The agency overseeing the future of Fort McPherson shed more light Monday on its deal to sell the bulk of the post to filmmaker Tyler Perry.
The release of new documents followed an open records request last week by state Sen. Vincent Fort, D-Atlanta. The senator has criticized plans to sell the bulk of the defunct Army post to Perry for a film studio as lacking transparency and community input.
Both sides are racing toward an Oct. 15 expected closing date.
The memorandum of understanding (MOU) contained no revelations, but spells out in greater detail the terms of the $30 million deal between Perry and the civilian agency, known as McPherson Implementing Local Redevelopment Authority.
Perry plans to acquire about 330 acres for a studio complex and tourist attraction. In a complicated transaction, the authority will use money from Perry to acquire the 488-acre post from the Army. The authority would retain about 144 acres - property about the size of Atlantic Station - for future development. The rest would go to Perry.
Among the few new details is that the $30 million from Perry includes a $20 million initial payment at closing, followed by later payments of $7 million and $3 million. There’s also no break up fee if the sale falls through, and the Army retains responsibility for any environmental clean-up.
Community leaders and the authority have worked on a master plan for years that includes a mix of housing, parks, retail, office space for a life sciences park. That plan also included services for the homeless.
Critics have charged that the deal with Perry undermines that plan.
Brian Hooker, the new executive director of MILRA, said the documents’ release was the agency’s effort to be transparent. Hooker said his agency would like to provide more information, such as renderings and site maps, but can’t because of pending litigation from a different film company challenging the sale to Perry.
Several parts of the MOU are redacted, including wording to describe land that Perry wants to buy and other details authority officials said are protected for real estate deals under Georgia Open Records Act. Other information is considered a trade secret for Perry’s company, Tyler Perry Studios.
When a potential deal, brokered by Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, became public in June, some questioned if a studio was the best option for the site and why marketing of the site hadn’t been more public.
Hooker said the authority has no way to obtain the post from the Army without a deal such as Perry’s.
“Without this deal, the property will remain the property of the U.S. Army,” he said. “The redevelopment authority does not have an alternate financing plan to acquire this property.”
Other developers have expressed interest in acquiring the whole site, Hooker said. But no one has been willing to invest so much, he said, and to allow the authority to essentially buy the post for free and retain land for future redevelopment.
“(The Perry deal) is what brings us the opportunity to draw additional investment to the 144 acres that the redevelopment authority is retaining and to the surrounding areas,” Hooker said. “It’s the magnet.”
The limited disclosure did not please Fort, who asked for information including an application for the deal with the Army, maps, land appraisals and zoning information.
“Releasing the MOU is only one of and maybe the least important of the things I asked for,” Fort said. He said he would address the authority’s response with the state Attorney General’s office.
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