The New York Times covers a mega-development going up in Atlanta.

It made me think of our own mega-development, currently on the drawing boards (and starting construction, as we speak), NorthPoint, on the Cambridge / Somerville / Boston border.

The reason for the Times article is because Brooklyn is facing its largest development, ever, the Atlantic Yards project, built by hero / antichrist developer Bruce Ratner.

The Times article says that these types of developments can work, if all of the planets align.

Actually, the Atlanta project was very lucky. It was built on the contaminated site of an abandoned steel mill. Certainly, not a slam-dunk of a project, from the looks of it.

Maybe the NorthPoint people should take a closer look at what worked and what didn’t, in Atlanta.

(There may be lessons to be learned by other developers (and city planners) here in Boston, including those interested in building on Parcel P-3 in Roxbury, and down in the Seaport District.)

More information: Building a City Within the City of Atlanta - Lisa Chamberlain, The New York Times