Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms Issues Statement on Historic City Council Vote to Approve Gulch Development

Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms Issues Statement on Historic City Council Vote to Approve Gulch Development

Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms issued the following statement on today’s City Council vote to approve the Gulch development.

“We have established a new model for leveraging land development to achieve both economic growth and community good.  Never in the history of our city has a single development deal been negotiated in a way that will have such far-reaching, generational impact. The Gulch redevelopment will not only physically bridge the gap between the east and westsides of Atlanta, bringing economic vitality to a long-undeveloped part of downtown, but also affordable housing, workforce training, enhanced public safety, and job opportunities throughout the city,” said Mayor Bottoms. “I am grateful for the approval by the Atlanta City Council and look forward to continuing to work with them to ensure that as our city grows and prospers, our communities are not left behind.”

Mayor Bottoms continued, “Thank you to Governor Nathan Deal, CIM, Invest Atlanta, the members of our Administration and the many community, public and private-sector partners who have worked tirelessly over several months to bring this historic redevelopment plan- the single largest development in our city in nearly 50 years- to fruition.”

As a result of today’s vote by the City Council, Atlanta will receive:

·         $28 million investment into a citywide affordable housing fund

·         Required minimum affordable housing residential units of 200 or 20%, whichever is greater

·         $2 million commitment for workforce training

·         $12 million investment into a citywide economic development fund

·         Commitment to unprecedented levels of minority and female- owned businesses with a goal of at least 38% utilization and an offer of 10% equity

·         $12 million commitment towards the construction of a new seven-bay fire station.

Additional terms of the Council-approved deal include:

·                CIM assuming all financial risk, including all design and construction expenses and serving as the sole purchaser of the new TAD bonds

·                CIM paying taxes in full, only receiving the benefit of TAD supplemental payments as reimbursements once compliance on obligations and expenses has been independently verified. For qualified expenses, Invest Atlanta will make reimbursement payments to CIM for up to 12.5% of total project costs or through 2038, whichever occurs first

·                Reducing TAD bond proceeds available to CIM from $500 million to $32 million, with up to $8 million in bond proceeds available to Empowerment Zone Communities.