Invest Atlanta Approves $330 Million Bond for 539-Home Amsterdam Walk Redevelopment
Atlanta is a city in Fulton County, Georgia. Invest Atlanta, the City of Atlanta's economic development agency, voted on October 16 to approve a $330 million lease-purchase bond for the Amsterdam Walk redevelopment, a Portman Holdings project near Monroe Drive and Piedmont Park in the Virginia-Highland area that would add 539 apartments. Under the arrangement, the developer's property taxes would be phased in over about a decade, starting at roughly half the usual rate in the first year and reaching the full rate in year 11; local reports put the value of the tax break at about $15 million. The project includes 39 apartments reserved as affordable for households earning up to 80 percent of Area Median Income, a commitment the developer says will last 99 years.
The project has drawn opposition from residents concerned about density and traffic, and neither Neighborhood Planning Unit F nor the Morningside-Lenox Park Association has endorsed it. Board member Ken Zeff, vice chair of Atlanta Public Schools, voted against the incentive, citing school revenue in an already crowded cluster. At the same meeting, the agency outlined steps responding to a June city audit of its Tax Allocation Districts, including publishing project records, building an interactive project map and revising redevelopment plans for seven active districts.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：亚特兰大皮德蒙特公园克拉拉湖与中城天际线，项目位于公园一带。图片来源：Frank Schulenburg，CC BY-SA 4.0。Photo: Lake Clara Meer in Piedmont Park with the Midtown Atlanta skyline. Image: Frank Schulenburg, CC BY-SA 4.0.
