VIA INVEST ATLANTA
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“My contention is that the announcement to redevelop this brownfield, Atlantic Steel, is the most important development announcement for this city in the last 50 years,” said Atlanta Mayor Bill Campbell at the time. “There has never been a project quite like this... this project represents a culmination of dreams for us in Atlanta and the vision that these developers have.” Atlanta created the Atlantic Steel Brownfield Redevelopment Plan and Tax Allocation District – a funding mechanism that allowed the City to address the site’s environmental issues and set a standard for positive development within the Atlanta region. A Catalyst to Progress To set the plan in motion, the City of A tax allocation district, commonly referred to as a TAD, is a tool used to publicly finance redevelopment activities in underdeveloped or blighted areas. Bonds are issued to pay for infrastructure and other improvements in a designated area and are repaid by increases in property values and corresponding property tax increments from that area. “TADS are one of the most dynamic investment tools that the City uses to spur economic progress and community development,” says Jennifer Fine, vice president of Planning & Strategic Initiatives for Invest Atlanta, who leads its TAD strategies. “TADs often serve as an impetus to private investment and can be layered with other incentives and financing tools to maximize impact.”
A Culmination of Dreams The remains of Atlantic Steel haunted the city with its enduring blight and contamination. Visible from Interstate 75/85, its demise was on full display. Atlanta needed to act. At the same time leaders were grappling with what to do with the Atlantic Steel site, they were also seeking solutions to alleviate the city’s increasing air pollution and traffic congestion. Since the early 1980s, the Atlanta region was out of compliance with air quality standards, which halted most federal funding for transportation projects and negatively impacted mobility and the local economy. The solution to the city’s eyesore, pollution and congestion came by way of Jacoby Development. Jacoby had a vision to create an urban village on the Atlantic Steel site where people could live, work and play. What’s more, the company had close working relations with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the State of Georgia, the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC), the City of Atlanta and other local authorities to make that vision a reality. Jacoby’s proposed development was considered an inflection point for Atlanta. Not only would it construct the framework for a more pedestrian- friendly city, it also facilitated the cleanup of one of Georgia’s largest brownfield sites.
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