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.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Chicago breaks ground on $3 billion megadevelopment
The new neighborhood, titled Foundry Park, will one day host 3,700 residences.
Satanic place names
From streams and lakes to valleys and canyons, I mapped more than 1,000 places named after the Devil.
California High-Speed Rail Authority CEO resigns after $600,000 scandal
Under Ian Choudri, the authority used taxpayer dollars to fund first class flights and trips to nightclubs.
Want to study the Missouri River? Soon, you may need unanimous approval from 10 states
Legislation would require 10 governors’ permission to study or build projects moving water outside the basin.
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.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority