Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed last week tapped a former federal official to head up the city’s economic development agency.
Brian McGowan will be the new president and chief executive officer of the Atlanta Development Authority.
McGowan, who has more than 15 years of economic development experience, served as U.S. deputy assistant secretary of commerce and chief operating officer for the U.S. Economic Development Administration.
Reed’s said McGowan’s extensive experience would help the ADA continue to move the city of Atlanta toward economic recovery.
“We’ve made great strides over the past 16 months with initiatives such as the ongoing revitalization of the Historic Westside District, the redevelopment of Fort McPherson, and the relocation of Porsche’s headquarters to the city,” he said. “I am confident that under Brian’s leadership, we will build on that strong foundation and generate even more economic investment and development opportunities.”
Prior to his work in Washington, McGowan was California’s deputy secretary for economic development and commerce in the Business, Transportation, and Housing Agency. Before that he was the administrator for the San Bernardino Economic Development Agency.
McGowan received a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Riverside, and a master’s degree in politics, economics, and business from the Claremont Graduate University, where he completing his doctorate in American politics and policy.
In related news, the ADA last week authorized the sale of up to $44 million of lease-purchase bonds to assist with tax abatement for the construction of a new, dual-branded Hilton Garden Inn and Homewood Suites that will add 226 hotel rooms to midtown Atlanta.
The bonds will be privately placed with the property owner enabling the ADA to hold title to the property for 10 years, a procedure commonly used in Georgia. The process facilitates a property tax abatement of 50% in the first year, which declines by 5% in each of the remaining nine years until the property owner pays 100% of its taxes.
