and others. He was amazed at how much entrepreneurial activity is going on in Atlanta and I explained that we’re only getting started. I also filled him in on the new direction of the ATDC and how it is really shaping up to be the center of the technology eco-system in Atlanta.
It’ll be interesting to watch the development of the Medici Center and I’m excited Atlanta has a such a forward thinking organization.
David Cummings on Startups 
That’s awesome. I always thought that building would make great lofts, but innovative business development is even better.