Wednesday, September 16, 2009
News Beltline names new CEO
Posted by Thomas Wheatley @thomaswheatley on Wed, Sep 16, 2009 at 3:03 PM
Beltline officials this morning named Brian Leary, vice president of Atlantic Station, as the new head honcho of the 22-mile loop of parks, trails and transit.
From Atlanta Beltline Inc., the nonprofit that's tasked with designing and implementing the $2.8 billion project:
Mr. Leary joins ABI from Atlantic Station, where he is currently Vice President. He has worked there for 12 years during which he helped develop the former steel mill into a national model of sustainable development and smart growth.“Atlantic Station has given me a wonderful opportunity over the years,” said Leary, “but there is no greater opportunity to impact the metro Atlanta area’s quality of life than the Atlanta BeltLine Project. Atlantic Station has created thousands of jobs and homes and millions of dollars in new tax base, but the BeltLine has the extraordinary potential to transform the entire city. I am looking forward to getting to work with the BeltLine team and its partners—and to doing a great deal of listening.”
Mr. Leary holds a master’s degree in City Planning and a bachelor’s degree in Architecture from Georgia Tech, where he received dual certificates in Land Development and Real Estate. He has been published nationally and teaches each spring at Georgia Tech.
Leary, whose work with Atlantic Station is well-regarded among smart-growth wonks, has a full plate in front of him.
In July, Beltline officials announced they controlled nearly 50 percent of the railroad tracks circling Atlanta that form the project's "spine." Work on new parks in Old Fourth Ward, Grant Park and Southwest Atlanta is underway or scheduled to begin in the next year. Discussions about securing other rail segments in Southeast and Northwest Atlanta — which includes an active freight corridor — are on the horizon.
But development, which is vital to fueling the Beltline's chief funding source, has ground to a halt in Atlanta. Officials plan to issue as much as $165 million in bonds in October to help fund the project and refinance old debt.
Leary will also have to navigate the tricky neighborhood politics that come with the project. The Beltline stands to impact, for better or worse, more than 40 diverse neighborhoods throughout Atlanta. Each one has its own concerns about the project's implementation, ranging from density to economic development initiatives.
Matt Hicks, who helped launch the project as a policy analyst for former Atlanta City Council President Cathy Woolard, recently outlined what he thought were the next CEO's greatest challenges. He noted that the cultivating the Beltline's homegrown energy and preserving its original vision were chief among them. Hicks' column is worth a read.
Leary succeeds Terri Montague, who's lead the project since 2006. Montague will stay on as a consultant and to help with the transition in leadership.
We'll have more on this story throughout the day. Below is the full press release from ABI:
ATLANTA BELTLINE, INC. NAMES BRIAN M. LEARY PRESIDENT AND CEOAtlanta, GA – The Board of Directors of Atlanta BeltLine, Inc. (ABI) today named Brian Leary as President and Chief Executive Officer of Atlanta BeltLine, Inc., the implementing entity of Atlanta’s visionary BeltLine Project, which will provide a network of public parks, multi-use trails and transit along a historic 22-mile railroad corridor circling downtown and connecting many neighborhoods directly to each other over the next 25 years and beyond.
Mr. Leary joins ABI from Atlantic Station, where he is currently Vice President. He has worked there for 12 years during which he helped develop the former steel mill into a national model of sustainable development and smart growth.
“Brian brings the right combination of technical experience, development success and community engagement for what the BeltLine needs as it enters the next chapter of its evolution,” said Cal Darden, Chair of the ABI Board of Directors.
“Construction has begun for the BeltLine’s first new major park and will soon start on two more; nearly half of the 22-mile corridor is now secure for BeltLine use, and seven miles of interim hiking trails will be open in the beginning of 2010. Under Brian’s leadership, I am confident that the BeltLine’s momentum will continue to forge ahead with the strong team we have assembled,” said Mayor Shirley Franklin.”
“We conducted a national search with the help of BoardWalk Consulting and found the best candidate for the job a stone's throw away. Brian Leary is just the person to complement the fantastic team we have in place at ABI,” said Clara Axam, ABI board member and chair of the search committee.
In addition to Mr. Darden and Ms. Axam, the other members of the search committee were John Somerhalder, Chairman of the BeltLine Partnership and President & Chief Executive Officer of AGL Resources; Joe Brown, ABI board member and Director of Equity/Structured Finance, Centerline Capital Group; and Dr. Carl Patton, former President of Georgia State University.
“The BeltLine Partnership looks forward to working with Atlanta BeltLine, Inc.’s new CEO to maintain the significant momentum behind this public-private partnership for Atlanta’s future,” said John Somerhalder, Chairman of the BeltLine Partnership and President & Chief Executive Officer of AGL Resources.
