Atlanta’s proposed Beltline may be threatened by real estate bust

Tax projections decrease

Steve Hawley, Sep 30, 09.

Atlanta’s Beltline, a proposed 22-mile loop of transit, trails, and parks around the center city, may be threatened by a lack of funding after the real estate downturn cut into projected tax revenues, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The article reports that the financial plan “relies on expected increases in development and real estate values within the project’s tax district,” which would generate $1.7 billion, or 60 percent of the $2.8 billion project. However, the recession may throw those numbers into doubt. The Beltline agency will revise its financial estimates next year.

Beverly Scott, CEO of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Agency (MARTA), told legislators, “What I can say to you, as well as all the other members of the committee, is that unless there is new funding that is found for transit, that we cannot afford one expansion program.” MARTA hopes to operate the Beltline, but Scott also said that she was not privy to all of the other ongoing financial discussions.

According to a real estate consultant, the surrounding development will still occur, but probably at a slower pace than originally imagined. The Atlanta city government, however, is still highly supportive of the project.

Beltline website