It is unfortunate partisan gridlock in Washington often prevents the compromise and deliberations required to pass comprehensive legislation to deal with the challenges facing our nation today. And from Washington, D.C., to our local county courthouses and city halls, polarization, partisanship and strongly held points of view often block progress towards the solutions that often lie just ahead us.
Fortunately, I am here to report and share there are places where collaboration, innovation and working together on common concerns and problems remain the rule, rather than the exception. Leading one of Georgia’s largest and most successful Community Improvement Districts (CIDs) is not without its challenges, but when federal, state and multi-jurisdictional community leadership come together, you may be amazed at what can be accomplished.
Creating a CID requires an act of the Georgia General Assembly, as well as the support of 66 percent of the affected property owners. Each district’s board annually approves a budget and reviews the additional mils charged and later spent on infrastructure and related improvements.
Our Perimeter CIDs straddle two counties, DeKalb and Fulton, and three municipalities: Sandy Springs, Dunwoody and Brookhaven. The land mass is just over four square miles, reaching from Pill Hill and the Northside/Emory and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Scottish Rite campuses north to the Abernathy Road/Ga. 400 interchange, and from just east of I-285 at Ashford-Dunwoody Road west to the Concourse office development.
A strong sign of the strength of our market is our recent selection as the new headquarters location for Mercedes USA.
Though we are far from immune to metro Atlanta traffic and congestion, our members have voluntarily taxed themselves and spent nearly $33 million over the past 15 years, matched with additional local, state and federal government dollars and leveraged into infrastructure investments totaling nearly $115 million.
Our largest collaboration is yet to come. The nearly $1 billion re-construction of the Ga. 400/I-285 interchange scheduled to begin this year. The first $10 million towards financing this project is being contributed by the investor members and property owners of the Perimeter CIDs.
Our track record includes seven miles of new sidewalks, a fly-over bridge, the Hammond Drive ramps at Ga. 400, the diverging half-diamond interchange (first in the state) at Ashford-Dunwoody Road and I-285, and accessibility and connectivity improvements to three MARTA stations.
MARTA and mass transit are increasingly a factor in major corporate relocations. Our recent, largest victory, State Farm Insurance, is constructing a major sales/operations and regional headquarters straddling the MARTA line adjacent to the Dunwoody station.
Investors and property owners within the Perimeter CIDs understand the many benefits of making strategic investments in transportation and transit infrastructure, often leading the way as a catalyst, especially when the required resources are not otherwise available. Along with our new neighbor and investor/member, State Farm Insurance, the Perimeter CIDs will soon be financing significant access enhancements to the Dunwoody and Medical Center MARTA stations. A four-acre green-space behind Perimeter Mall is also in the planning stages.
The Perimeter Business Alliance, another local collaborative entity formed by the Perimeter CIDs, is building strategic relationships with the Atlanta Regional Commission, DeKalb and Fulton counties, and the chambers of commerce and cities of Brookhaven, Dunwoody and Sandy Springs. This will offer large and small businesses a seat at the table planning community, transportation and quality-of-life improvements for an area becoming known as Georgia’s Fortune 500 address of choice.
Rather than focusing on minor differences, we plan to move forward from our established successes, continuing to model best practices and building bridges while identifying other community strengths and areas of agreement.
The Perimeter CIDs will also continue to generate voluntary revenue towards improving our region. Collaboration and compromise are the foundations of our success, and they are time and again the proven way people from different backgrounds, organizations and points of view can come together to get things done. That’s the Perimeter way.
Yvonne Williams is CEO and president of the Perimeter Community Improvement Districts.
