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Centennial Yards: Atlanta's $5B mega-project to revitalize Downtown area

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Published  November 2, 2024 12:18am EDT
Downtown
FOX 5 Atlanta

The Centennial Yards project

A multi-billion-dollar mega-project promises to bring hotels, entertainment and apartments to downtown Atlanta. It’s part of a massive redevelopment at Centennial Yards in what’s commonly called the gulch. One thing it won’t feature.

The Brief

    • Centennial Yards, a $5 billion redevelopment project in downtown Atlanta, will not include affordable housing in its plans.
    • CIM Group, the developer of Centennial Yards, chose to pay an $8.5 million fee rather than provide below-market units in the new 304-unit high-rise known as The Mitchell.
    • City Council member Jason Dozier and advocacy group ThreadATL have both expressed disappointment over the lack of affordable housing and the missed opportunity for city leaders to enforce the original commitment.
    • Originally, CIM agreed to reserve 20% of The Mitchell for affordable housing as part of an incentive package but backed out due to a real-estate market slowdown.
    • The Mitchell is connected to two nearby MARTA stations and is anticipated to open next year, contributing to downtown Atlanta's revitalization efforts.

ATLANTA - A $5 billion mega-project promises to bring hotels, entertainment and apartments to downtown Atlanta. Centennial Yards is part of a massive redevelopment of what’s commonly called the gulch. That’s the 50-acre stretch of land between the Five Points MARTA station and Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The one thing it won’t feature is affordable housing. The developer will not include below-market units in a new high-rise they’re building right now. CIM Group instead chose to pay a multi-million-dollar fee instead of setting aside any apartments for lower-income Atlantans.

Centennial yards will feature a 304-unit high-rise apartment building called The Mitchell. "Centennial Yards is connected to at least two MARTA stations within walking distance," said City Council member Jason Dozier (District-4). "I absolutely want to affordable housing units in that development."

However, the councilman won’t get that, at least not at the Mitchell. CIM Group has opted not to set aside any units for affordable housing. "I think it’s an unfortunate decision," Dozier said.

CIM initially agreed to reserve 20 percent of the building for subsidized rentals as part of a multi-billion-dollar incentive package. But the developer cited real-estate market slowdowns for the change of course. Instead CIM contributed $8.5 million to a fund to build affordable housing on the westside. "I’m hopeful that the in-lieu fee they’re paying is going to help other families, even if they’re not in the Centennial Yards development, can have an opportunity for affordable living in the city," Dozier said.

CIM would not speak on camera with FOX 5. But in a statement, the company said it made the decision "at a time when we observed a significant slowdown in real estate investment and development."

Matt Garbett, co-founder of advocacy group ThreadATL, says he wanted the city to hold the developer to its commitment to affordable housing at Centennial Yards. "The city missed an opportunity," Garbett said. "They could’ve said ‘you’re going to do in-lieu, but you still have to require, maybe not 20-percent affordable housing, you can do 10-percent."

Dozier says he wants to make sure city leaders hold developers more accountable to build affordable housing in the future.

The building is set to open next year.