Episode 7 | Brian McGowan

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 Brian McGowen, President of Centennial Yards. Born in the Bronx, raised in New Jersey, and educated in California, Brian McGowen has been bi-coastal for the majority of his life. His career has spanned between public and private sectors dating back to his time in California, to DC, and culminating in Atlanta. Now, he’s leading Centennial Yards which is an 8 million square foot mixed-use development preparing to bring a gravitational force of energy including dining, entertainment, housing, and office to the gulch.

Topics in today’s interview include lessons learned while working for the Governator, Arnold Scwartzenegger, what makes a successful public-private partnership, Centennial Yards’ progress and origin story, 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. Brian talks about his experience in economic development, including working with the private and public sectors and the language barrier that exists between them. (03:48 - 06:19)

2. Brian shares his experience working in the Obama administration and the connections he made during that time. (14:49 - 17:12)

3. Brian discusses his time at Invest Atlanta and the projects he worked on, specifically focusing on downtown development. (22:16 - 26:45)

4. Brian explains the origin story of Centennial Yards and how it came together, including the involvement of Steve Coonan, the President of the Hawks. (33:03 - 37:48)

5. Brian talks about the challenges faced during the development of Centennial Yards and the timeline for completion. (37:48 - 41:51)

6. Brian discusses what's after Centennial Yard’s when the mission is accomplished. (55:52-58:07)

7. Why Atlanta and what has Atlanta done for you? (58:07-59:55)

Resources discussed in this episode:

Centennial Yards: https://centennialyards.com/

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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