A $5 billion redevelopment project in Atlanta, named Centennial Yards, will receive substantial public support.
"The city of Atlanta can issue bonds backed by future sales tax dollars to help support an up to $5 billion redevelopment of downtown Atlanta’s Gulch," reports J. Scott Trubey.
A July 3 ruling by Fulton County Superior Court Chief Judge Robert McBurney clears the way for the "developer CIM Group to begin development of a mini-city in a 40-acre dead zone of parking lots and weedy rail beds between Mercedes-Benz Stadium and the Five Points MARTA station," according to Trubey.
The ruling allows the city of Atlanta to issue bonds, "to be repaid by future sales tax revenue generated on the Gulch site." The bonds will be used to "fund vital infrastructure and development of the project," which will be renamed as Centennial Yards.
The decision is controversial in Atlanta, where project opponents say that revenue projections for the development don't prove that sales tax revenue will be enough to cover the costs of the bonds. The Atlanta City Council voted in November to provide $1.9 billion in public money to support the project.
$1.9 Billion Public Financing Plan for Atlanta Mega-Project Headed to Appeal
The sage over The Gulch development project—soon to be renamed Centennial Yards—will continue after project opponents filed an appeal of a June court decision upholding public financing for the project.
$1 Billion Redevelopment Planned for a Former Mall in Cutler Bay, Florida
Mall not making money like it used to? How would a $1 billion redevelopment sound?
Latest Plans for Atlanta's 'The Gulch' Megaproject Focuses on the Public Realm
The latest round of plans and designs released for The Gulch by developer Centennial Yards Company plots increased walkability and urban design choices that respond to the existing built environment.
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
New Jersey’s second-largest city bans standalone data centers
Jersey City will continue to allow co-location facilities, such as those meant for research institutions that store their own data.
Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds
A new study from the Garden State Initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.
EPA erases limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants
Under Monday’s plan, power plants would still have some limits on how much mercury, arsenic and other contaminants they can emit.
Phoenix announces new on-demand transit service, more frequent RAPID buses
Both new services will launch in October, and are part of Phoenix's Project Effective Access Solutions for Easing Congestion.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association