ATLANTA — Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and business leaders released new details into a plan to turn a giant parking deck in downtown Atlanta, known as the Gulch, into a massive redevelopment site.
The Centennial Yards Redevelopment Project has been in development for years across from State Farm Arena and Mercedes-Benz Stadium. It used to be the home of Atlanta’s Terminal Station.
[PHOTOS: New renderings of Centennial Yards project in downtown Atlanta]
It is expected to be one of the biggest non-interstate-related construction projects in city, or even state, history.
“This has been a long time in the making,” Bottoms said during a news conference Thursday.
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The city of Atlanta partnered with several of the developers to pool together some money for the social impact of the project. Some of the investments include:
- $28 million investment in citywide affordable housing
- $12 million in citywide economic development
- $2 million toward workforce training.
The Centennial Yards company has also committed to a 38% inclusion goal for minority and female-owned businesses for design, development construction and property management for the project.
“We often describe our administration as blending commerce with compassion and also courage, because it took a lot of courage to get this done,” Bottoms said.
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The 50-acre development will create a “new front door to Atlanta’s downtown district, featuring residential, office, retail, dining and entertainment space,” developers said.
CIM Group co-founder Richard Ressler says no one has seen anything like Centennial Yards anywhere in the country.
“We are building and commencing an effort to build an extraordinary project. It is truly one of a kind on a national scale,” Ressler said.
Developers said they believe construction will begin within the next 12 months.
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