“Atlantic Station has given me a wonderful opportunity over the years,” said Leary, “but there is no greater opportunity to impact the metro Atlanta area’s quality of life than the Atlanta BeltLine Project. Atlantic Station has created thousands of jobs and homes and millions of dollars in new tax base, but the BeltLine has the extraordinary potential to transform the entire city. I am looking forward to getting to work with the BeltLine team and its partners—and to doing a great deal of listening.”
Mr. Leary holds a master’s degree in City Planning and a bachelor’s degree in Architecture from Georgia Tech, where he received dual certificates in Land Development and Real Estate. He has been published nationally and teaches each spring at Georgia Tech.
During his tenure with Atlantic Station, Mr. Leary led the marketing efforts to attract corporate residents, national retailers and international attractions to what is now one of the most visited destinations in the State of Georgia. Over the past few years, he has spoken to groups across the United States on Smart Growth, mixed-use development and emerging trends. He has presented on Capitol Hill, the National Partners for Smart Growth, the Real Estate Roundtable, and the Urban Land Institute.
A member of AIG’s Sustainability Committee, Brian is also a member of the Executive Committee of the board of Leadership Atlanta; the Board of Visitors of Emory University; the Board of Trustees of the Livable Communities Coalition; the Board of Directors of the Northwest Community Alliance; the Board of Directors of Georgians for Passenger Rail; and serves as Chairman for the City of Atlanta Public Art Advisory Committee.
Comments (14)
Showing 1-14 of 14
Wheatley, When do we get some real reporting on this? Did Montague quit, or did she get fired? Rumor is she was fired. Putting that aside, how is Leary, a white male Jacoby/AIG incubated developer, going to deal with south Atlanta politics regarding dislocation, etc.? That should all be rather amusing and ugly going forward. Also, BeltLine was turned down by the Federal Government for a grant request under the FTA's "New Starts" program. That was a huge setback for the BeltLine. That was announced by the FTA around May 11, about the same time Montague quit/got fired. Coincidence? Doubtful. Why didn't you report about this huge setback for the BeltLine? You need to do a lot more digging and a lot less cheerleading.
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Atlanta Beltline Inc. (ABI) is good at issuing press releases, but the troubled aspects of the Beltline far outnumber the positive ones. The Board and management of ADA and ABI have performed poorly since the beginning. They faced some unexpected challenges during the last few years (as have most of us), but they too often made poor decisions and implemented initiatives in a scatter-brained manner. The current lack of direction of the BeltLine is largely due to the Board and the management of ADA and ABI. The good news is that there soon will be political changes that could produce new leadership at ADA and ABI. Hopefully, Mr. Leary will be part of this change and will dig and listen hard to find out what is really going on and what needs to be done (and undone).
While doing some investigative reporting on why Montague left, and why BeltLine got rejected by FTA for a "New Starts" grant, check with your buds over at ABI and see how (poorly) that October bond validation is coming along.
Board members of ADA and ABI are thick on the ground in the council races. Alex Wan, Aaron Watson, Liz Coyle, others? So Dave and Concerned, can you spell out what you know of how their decisions hurt the regular taxpayer and resident?
cityzen, you are trying so hard to dig up dirt on liz and alex its ridiculous. now your asking dave walker on a creative loafing comments section for inside info-- wow. I love dave, I really do, and sometimes the things he says are almost as intriguing as they are ridiculous. When he "retires" I know I will be tempted to throw on the hospital scrubs and agitate city council meetings, but am discouraged because I know I will never be nearly as eloquent or charmingly nutty as he is. but seriously, if dave is your best source for dirt on your opponents its a bad sign.
Keep your hair on, hair. 1.If you think "Dave Walker" on this site is Dave Walker the City Hall nutjob you need to go back to litcrit 101. 2. Since the ADA does not publish any financial reports, it's tough to piece together what the outfit's costing taxpayers or who the developer beneficiaries are, beyond the odd outrage like the Mason heist of $40mm in profit on a $25mm speculation. Hence it's worthwhile to ask if other observers have picked up any more pieces of the puzzle. 3. The dirt is evident from the opaque way in which the ADA, ABI and all the other Beltlineries are designed to function. But specifics are always more compelling. 4. We know that the city's prop tax and sales tax revenues stagnated while the property digest, population and local consumption soared this decade. The players on ADA, ABI and the rest promoted this budget crisis with their 'free lunch' giveaways - TADs, abatements and who knows how they gave away the sales taxes. They should pay for it at the election since they are clearly fiscally irresponsible.
