Board overseeing Fort McPherson redevelopment wants more details from potential developers

A group overseeing the redevelopment of Fort McPherson came one step closer Thursday to selecting a team of companies that will redevelop the one-time Army garrison.

Fort McPherson, located four miles southwest of Atlanta, has been shuttered since September, when it fell victim to a nationwide round of base closures and realignments.

On Thursday, a selection committee recommended a team of Cleveland-based Forest City Enterprises and Atlanta-based Cousins Properties and Integral Group LLC as the primary consultants and developers. That consortium edged out another proposal from Atlanta developers Carter and H.J. Russell & Co.

"We will be acting on the recommendations quickly," said Felker Ward, chairman of the McPherson Implementing Local Redevelopment Authority.

Representatives from Atlanta City Council, Fulton County Commission and the south Atlanta neighborhood sought assurances that the final plan will bring jobs and revitalization to the neighborhoods around Fort McPherson, which have been hammered by job losses and hundreds of foreclosures.

A map distributed at Thursday's board meeting showed green dots, indicative of a foreclosure or vacancy, splattered heavily around the base.

"I really want to know more about the jobs creation," said John Eaves, chairman of the Fulton County Board of Commissioners.

"This is a community that has a major need," said Atlanta City Councilwoman Joyce Sheperd.

Glenda Knight, co-chair of a citizens group called the McPherson Action Community Coalition, said she wanted the master developer to lay out its plan for creating jobs in a formal memorandum of understanding with the community.

"We like what we're hearing so far," she said. "But you get promises all the time. If you're willing to say it, you should be willing to sign on the dotted line."

Gov. Nathan Deal wants the state to spend about $24.4 million to buy the Reserve Command Building, a four-story, 218,000-square-foot office building on the property. Another $4 million would go toward renovating the former U.S. Forces Command building.

Key details, such as how much property the redevelopment authority will take over from the Army and at what pace, are not yet final. The entire base covers roughly 488 acres, but the discussions with potential developers have centered on roughly 104 acres.