Redevelopment Plans Advance for Atlanta Stadium Site

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BRADENTON, Fla. – The soon-to-be-vacated home of Atlanta Braves baseball may become home to Georgia State University's football team.

GSU teamed up with the Atlanta-based real estate firm Carter & Associates LLC to become the preferred bidder of three proposals submitted in a bid to redevelop Turner Field and surrounding properties, including several parking lots, in downtown Atlanta.

The project encompasses about 67 acres, and is designed to create a dynamic mixed-use urban destination that captures the area's sports history while protecting existing neighborhoods, city officials have said.

The Atlanta-Fulton County Recreation Authority announced selection of the GSU-Carter venture on Dec. 21, saying they hope to close a final deal to sell the property as soon as possible.

It is too early to tell if bond financing will be included in the plan, according to a source familiar with the project who asked not to be identified.

The project involves redeveloping several parcels and the stadium known as The Ted, after namesake Ted Turner.

Turner, former owner of the Braves and a philanthropist, built Turner Broadcasting System in downtown Atlanta.

The Atlanta Braves, now owned by Liberty Media Corp., plan to leave the ballpark to begin the 2017 Major League Baseball season in a new, bond-financed stadium in suburban Cobb County.

Turner Field was originally built as the 85,000-seat main stadium for Atlanta's 1996 Summer Olympics, and immediately afterward was converted into a ballpark for the Braves, who began playing there in 1997.

The debt-free ballpark is owned by the Atlanta-Fulton County Recreation Authority, which has leased Turner Field to the Braves through 2016.

The Georgia State Panthers football team currently plays in the Georgia Dome, best known as home to the Atlanta Falcons of the NFL.

The Dome will be razed when a new Falcons' stadium next door opens in 2017.

Georgia State and Carter created a joint venture called Carter/GSUF/Oakwood that registered as a limited liability corporation on Nov. 23, according to Georgia Division of Corporations records.

No financial details or the offering price of the proposal were released, and some elements of the transaction are subject to negotiations but were not disclosed by the recreation authority.

The development plan submitted by the GSU-Carter team reportedly will cost about $300 million and includes a 30,000-seat stadium for football, soccer and track and field, in addition to a ballpark, student housing, single family and apartment dwellings, restaurants and commercial space, according to the Atlanta-Journal Constitution.

A mix of public and private financing is expected to be used to fund the project, the newspaper said after being given a presentation by the developers earlier this year.

William Whitner, chairman of the recreation authority, said the agency will "move forward expeditiously" to finalize the deal.

"We believe that we have the right match for Turner Field and the surrounding communities," said AFCRA executive director Keisha Lance Bottoms. "Several details have yet to be mapped out."

Bottoms, who did not mention what details still need to be solidified other than finalizing the agreement, said that the GSU-Carter venture was selected as the preferred bidder because of its ability to renovate or replace Turner Field with a major facility, housing and retail components within five years.

A main goal of the project is to transform the area with "meaningful redevelopment" and create employment opportunities, she said.

The proposals submitted by the bidders have not been released to the public, nor have the names of bidders other than the GSU-Carter team.

The authority's request for proposals states that materials submitted by the bidders are subject to Georgia's open records law.

The proposals will be released after negotiations are finalized with the preferred bidder, said recreation authority spokesman Jeff Dickerson.

The authority's objective is to competitively sell the parcel to an entity that can "create an economic anchor" with the best development that best integrates into downtown Atlanta's business district and the surrounding neighborhoods, according to the RPF, which was issued on Oct. 2.

"Downtown Atlanta is experiencing an era of new investment," the RFP said, that includes new civic and cultural attractions such as the National Center for Civil and Human Rights, the College Football Hall of Fame, and the new Falcons stadium, which will also host the Atlanta United FC Major League Soccer expansion franchise.

In February, the Atlanta Regional Commission awarded $800,000 in Livable Centers Initiative grants to eight metro communities, including the city of Atlanta's Turner Field Stadium Neighborhoods Regional Center.

The center is studying growth issues that will be used to develop policies and qualify for transportation funding for projects that support the "connected communities" initiative.

Those studies and policies are expected to be considered by the winning bidder of the Turner Field redevelopment project in order to incorporate recommendations from impacted neighborhoods, according to the RFP.

"I am pleased with the Atlanta Fulton County Recreation Authority's unanimous decision to [potentially] sell Turner Field to Georgia State University and Carter," Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed said in a statement.

Reed said the sale to the joint venture would be a significant step forward in the continued revitalization of the surrounding Summerhill, Peoplestown, Mechanicsville, Pittsburgh and Grant Park neighborhoods.

The deal also strengthens GSU's position as a leading university, he added.

"This acquisition will provide substantial benefits to the surrounding community, including long-term job creation and business expansion, and will enable our state's largest public university to build an anchor for its campus, improving the student experience and supporting our city for generations to come," Reed said.

GSU is one of the 30 higher education institutions under the auspices of the University System of Georgia.

Founded in 1913, the university offers baccalaureate, master's and doctoral degrees and attracts more than 32,000 students each year.

The football team, a member of the Sun Belt Conference, had an average attendance of 10,346 in its six Georgia Dome home games in 2015. The team finished its regular season with a 6-6 record before losing to San Jose State in the AutoNation Cure Bowl in Orlando.

"Georgia State is extremely pleased that this important next step has been taken in the redevelopment of the Turner Field site," said GSU President Mark Becker. "We understand and appreciate that this decision demonstrates the confidence the AFCRA and the mayor have in our ability to achieve our vision for the site."

Becker said the Turner Field project will be transformational for surrounding neighborhoods, the city and the university.

"We embrace our responsibility to work closely with community and civic leaders in getting it done," he said.

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