Turner Field Community Benefits Coalition presents petition
A group representing neighborhoods around Turner Field on Monday presented a petition with 2,000 signatures to Atlanta councilwoman Keisha Lance Bottoms’ office, asking for a community benefits agreement with Georgia State University and its development partners.
The university and its partners, Carter and Oakwood Development, are negotiating a sale agreement with the Atlanta Fulton County Recreation Authority for the stadium and surrounding parking lots. Bottoms is the executive director of the authority.
Jason Dozier, a Georgia State graduate and Mechanicsville resident, said the petitions show that the neighborhoods are speaking with one voice.
The development plan includes converting the ballpark into a Georgia State football stadium, building student housing, market rate apartments, senior living, single-family homes and retail. A baseball field will also go in the footprint of the former Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, preserving the Hank Aaron home run wall.
Some design concepts were made public Sunday during Atlanta Streets Alive. They are not binding.
The community group outlined the benefits it would like to see in an agreement in February. Those benefits include:
Infrastructure improvements to mitigate longstanding flooding issues and transportation upgrades that reduce game traffic and provide multi-modal transportation options.
- A walkable street grid with higher density that connects with existing neighborhoods and provides public space and green space that matches the character of existing communities.
- Job and business contract opportunities with residents and local merchants, job training and education programs for youths and adults.
- Protect longtime residents from displacement.
- Improved policing and public safety efforts.
- Guarantee diverse housing options, including affordable units.
- Neighborhood amenities including a grocery store and other retail and entertainment options.
- Establish an oversight committee for the developer to report progress towards the bind community benefits agreement.
About the Author
Dan Klepal is editor of the local government team, supervising nine reporters covering county and municipal governments and metro Atlanta. Klepal came to the AJC in 2012, after a long career covering city halls in Cincinnati and Louisville, Ky. He has covered Gwinnett and Cobb counties before spending three years on the investigative team.
