Filmmaker Tyler Perry is expected to pull out of a deal to redevelop Fort McPherson, a proposal that was poised to convert the former Army post on Atlanta’s south side into a motion picture studio, according to a person with direct knowledge of the situation.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is working to independently confirm this information. Representatives of Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed have not returned messages seeking comment. Several senior leaders of a civilian authority overseeing redevelopment at the Army post declined to comment.
The media mogul now plans to expand his Tyler Perry Studios operations on more than 1,000 acres he acquired in recent years in Douglas County, the person said. Attempts to reach Perry were not immediately successful.
The person, who declined to be named because the person was not authorized to comment, said the sale process at Fort McPherson has taken too long and Perry needs to quickly move forward with plans to expand his production base. The person said it is not clear if talks could resume in the future, but Perry is focused on the Douglas land.
A break-up of the would-be deal casts doubt on the future of the property, which sits a few miles south of downtown and has sat largely vacant since the post closed in 2011.
Local leaders and civilian authorities had long planned a life sciences campus and mixed-use development there, but officials have said recently no viable candidates for development of any kind — other than Perry — had come forward.
In June, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed announced the city and Perry were in talks to put a massive studio complex on most of the 488-acre tract. By August, Perry and the McPherson Implementing Local Redevelopment Authority (MILRA) — the civilian authority charged with remaking the site — entered into formal negotiations on a complicated purchase agreement.
Reed and MILRA leaders have said Perry would essentially provide the money needed to bring the Army land into civilian control.
The parties originally projected an Oct. 15 closing date, with Perry telling reporters he hoped to immediately begin work on the site. But due to a host of issues, a closing date has not yet been scheduled.
The deal called for Perry to acquire about 330 acres for a studio complex and tourist attraction. In a complicated transaction, the authority will use $30 million 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 have gone to Perry and to the VA for a clinic.
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