Fort McPherson Redevelopment Plans On Table

ATLANTA,None — Gary Constantine stands on the stoop of his two and a half year old East Point home, looking out over the wasteland that was supposed to be his neighborhood.

Now, it's just a series of overgrown, unfinished lots with white PVC pipes sticking out of the ground. The developer only completed a handful of homes including Constantine's.

The incomplete neighborhood backs right up to the tall barbed wire fence that surrounds Fort McPherson. When Channel 2 Action News reporter Richard Elliot told him about the plan to redevelop the U.S. Army post, Constantine welcomed the idea.

"I hope it happens," said Constantine. He guesses his house lost somewhere around $70,000 in value since the start of the recession. "If they have a plan to do that, hopefully it'll help out a little bit."

The Fort McPherson Local Redevelopment Authority presented a comprehensive plan to the Fulton County Commission on Wednesday that includes a biomedical research facility, 2400 new homes, shops, grocery stores and likely lots of jobs.

PDF: Fort McPherson Redevelopment Plans

"This will not be another Atlantic Station," said Authority Executive Director Jack Sprott. "This has a different focus. We want to create the kinds of jobs that can help the community, but can also help the state of Georgia."

Fort McPherson, which has been around for more than a hundred years, will close in September 2011. The authority was created to decide what to do with the 488 acres in southwest Atlanta along the border with East Point.

Unlike Atlantic Station, which uses retail as its hub, the redevelopment authority plans to use the research facility and science park as its hub. The plan is first to use existing buildings as a biomedical research facility, then lease space to various Georgia colleges and universities. They also hope to attract the Centers for Disease Control. This, they hope, will make Atlanta a center of health care research.

"The stars are beautifully aligned in Georgia to create here a health care place that does not exist today," said Authority Chairman Felker Ward.

He believes the project could create as many as 10,000 new jobs at full build out and 5,000 jobs after 10 years. County officials believe if all goes right, it could generate $1.5 billion in tax revenue.

The project would also create 450 affordable housing units. Some commissioners worried the project might hurt low income families on fixed incomes living near the base. They fear property values might go up so much that these families could no longer afford to pay their taxes. The county and authority said they are looking into that.

Meanwhile, Constantine hopes his property values do go up because he's seen them plummet over the past two years.

"If the property values go up, they're not going to go up instantly," he said. "Its going to take some time regardless of what happens. As long as the county tries to work something out with the people already here, I think it might work out and help us. It might benefit us a little bit."

The Redevelopment Authority plan must still get approval from the Housing and Urban Development Department. If all goes according to plan, initial redevelopment could start in 2012.

WSBTV