Redevelopment in Georgia Program Synopsis

Maria Mullins, Director of DeKalb County’s office of Economic Development moderated an esteemed panel of industry experts including Ken Bleakly of Bleakly Advisory Group, Scott Condra with Jacoby Development, Ted Tarantino of MARTA and Bob Roche a City Councilman in Doraville.

Maria shared that based on current conversations with GM, there is no information to share at the present time. GM is not ready to talk about the redevelopment of that property until they work out additional details. The one criteria issued was the new development honor the legacy and history of the site and the plant. Once plans are developed, the city and county will work with GM to develop incentive packages to sustain the businesses and create opportunities for new companies to enter the market. Scott shared that the Ft. Gillem and Ft. McPherson projects have reuse plans prepared and are awaiting negotiations with the Army to finalize purchase and transfer. This should move forward in 2010 or 2011.

As the discussion turned to the impact of the economic stimulus plan on our industry, Ken shared that the market for Tax Allocation Districts (TADs) shut down about a year ago due to the interest rates and financing restrictions and thus deals aren’t closing now. Currently 55 cities and municipalities across Georgia are using TADs and as a result development has stalled. For recovery, the municipal bond market needs to stabilize. Second, the capital markets are frozen. Developers can’t get financing even with 50% equity. It will take a thawing of the credit markets to help get banks lending again.

Going forward, the focus is on infrastructure projects or projects tied to seaports and airports. It will take time for the retail and residential markets to recover and there won’t be many spec projects in the near future.

Bob Roche introduced the thought process behind the ordinance in Doraville that requires all new buildings to be LEED Certified before a certificate of occupancy is issued. It’s a win-win for everyone and he dispelled some of the misinformation related to certification costs. Atlantic Station is actually the first LEED Certified Campus in the nation and many others across the state and country are taking notice and starting to follow suit.

MARTA has already been affected by the economy. Ted shared that the Avondale project is ready to go, but currently on hold because bond financing isn’t available. Right now the plan is to wait another year or two until the economy rebounds before releasing any more projects.

Incidentally, Mayor Hartsfield purchased the land that became the airport during the Great Depression. NOW is the time to be planning for and looking at redevelopment.

Ashley Dale, CTI
Barton Malow
Director of Programs, SMPS Atlanta

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