Developer that sued South Fulton over zoning is poised to get $9M tax break
Six months ago, an industrial developer had its rezoning request for a mall-sized warehouse campus shot down by the city of South Fulton after fierce community resistance.
That denial triggered a lawsuit by the developer, followed by a swift reversal from city leaders.
On Tuesday, a Fulton County agency gave preliminary approval to a $9.3 million property tax break for developer KMT Partners to support the project.
Greg Boler, managing partner and founder of KMT, said the tax break is needed to offset site plan changes intended to address environmental and community concerns.
“The incentive was needed to offset the unanticipated costs incurred due to significant off-site improvements,” he told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in a statement. He added the project’s size was reduced by 240,000 square feet “to protect the environmental stream buffers, which is a direct revenue loss.”
KMT Partners announced its plans in 2024, but city leaders voted in October to deny its rezoning request, seemingly killing the effort. KMT, however, sued the city, alleging the vote was improper, and demanded a retry.
City leadership reversed course, unanimously approving the rezoning last month, which brought the litigation to an end.
“We ultimately did a lot of outreach in that aspect,” Boler told the Development Authority of Fulton County board Tuesday when asked about the pushback. “We were able to overcome that, and that was beautiful.”
The authority voted unanimously to support the tax break. The proposal, known as Project Mapco, would rise along Old Senoia and Spence roads.
The proposed project is a $220 million investment and is expected to attract tenants capable of employing up to 2,000 workers, according to a fact sheet from the authority, which also goes by Develop Fulton.
Atlanta’s Southside has become a magnet for industrial development, including distribution facilities and data centers. Some of that development has seen community resistance.
Boler said one tenant, an unnamed cold storage company, is already on board to lease the project’s first phase, a 780,000-square-foot warehouse with 1,000 jobs. Boler declined to disclose the tenant’s name, citing a nondisclosure agreement.
Project Mapco was first unveiled two years ago through a state infrastructure review called a Development of Regional Impact. South Fulton residents opposed to the project gathered 1,000 petition signatures before the project’s first rezoning vote in October, according to a report by Capital B Atlanta.
KMT sued South Fulton after the City Council voted 4-2 to deny the request to rezone the 188-acre project site from agricultural to industrial use. The developer argued the city’s denial was “arbitrary, capricious, and without any rational basis,” violating state and local zoning laws, according to the Capital B report.
The revote took place March 24 and unanimously passed.
South Fulton Mayor Carmalitha Gumbs voted against the project’s initial rezoning request as a councilmember. But now as mayor, meaning she votes only in the event of a tie, she said the zoning matter is settled.
“This matter now lies in the hands of the Fulton Development Authority,” she told the AJC in a statement. “We always welcome good, smart growth that improves our local economy and the quality of life for every resident who chooses to call South Fulton their home.”
Ceasar Mitchell, an attorney representing KMT, told the DAFC board that Council member Linda Pritchett, who represents the district containing the Project Mapco site, wrote a letter in support of the tax break. Pritchett voted in support of KMT’s zoning both times.
Boler added there have been nearly 10 public and community outreach meetings since the rezoning application was first filed.
Boler, a seasoned commercial real estate veteran, founded KMT less than three years ago. He said he has 3.2 million square feet of industrial projects underway across three states.
He said the cold storage tenant aims to occupy the South Fulton warehouse by the start of 2028. He told the DAFC board there’s “strong interest” from tenants for the other two warehouses in development.
“The biggest thing was getting over the zoning,” he told the board. “Tenants don’t tend to commit until you get over that.”
The other buildings will be capable of supporting warehousing, distribution, cold storage or other light industrial uses.
The $9.3 million in saved property taxes would be accumulated over a 10-year period. During that span, the project is expected to generate more than $24 million in new taxes after accounting for the tax savings, according to the DAFC fact sheet.
Tuesday’s vote by DAFC was preliminary, meaning there will be a second vote to finalize the incentive. The authority’s board has rarely reversed course and denied a project’s tax break request after providing initial approval.
About the Author
Zachary Hansen, a Georgia native, covers economic development and commercial real estate for the AJC. He's been with the newspaper since 2018 and enjoys diving into complex stories that affect people's lives.
