Pending approval from the Atlanta City Council, Atlanta officials could sell the Boisfeuillet Jones Atlanta Civic Center as early as this summer, interim Chief Operating Officer Michael Geisler said Tuesday.
As first reported by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Monday, Councilman Kwanza Hall introduced legislation that paves the way for the city to sell the aging performing arts center to a developer.
Under the proposal, Invest Atlanta, the city’s economic development arm, would oversee a bid process and request proposals from developers to revitalize the site. The legislation could come before the council for a full vote in coming weeks.
Geisler said the city has already designed the request for proposal, which could be issued in the days following council approval. He described the RFP as broad to allow for “creativity” from prospective buyers, adding the city will consider the finances and economics of the deal and whether it creates jobs.
Geisler said the city hasn’t received formal inquiries from potential buyers, but that many have toured the Civic Center in recent months to scope out the property.
While city officials are open to any number of development possibilities, they’re asking a potential buyer to incorporate enhancements to Renaissance Park, a city property adjacent to the Civic Center’s 16-acres, as part of a proposal.
Atlanta officials have long toyed with selling the aging theatre. Geisler said the time is right on multiple levels. Not only is the economy rebounding, but Atlanta officials want to shed properties that aren’t generating property tax revenue as the city gears up for an expected infrastructure bond referendum in 2015.
A commission is identifying costs-savings for the city — such as selling assets like the Civic Center or Underground Atlanta — to fund debt service on the bonds without raising taxes.
“It makes a tremendous amount of sense, economically, to do it,” he said. “…The benefit is an immediate cash infusion from the sale, and it’s significant, and ongoing financial revenue assuming it’s on the tax rolls.”
He declined to reveal the potential value of the property located off Piedmont Road and Ralph McGill Boulevard.
He also said the city will entertain all offers, including those from government agencies even though such developments wouldn’t generate property tax revenue. In such an instance, the purchase price of the Civic Center would be adjusted to offset future lost tax revenue.
The Civic Center was built in 1967 and its theater seats 4,600. The venue has played host to such cultural fixtures as the Atlanta Opera and touring Broadway shows, and the campus was once home to the SciTrek museum. In recent years, the site has been popular as a filming location and is currently the set of “Family Feud.”
Hall, who represents District 2, including the Civic Center, said the property could be suitable for a mix of uses –including housing, a hotel and shops – and could boost nearby redevelopment.
Hall also said a developer could reposition the site, investing in or reimagining the facility in a way “that honors the Jones legacy, (and) gives better facilities for (the) film and entertainment industries.”
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