Its Own String of Pearls

Urban critics characterize Atlanta as a sprawling, placeless city: one with no singular image, no mountain range, no river, no park system and no coastline. But recently, a new proposal has emerged that, if realized, could create an iconic identity for Georgia’s capital city.

The Atlanta Beltline would transform an old rail right-of-way, a remnant of the 19th century that encircles downtown, into a system of trails, transit, housing and commercial development. If completed, the Beltline would run continuously through ten of Atlanta’s eleven council districts, connecting disparate neighborhoods to one another, to the existing subway system and to green space.

The Beltline could provide the impetus for a denser, more urban feel in Atlanta’s inner-city neighborhoods. But first it must get past the potentially fractious politics of proposing such a sweeping vision in a city where everyone has their own concept of what form the project should take.

Last Chance for Atlanta

The Beltline, in the type of moment that democracies promise but rarely realize, had its genesis in a letter from a Georgia Tech graduate student describing his thesis project. Ryan Gravel, now a local architect, mailed letters to several public entities, including the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) and the mayorUs office. The letter struck a chord with City Councilwoman Cathy Woolard.

As chair of the transportation committee at the time, Councilwoman Woolard had tired of projects with little concern for in-town quality of life. “I saw projects that brought people in from out of town and dumped them off downtown somewhere, with no way of getting anywhere once they were here.” The Beltline project stood out as unique among transportation proposals for its approach to moving people within the city, not just in and out of it. Woolard and Gravel now chair Friends of the Beltline, dedicated to educating and fundraising for the project.

Over the last six years, their organization has gathered powerful allies, from the current mayor to city business leaders. And development is already occurring along its projected path. Wayne Mason became the first private investor in the project by buying a five-mile, 67-acre stretch of the Beltline for $25 million. Over half of the acreage is set aside for a public right of way or public open space; the rest will be dense development. Mason views himself as a guinea pig: “All these other developers are waiting to see how we get kicked around by the special interest groups. We’re going to be the vehicle to provide the example for the rest.” With this purchase, the project gained crucial private sector legitimacy. Already following Mason’s example, real estate developers now bill their condos as having “Beltline frontage.”

David Green, an architect currently designing six apartment projects along the Beltline, cautions that, amidst the building frenzy, there is a great need for long-range Beltline planning. As a professor at Georgia Tech, Green has his students working on zoning plans for Friends of the Beltline that would phase in growth from single-family homes to multi-story development. Green believes that the Beltline is of the highest priority: “If it doesnUt happen, itUs the death of any potential for an urban condition in Atlanta. It’s the only opportunity for Atlanta to avoid becoming wholly auto-dependent.”

Transit and Trails

An alternative to dependency on cars would be welcome in Atlanta, where traffic clogs existing roadways. As investors like Mason begin to position their parcels, the question of transit will become more important in figuring out how to serve and connect new residents and businesses. As a start, former Councilwoman Woolard recently negotiated the Beltline’s inclusion in the regional transportation plan, Atlanta Regional Commission Mobility 2030. The plan provides $300 million over the next twenty years for the acquisition of right-of-ways along the Beltline. In Woolard’s words, it was a “technical triple Salchow.” The funding mechanism ensures not only a steady supply of dollars, but more importantly, official public recognition.

Despite broad-based commitment to the Beltline concept, and the funding for right-of-way acquisition, no real commitments have been made to building public transit, or even what kind of transit to build if funds become available. Atlanta’s policymakers are considering trolley car and electric bus systems, but appear most likely to select some form of light rail. Light rail has proven to be a successful transportation alternative for other cities and would add in a rich layer of connectivity to the Beltline. No matter which form of transit public officials choose, construction would happen in many phases over decades.

Another vision, crafted by the Trust for Public Land (TPL) focuses on the creation of parks along the BeltlineUs path. The TPL commissioned planner and professor Alex Garvin (a member of TNAC’s Editorial Advisory Board) to write “The Beltline Emerald Necklace: AtlantaUs New Public Realm.” Garvin proposed borrowing one of legendary park designer Frederick Law Olmstead’s favorite design strategies: a linear park system punctuated by “jewels"--broader swaths of green space. The proposal would increase Atlanta’s public park space and link existing parks into a larger, grander system.

How the trails relate to transit, and how both relate to development, remains an open question. Liz Drake, who manages the project at EDAW, a multi-disciplinary design firm hired by the city, says, “We look at them all as essential and related. Trails may come first, spur development and lead to transit. One is not more critical than the other.”

Paying for Itself

Yet another vision for the Beltline highlights its potential for economic development. The Atlanta Development Authority sees the Beltline as an economic engine and is seeking public funding for the project’s initial phases. The development authority proposes a funding mechanism called a tax allocation district (TAD). The TAD earmarks a portion of the taxes collected within the Beltline area to be used exclusively for Beltline projects, similar to the tax increment financing (TIF) districts used in Chicago and other cities.

Three public entities would be giving up a portion of their tax revenues: the City Council, the Atlanta Board of Education and Fulton County. They will continue to receive taxes within the TAD district at the 2005 level throughout the 25-year life of the TAD; however, the TAD would receive any additional tax revenues generated by Beltline development. Beginning in 2030 those additional revenues would again be collected as part of Atlanta’s general pool.

Tina Arbes, of the development authority, views the TAD as an essential starting point for the Beltline project. She underlines this point with the authorityUs current mantra: RApproval of the TAD is key. It is the green light for the project. The role of the authority is to get the TAD approved.S

An economic feasibility study commissioned by the development authority claims that the TAD will let the Beltline pay for itself. But before a TAD is adopted, the three public entities that would be sharing their taxes must approve of it. As a result, the TAD is now undergoing rigorous public scrutiny: as part of the TAD approval process, EDAW is required by law to present the plan at a series of public meetings.

With the legendary cost overruns of public projects of this scale and scopeQthink Big DigQone may ask whether the TAD is really going to pay for it all. The economists who did the feasibility study for the Beltline TAD claim to have applied unusually conservative standards in order to protect the city from catastrophic budget overruns. Rick Padgett, an economist for Walter Huntley and Associates, worked the numbers for the feasibility study. He explains: “We limited our projections to the demand side, not just the supply side. The Beltline could supply much more development than the demand at the moment, and we went with the lesser of the two. And we could have estimated twice as much demand as we did.”

What’s To Come

A project which has seemed impractical for much of the past decade--Atlanta’s Beltline--is coming to life. The question no longer is: is the Beltline going to happen? The question is: Is it going to happen right?

While different visions stress elements of transit, parks or economic potential, all are complementary in the end. If done right, the Beltline could act as a catalyst for lasting urban design, organizing Atlanta’s meteoric growth. This balance appears to be on everyoneUs mind, from private investors like Wayne Mason to city planners at the ADA.

The project also has a poetic potential that transcends its basic planning logic. Beyond its obvious practical benefits, the Beltline looks into Atlanta’s railroad past to create what could be a stunning new modern identity for Atlanta. As Beltline visionary Ryan Gravel argues, “The devil is in the details. In fifty years, everyone will forget about how long it took to build and who did it. They only will remember what it looks like and how it works.”