Atlanta BeltLine Five Year Work Plan Review
Atlanta BeltLine Inc.
The Atlanta BeltLine is an ambitious sustainable development initiative underway in the City of Atlanta. Based on the idea of acquiring former freight rail ROW encircling the City, this project envisions transforming neighborhoods throughout Atlanta into walkable, transit-friendly communities linked with walking trails, new parks, and streetcar routes, and enhanced with targeted new infill development including over 5,000 affordable housing units.
BAE was engaged in 2011 by Atlanta BeltLine, Inc. (ABI), the implementing organization for the BeltLine. Under the direction of ABI’s Tax Allocation District Advisory Committee (TADAC), BAE’s work involved conducting an independent review of the Five Year Work Plan 2006 – 2010, which had been formulated for the initiative at its inception. BAE’s work included reviewing more than 20 documents which had been prepared to plan and implement the BeltLine since 2006, along with interviews of over 20 key ABI staff and stakeholders. BAE also reviewed prior Tax Allocation estimates, bond prospectuses, financial summaries, and related materials to assemble a comparison between the original Work Plan and budget, and the ensuing five years of accomplishments and challenges. Most of BAE’s work, however, was focused on recommending future improvements to inform the next work plan cycle, along with profiles of “best practices” culled from other national examples of sustainable development and transit-oriented projects. BAE also incorporated examples of transformative economic development programs, and suggested methods to increase future housing production and small business expansion along the BeltLine.