Decatur’s commission recently approved a 54.5-acre portion of the city’s east side as a Tax Allocation District with 39.8 of those acres actually taxable.
City consultants the Bleakly Advisory Group has forecasted that when completely built out the area could potentially be worth $181 million with $30 to $35 million in future property taxes going into the TAD. That money could finance new sidewalks, parking lots, connecting dead end streets, and building a park and storm water detention pond on property currently owned by AT&T.
The city hopes improvements like these will attract development to an area that’s remained mostly stagnant for decades.
Preliminary construction of the mixed-use project planned for the College Avenue MARTA parking lot is set for this spring. Bleakly is forecasting that when completely built out this development alone could be worth $80 million.
But Geoff Koski, senior consultant for Bleakly, points out that for the area to generate that maximum $35 million, the TAD must also receive approval from DeKalb County and City Schools Decatur.
The metro area’s best known TAD is Atlantic Station, where TAD funds paid for over $100 million worth of infrastructure, including parking decks and an environmental remediation project.
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