COME Group shuts down Atlanta’s regional-rail future.
Yesterday, a long City Council work session covered the Gulch redevelopment project and the proposal to provide massive incentives for it.
There was no mention of passenger rail until Councilman Matt Westmoreland asked about it around 2.5 hours in. The lead representative from CIM Group, the project developer, very bluntly responded that rail is "not a consideration" with the design.
With that statement, CIM Group basically shut down Atlanta’s regional-rail future, including the planning that's gone into the Multimodal Passenger Terminal and inter-city rail line to Chattanooga, both of which would require space for new rail in the Gulch. And consider that we've studied a lot more corridors than just Chattanooga (i.e. Charlotte, Columbus, Macon, plus about 10 commuter rail corridors).
If $1.75 billion in incentives were attached to a requirement for a rail-friendly design, CIM might change their tune.
Also, is Amazon really going to choose a city for HQ2 that's this cavalier about the potential of regional rail? Atlanta already has a massive federal investigation holding it back as an attractive choice.
Whether or not HQ2 goes into the Gulch, CIM Group is going to end up owning it entirely as their private property for development. These incentives are not for Amazon specifically. They're for CIM -- a company that's owned by the brother of the Hawks owner -- to create an entertainment district.
If we don't get HQ2, CIM is still putting something here and they'll be doing it with huge incentives from the City. Shouldn't we be demanding that it happens with a benefit for the region?
(Image: Freight rail lines headed into Downtown Atlanta’s Gulch. Source: gdot.ga.gov)
EDIT: please read this recent ThreadATL blog post about the importance of tying rail into the incentives package.
