When Centennial Olympic Park went from blight to urban garden after the 1996 Summer Games, boosters said it would be the beginning of something special in Atlanta.

Twelve years later, the announcement that Atlanta will be the home of a National Health Museum moves the city closer to having that critical mass of attractions to make it a destination that can compete with New York, Las Vegas and Orlando.

Gov. Sonny Perdue said the $250 million National Health Museum would be built somewhere around Centennial Olympic Park —- joining downtown Atlanta attractions that include the Georgia Aquarium, the World of Coca-Cola and CNN.

The National Museum of Patriotism plans to move in the bottom floor of the Hilton Garden Inn across from the Georgia Aquarium this fall. A parcel of land near the aquarium has been set aside for a civil rights museum. And sports officials have said they are interested in bringing the College Football Hall of Fame to downtown Atlanta.

"I think we are on the cusp of something really big," said Mark Pettit, a member of the Atlanta Convention and Visitor Center's board of directors.

Mark Vaughan, an executive vice president at the ACVB, said other attractions will see what's happening here and want to get on board. "Anytime you add to your destination, you have other businesses eyeing you to see where they can fit," he said.

A.J. Robinson, president of Central Atlanta Progress, said the museum would complement Atlanta's "eclectic" collection of assets.

"We have media with CNN, the Olympics and sports, the Georgia Aquarium, the World of Coca-Cola, and the proposed Center for Civil and Human Rights," he said. "It builds on the strength of Atlanta as a place for attractions."

John Seffrin, chief executive officer of the American Cancer Society, said Dr. Louis Sullivan, chairman of the museum's board of directors and a former U.S. secretary of health and human services, was visiting his office recently at 250 Williams St.

Sullivan pointed south to indicate where he'd like to see the planned 190,000-square-foot museum located, Seffrin recalled.

That would be east of Centennial Olympic Park and in the vicinity of the Tabernacle music venue —- an area dotted with surface and structured parking. But in downtown Atlanta, buying a paved lot isn't cheap.

In March, the Carell Family LLC, a company started by the founder of Central Parking System, paid $19.9 million for 1.7 acres of parking lot on Marietta Street across from Centennial Olympic Park.

David Marvin, president of Legacy Property Group, said land prices have increased sevenfold since he began snatching up land in the early 1990s, when Centennial was a wasteland of warehouses.

"Property valuation is very site specific," Marvin said, adding that the area around Centennial is prized. Marvin is developer of the Embassy Suites, Centennial Park West and Hilton Garden Inn across from the park, as well as several restaurants along Marietta Street.

The cost of land is likely to take a take a chunk of the $250 million museum officials say they plan to raise.

It's a tough time to fund-raise. Corporate and government budgets are tight, and other attractions, such as a new symphony hall in Midtown and the museum centered on civil and human rights, are vying for the scarce dollars.

Neither the city nor the state have plans to pitch in at this time. Atlanta is running a deficit. The state is looking for ways to trim spending as revenue drops.

Perdue, who on Wednesday announced the museum while at a biotechnology conference in California, on Thursday reiterated that has not offered funding, although the Legislature could offer some tax abatements.

"Frankly, we've made no financial commitment," Perdue said. "Obviously, we've made a commitment too help secure private funding, and we'll continue to do that."

Mark Dunham, president of the museum, said organizers have not pursued city or state funding, but that "they have both brought great enthusiasm and great excitement about this project with them.

"Certainly when it comes to public support, we would hope that would be an element of this," Dunham said.

Museum leaders' first choice was to build in Washington, an idea first proposed in the late 1990s. But finding the right site and securing government support was difficult, said Sullivan, the museum's chairman and president emeritus of the Morehouse School of Medicine.

That led Sullivan and various real estate and economic consultant groups to evaluate more than 30 cities, ending up with a short list of big-city contenders.

New York guaranteed more visitors, but real estate prices were too high. Philadelphia had similar problems and fewer expected visitors. Chicago real estate was unattractive.

But there was promise in Atlanta, home of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; CARE, one of the world's largest international relief organizations; the American Cancer Society; the Arthritis Foundation; Morehouse and Emory medical schools; and a growing list of pharmaceutical and medical technology companies.

Support from Perdue, Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin, the metro chamber of commerce, and the city's medical institutions sealed the deal, Sullivan said.

"If you look at the mosaic, what we found is that Atlanta has a strong and growing presence for health. That, with the people's enthusiasm, made it an ideal place," said Sullivan, who said he expects the museum to open in late 2012.

"And, of course, that Atlanta is my hometown, so I'm glad it worked out that way," he said. Atlanta Development Authority leaders at their monthly board meeting Thursday boasted that the museum chose Atlanta despite no specific site or commitment of city funding.

Organizers of the planned human rights center said the health museum will not conflict with their fund-raising efforts.

"Health gets funded from a different pool of contributors," said Doug Shipman, the center's executive director.

"[The museum is] a complement to what we are doing. To me, it's a great thing."

Staff writers Kevin Duffy, Bob Keefe, Chris Megerian, Jose Pagliery, James Salzer, Maria Saporta and Eric Stirgus contributed to this article.

 WALTER CUMMING / Staff
Map locates planned patriotism museum in downtown Atlanta. Inset map outlines area of detail in metro Atlanta.