By Maria Saporta
During a talk at the Atlanta Commerce Club, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed implied he might be making a leadership change at Atlanta BeltLine Inc., the city’s arm in charge of development along the 22-mile corridor.
In response to an attendee’s question about affordable housing along the BeltLine, Reed said there was going to be more funds available to improve equity along the corridor.
Then he seemed to take a direct hit at Paul Morris, CEO of Atlanta BeltLine Inc., who was sitting at a table in the back of the room.
“You’ve got to have a leader of the BeltLine that is committed to affordability as a first thought and not an after-thought,” Reed said in response.
Morris was asked in a text message for a response to the Mayor’s statement. But he did not respond, and he was one of the first to leave the room after the lunch.
Last week, after a meeting of Invest Atlanta’s board, Reed sat down with three reporters, who asked him about whether he would be making a change at the Atlanta BeltLine.
“No comment,” Reed answered.
When asked whether the no comment meant a lack of confidence in the current leadership, Reed said one could draw their own conclusions.
He basically said the same thing after the Commerce Club talk.
“My comments stand on their own,” Reed said. “I meant what I said, and I said it clearly.”
The Atlanta BeltLine’s track record on affordable housing has been under scrutiny since BeltLine visionary Ryan Gravel and equity leader Nathaniel Smith resigned from the private sector board of the Atlanta BeltLine Partnership last September.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution had an indepth Sunday print story that ran earlier this month with the headline: “How the Atlanta BeltLine broke its promise on affordable housing.”