cityzen: What a challenge! Where does one begin? Below is my top ten list of Beltline puzzlers that occurred while Liz Coyle was on the Beltline Board and Alex Wan was on the ADA Board. Both of them wholeheartedly supported the following: 1. Buying land from Wayne Mason for a king’s ransom, even though the financial and real estate worlds were already crumbling. 2. Buying land from Wayne Mason for the Beltline without the right to operate transit on it. 3. Buying land from Wayne Mason without a way to pay for it and almost going into default. 4. Paying over $1 million to Barry Real Estate to get that firm out of a Beltline joint venture, even though the venture had seriously declined in value and Barry Real Estate had failed to perform its duties. 5. Treating the John Woodham lawsuit against the Beltline bonds as a nuisance rather than a legitimate challenge to how business was being done in Atlanta. 6. Withdrawing the request for federal funding for Beltline transit on the west side of Atlanta. 7. Turning community participation in Beltline decisions into a sham and allowing planning for the Beltline to become a charade 8. Making important Beltline decisions without public input and behind closed doors even though Georgia’s Sunshine laws and good public policy show that transparency is best. 9. Pretending the 5-Year Plan for the Beltline does not exist, and choosing Beltline priorities and projects based on opaque and subjective criteria. 10. Supporting heavy development and investment in the Northeast Quadrant of the City, even though that area will do just fine without the such help, while tossing only crumbs to areas of Atlanta that genuinely need help to jump-start economic activity
Concerned, Your Beltline taxpayer-ripoff / neighborhoods-get-lost list is too good to fall down the Loaf memory hole just yet. Thanks for monitoring. It would be healthy to put Liz, Alex and Aaron on the hot seat for their developer-cozy rubber stampings.
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@wesley, you might try asking board members (until yesterday) Liz and Alex and Aaron how much ADA and ABI are costing overall, not just the Montague payoff with other people's money. It is the one chance you have in 8 years to ask the question and not have the powers-that-be laugh in your face. I challenge anyone to find a public accounting for how ADA spends all those tax dollars diverted to TADs. A lot less of the cash is going to pay off the bonds than sanity requires, of that we can be sure. The endless PR and fake neighborhood consultation emanating from ABI costs a bundle. Or try finding an accounting of the tax abatements that Lisa so proudly touts as development tools - how much tax has the city lost from these tricks and who pocketed the dough?
""Thanks for monitoring. It would be healthy to put Liz, Alex and Aaron on the hot seat for their developer-cozy rubber stampings."" Why dont you throw Brodie into the mix for developer-cozy rubberstampings too. Only one of the city council district 6 candidates has his three biggest campaign contributors as developers. Its not Alex, and its not Liz. Its Brodie. Developers dont give their money away. If developers are donating to Brodie's campaign (and they are, much more so than the others) its because they KNOW that he will be the most developer friendly. You cant argue with the facts. Look where the money comes from. Brodie is getting more money, and a higher percentage of his money, from big developers (Tivoli, Kim King, Brooks) than any of the other candidates. How can you argue that the other two are 'developer candidates'. Follow the money trail. One of them takes maximum contributions from developers (Brodie). The others dont (alex had no real estate developers on his June 30 statement). Facts are facts, sorry.
And thats not to say that Brodie is the only one that should be questioned. They should all be questioned about ties to developers, and they should all be vetted. I agree that TAD funds are sketchy, and I think some things ADA does are really questionable. They should all be questioned. But the problem is that you wont for the life of you acknowledge that, out of all the people with questionable developer ties, Brodie has the most questionable ties. Look at the money, how could you argue any differently?? Should ABI have paid less for Mason's land? Hard decisions have to be made. But if developers really thought they could make more money from Liz or Alex being in office, they would donate to their campaigns. They didnt. They donated to Brodie's campaign, because they know they can make more money from Brodie being in office.
@hair - Anyone who wonders if Mason's blackmail should have been resisted cannot care much about developers riding roughshod over residents' interests. ADA and ABI board members are the ones to ask about their agencies activity and cash flow. That's Wan and Coyle. If developers weren't sure of Wan and Coyle they would not have been on those boards. The only campaign bucks on the record are those given thru 6/30, i.e., far too early to conclude who gets the most from developers. Brodie is not Snow White. But he's a whiter shade of grey than the other two, just based on their affiliations and activities - impossible facts to overlook.
They could have told Mason to go "pound sand" if they had any balls or business sense. As it turned out, Barry Real Estate (the true TAD leaches in this City with all that Allen Plaza crap) approached Mason and got the NE quadrant under contract for $60 plus million, and then flipped that overpriced contract to ABI under the guise of a "partnership" with ABI, all with the blessing of the Metro Chamber and Central Atlanta Progress/A.J. Robinson. Montague was just a stool playing a role, but even screwing that up. She basically got fired in Spring 2008. Why would Leary leave Jacoby to head up ABI? That makes no sense. Indicates Jacoby/AIG/Atlantic Station is about to impload. For all you TAD cheerleaders out there who think TADs are harmless and produce money from nowhere, just watch Atlantic Station as the Atlanta tax base continues to drop. The Atlantic Station TAD bonds will likely go into default in 2010. Leary knows that, and that's why he is jumping ship, though he is jumping right into the middle of a clusterfuck at ABI.
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