Add another city property to Mayor Kasim Reed’s must-sell list: the Inman Park Trolley Barn.
The Atlanta City Council is mulling a proposal from the mayor’s office to sell for redevelopment the 126-year-old Edgewood Avenue site as a way to boost property tax revenue.
The city bought the once-dilapidated trolley barn in the mid-1970s, tapping a nonprofit to restore and maintain the historic building. In recent decades, it’s largely been used as an event space.
Under the proposal, the city would transfer the trolley barn to Invest Atlanta, its economic development agency, which would oversee the bid process. District 2 Councilman Kwanza Hall introduced the ordinance to council on behalf of the mayor.
The council’s finance committee approved the proposal on Thursday. It now heads to full council for a final vote next week.
The trolley barn, which the city currently leases to nonprofit Atlanta and Edgewood Street Railway Company, was built in the late 1880s as a maintenance facility for Atlanta’s electric street railway line, according to city documents.
For years, the nonprofit has rented out the space for weddings and corporate events, with the proceeds reinvested into its maintenance. But, because the city owns the site, it doesn’t generate property tax revenue.
Steve Hays, president of the nonprofit’s board, said his organization is raising money in hopes of buying the property. According to the nonprofit’s long-standing agreement with the city, he said, it has the right of first refusal on the sale.
“We plan on being the organization that purchases it,” he said.
Melissa Mullinax, Reed’s senior adviser, said the mayor wants the property to be sold through Invest Atlanta as that allows the city to set the parameters for how it will be redeveloped. If the property is sold through a sealed bid process, the highest bid wins and the city has no control over its future, Mullinax said.
The ordinance mirrors how the nonprofit currently uses the space. A potential future buyer would be required to preserve the trolley barn, for instance, as well as allow the space to be used for public events.
City leaders believe keeping the trolley barn will help “increase awareness and interest” in the Atlanta Streetcar currently rolling through downtown Atlanta.
Hays noted Inman Park has historic zoning that would prevent the barn from being demolished or dramatically altered.
It’s the latest property Reed has moved to sell in the past year as he eyes new ways to raise property tax revenue.
Reed plans to ask voters in March to approve an infrastructure bond referendum worth up to $250 million. He’s refused to raise property taxes on homeowners, thus the mayor is seeking to pay for the bond’s annual debt service through other means.
Last year, the mayor unveiled plans to sell Underground Atlanta and the Civic Center, to name a few. In December, Reed announced the city is under contract with a South Carolina developer to revamp Underground. Invest Atlanta is still reviewing bids for the Civic Center.
About the Author
