Georgia's Department of Transportation has closed its review of four companies who claimed "disadvantaged" status that helped them win contracts to build restaurants at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. The state agency said the certifications remain in place.
The next step is for federal authorities, who pushed the state agency to double-check the certifications more than four months ago, to complete their own review.
In April, the Federal Aviation Administration said Atlanta Restaurant Partners LLC and Mack II Inc. should not have qualified as disadvantaged when they applied to win spots at the airport because their owners exceeded a $750,000 cap on personal net worth. In addition, Vida Concessions and Hojeij Branded Foods had inadequate documentation, the agency said.
This week, GDOT said its investigation found nothing that would change the firms' certifications, which can apply to small, minority- or female-owned businesses.
"Everybody remains certified," said GDOT spokesman David Spear. Barring objections from federal authorities, "the matter is closed from our end."
On Thursday, the FAA said it is still reviewing the certifications issued by GDOT and MARTA, and will let those agencies know the results when it is done.
In April, the FAA told GDOT to review the four companies after receiving an anonymous phone call complaining of problems with their certifications as disadvantaged. In general, if the owners are too wealthy or are not socially or economically disadvantaged, the designation would not apply.
Spear said that, when GDOT made the initial certifications last year, the agency thought it was supposed to use a $1.32 million cap for personal net worth. That was a higher ceiling than the $750,000 limit that had been in place for some time.
But the new standard of $1.32 million officially took effect just six weeks ago, leading to confusion.
The owners of each of the companies in question fit the new standard of $1.32 million in personal net worth, Spear said. Some assets can be ruled exempt from that $1.32 million limit, including equity in a primary residence or in the disadvantaged firm.
The "disadvantaged" badge can be a valuable tool for airport concessionaires, because federal and city policy aims to ensure that smaller companies are included in bids for projects involving federal money.
Hartsfield-Jackson, the world's busiest airport, awarded dozens of contracts earlier this year for restaurant and retail spots throughout the facility, including the new international terminal. The combined deals are worth more than $3 billion in revenue over a decade, with the four companies in question in position to earn a portion of that.
The process was contentious. Some losing bidders challenged the awards in court and in administrative hearings.
Staff writer Kelly Yamanouchi contributed to this article.
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