Monday, January 21, 2013
News City Councilmembers want downtown development task force
Posted by David Schick @reportschick on Mon, Jan 21, 2013 at 12:02 PM
- Joeff Davis/CL File
- Two Atlanta City Councilmembers say area needs master plan to prepare for development, link proposed projects such as new stadium, train terminal
Atlanta City Councilman H. Lamar Willis and Councilwoman Keisha Lance Bottoms are pushing a proposal that would create a technical advisory group that would create a master plan aimed at revitalizing the historic heart of the city.
The resolution creating the Downtown Development Technical Advisory Group was unanimously passed out of the community development and human resources committee on Jan. 15 and will be heard by the full Council on Tuesday.
The task force would focus on attracting more development and people to the neighborhood, Willis said. He wants to know why Atlantans "don't want to come to downtown." The $500,000 study would include looking at Underground Atlanta, which Mayor Kasim Reed thinks could be used more effectively.
"You can't fix Underground without fixing everything around it and you can't fix everything around it without fixing Underground," said Willis.
In addition, the group will pay close attention to the areas surrounding the large number of government buildings that make up south downtown. In most Georgia cities, Willis said, the government areas are "the most pristine" parts of those cities. But Atlanta's seems to be an exception to that rule.
"It's flat out embarrassing," Willis told CL.
But wait: isn't there a glut of plans for downtown sitting on the shelf? For example, Central Atlanta Progress' Green Line, a 2007 proposal which involves connecting Georgia State University, Five Points, and Philips Arena with parks and new dense development. (One downtown resident told CL he supported the proposal but would prefer a "master (implementation) plan." In addition, he thought the $500,000 might be better spent on improving downtown residents and businesses' quality of life.)
In the past, "a lot of things were not on the table," Willis said. Now, however, several projects are in the works for downtown and some surrounding neighborhoods, including a new football stadium and mixed-use developments around Turner Field.
"Turner Field wasn't contemplating wanting to do major work in the area," he said. "You didn't have significant commitment as it relates to a new Falcons stadium. As that change has taken place, any good plan would still need to be updated."
What's more, various groups have agreed to serve on the task force, which normally hasn't happened in the past. Individuals and officials from the state, city, MARTA, neighborhood organizations, and Georgia State University have agreed to participate.
"We originally started with 15 members, now we're up to 25," Willis said. "It's important to have everybody's voice."
Willis hopes that the legislation will pass without a problem because other colleagues have signed on to the proposal. Most importantly, Mayor Kasim Reed is "very supportive" of the legislation.
Bottoms and CAP could not be reached for comment. We will update when we hear word.
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