The Atlanta City Council’s Finance Committee voted to approve on Wednesday the conveyance of about 70 acres of city-owned land around Turner Field to the Atlanta Fulton County Recreational Authority, which is negotiating its sale to Georgia State University and its development partner, Carter and Oakwood Development.
The measure will next be considered by the full city council Monday.
Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed said the move was requested by the development team, which is conducting its due diligence before entering into the deal. An attorney for the recreation authority said he is optimistic that the deal will close this fall.
The proposed development of retail, restaurants, student housing, single-family residences and office space, and the conversion of Turner Field into a Panthers football stadium is expected to cost upward of $300 million.
“What I’m asking council to do is move this because a massive amount of capital investment is tied to it,” Reed said. “This is not a matter that can be dragged out. If anyone believes $250 million will sit around and wait for a protracted process … (they) risk leaving the community with what they have today, which is a bunch of vacant lots.”
The measure passed by the committee also requires that 10-percent of housing built in the project be affordable to people making 80-percent of Area Medium Income, or about $38,000 for a family of one; that developers participate in community engagement process; and that the private portion of the development go on the city tax rolls.
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