'Gulch Project' postponed
ATLANTA - The Atlanta City Council is not yet ready to say “yes” or “no” to the so-called “Gulch Project” in downtown.
That message was sent to Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms over the last 24 hours, so she had no choice but to delay a vote she called for on Wednesday.
The multi-billion-dollar development proposed for some 40 acres of land between the Mercedes Benz Stadium and the federal courthouse.
A company called CIM wants to put up hotels, retail, residences, and housing. The state and the city would participate financially in the deal through tax subsidies.
The mayor ran into a wall of opposition from various neighborhoods whose citizens have a variety of complaints. Chief among them is that the public commitment is too great.
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Bottoms shaved the city's portion that would go into the deal with a revised proposal.
Councilman Michael Bond, who backs Bottoms, says his colleagues are waiting to see the new proposal and a vote in just days is impossible. It cannot pass if the council action is rushed, he says.
The Bottoms administration will punt, asking for a vote during the next regularly scheduled full council meeting the first week of November.
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