Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed said Friday that Mount Vernon Baptist Church, which sits on land under consideration as the site for the new Falcons stadium, has dropped its asking price to $15.5 million, down nearly $5 million.
There’s still no agreement between Mount Vernon and state officials on land south of the Georgia Dome, but Reed said the lowered price is movement in the right direction.
The Mount Vernon congregation still must ratify the deal, which Reed said he reached with Pastor Rodney Turner.
Earlier this month, negotiations between Georgia World Congress Center Authority officials and the church were called off, and the Falcons asked for permission to start a feasibility study on a site north of the Georgia Dome. The two sides were at an impasse because, by law, the state can’t offer more than the appraised value of $6.2 million. Anything above that must come from private sources. The church wanted $20. 4 million.
The Falcons refused to comment on Reed’s announcement or to address whether the team would consider contributing additional private dollars to make a deal with Mount Vernon.
The mayor has made it clear he prefers the south site. “I hope that’s enough progress for folks to stay with the effort to try to place the stadium on the south site,” Reed said at a Friday press conference.
Officials from Mount Vernon could not be immediately reached for comment.
Asked if a drop of Mount Vernon’s price to $15.5 million, as announced by Reed, would help the state make a deal with the church, GWCCA spokeswoman Jennifer LeMaster said: “No, because we can’t offer more than we offered,” referring to the state agency’s “best and final” offer of $6.2 million.
The mayor has already negotiated a deal with another church on the site, Friendship Baptist. Earlier this month, he — along with former mayor Andrew Young, who sits on the Atlanta Falcons board — stepped into talks with Mount Vernon.
The mayor has said the south site along Northside and Martin Luther King drives is superior to the north location because of its proximity to two Marta stations and a future multi-modal passenger station. He has also said the land also poses the most promise for much-needed economic development in the nearby poverty-stricken neighborhoods of Vine City and English Avenue.
Reed credited Young with helping negotiate a new proposal from Mount Vernon.
The mayor said his team is exploring ways to close the $9 million gap, but didn’t give specifics. However, the mayor expressed a sense of urgency in closing the deal due to the Falcons’ construction schedule, which calls for the stadium to open in 2017.
“I think we’ve got a short amount of time to go,” Reed said, adding he hopes the church and state can reach a resolution in the next five to 10 days. “We are either going to get this done or not.”
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