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Atlanta willing to pay 8 percent interest on Falcons stadium bonds

by David Pendered

Atlanta is willing to pay an interest rate of up to 8 percent for the $278.3 million in revenue bonds it intends sell to provide construction financing for the new Falcons stadium.

To put that rate in perspective, Atlanta’s airport is paying rates ranging from 2 percent to 6 percent on its $3.1 billion in outstanding bonds, according to the airport’s 2013 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report. The airport bonds are paid with proceeds of airport revenues, passenger fees and federal grants.

These terms and others are cited in the bond validation petition that Fulton County Superior Court Judge Ural Granville is scheduled to hear Feb. 17. Opponents who think the stadium deal could do more than the current plan to transform nearby neighborhoods are expected to contest the bond validation.

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Atlanta BeltLine creates, fills job of economic development director

by David Pendered

The Atlanta BeltLine has created the position of director of economic development and filled it with a former director of the Savannah Economic Development Authority. Terms were not disclosed.

Jerald Mitchell is to devise and implement a strategy for economic development around the BeltLine, according to a statement the BeltLine released Thursday.

Mitchell’s hiring was announced 11 weeks after Mayor Kasim Reed announced he intends to develop the BeltLine as a public private partership. Reed said he is looking for an investor to put in $3 billion to $4 billion, nearly double the 2005 estimate of the BeltLine’s development costs.

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Falcons stadium: MLK Drive bridge severed, court hearing set for Feb. 17 on $278 million in city funding

by David Pendered

Progress on the new Falcons stadium has hit a new high gear.

A demolition crew worked Wednesday to rip out a portion of the viaduct of Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. A Fulton County Superior Court judge on Tuesday set a hearing date of Feb. 17 to validate the $278.3 million the city has agreed to borrow in order provide for the stadium’s construction.

The fate of the stadium plan is far from certain: Area residents have indicated they intend to block the bond sale in court; the Atlanta City Council hasn’t agreed to abandon six parcels of land the Falcons say they need to build the stadium.

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Easy money as landlord of cheap homes proving an elusive dream

by David Pendered

The once-hot “REO to rental” business has cooled in metro Atlanta and beyond.

A year ago, average investors were kicking themselves for not getting in on the ground floor of an emerging industry: Buy cheap bank-owned or foreclosed houses and rent them for a tidy profit. News that Blackstone Group alone had bought 1,400 houses in the region in April 2013 showed the market had taken off.

Now, a report in Tuesday’s edition of Financial Times shows that Blackstone and others are having to take discount prices for their REO-backed securities. A congressional investigation into the industry is looming.

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Business plan for Savannah port could make Louisiana Purchase blush

by David Pendered

In the push to deepen the Port of Savannah, one issue that’s not received much attention is how the facility will handle the hoped-for increase in cargo that’s driving the desire to serve bigger ships.

The Georgia Ports Authority does have a $1.4 billion plan to expand its cargo handling capacity. What’s still to be created is a better network to attract and manage goods heading to and from the port, said GPA Executive Director Curtis Foltz.

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Rent a bike just like a Zipcar: Atlanta to close deal on bike-share program

by David Pendered

The centerpiece of Atlanta’s plan to start its first bike-share program is slated to be approved Monday by the Atlanta City Council. Bikes are to be rolling within a year.

The plan is for a private vendor to provide at least 500 rental bikes for use during a five-year contract. The two start-up areas are in Buckhead and Midtown/Downtown Atlanta, according to the legislation. Rental prices have not been released.

Atlanta is requiring each bike to be equipped with an array of comfort and safety features: At least seven gears, fenders, chain guards, luggage basket or rack, and a self-generating headlight. Bikes reservations will be handled via the Internet.

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New life for talks about transportation funding, but no quick fixes in sight

by David Pendered

The air in Atlanta and Washington suddenly seems filled with talk about creative methods of financing to pay for repairs to roads, bridges, sidewalks and other so-called transportation infrastructure.

At the state Capitol this week, a new consortium announced it was backing a revision of the TSPLOST approach to upgrading transportation. Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, in his inaugural address this month, cited his plans to ask voters in 2015 to approve borrowing up to $250 million for infrastructure improvements.

President Obama, during his State of the Union address on Tuesday, called on Congress to approve new funding for roads and ports by this summer. On Jan. 16, a bill to create an infrastructure bank was submitted in the Senate by a bipartisan group. A similar proposal was filed in November in the Senate.

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Good news for icy metro roads: Savannah port closed, reducing number of trucks in Atlanta area

by David Pendered

The Savannah port was closed Wednesday, which provided one saving grace for metro Atlanta’s weather-clogged roads.

“Any truck traffic that would have been moving from the port to the city of Atlanta was eliminated or reduced significantly,” said ports authority spokesman Robert Morris.

Gov. Nathan Deal said Wednesday that jack-knifed tractor-trailer rigs on metro Atlanta roads had contributed to the region’s paralysis after wintry weather shut many roads Tuesday afternoon. A significant proportion of trucks in the region are headed to or from the Savannah port.

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Atlanta council slows plan to reroute MLK for reported VIP parking lot at south side of Falcons stadium

by David Pendered

A committee of the Atlanta City Council tapped the brakes Tuesday on what had been a fast-moving proposal to allow Martin Luther King Jr. Drive to be rerouted in a way that’s said to provide for VIP parking at the new Falcons stadium.

Instead of fast-tracking the proposal, Utilities Committee Chairperson Natalyn Mosby Archibong won support for her suggestion that the committee convene a work session on topics involving the MLK Drive corridor. The impact of such a delay on the stadium project is unclear, but some reports suggest the stadium design is not so far along that it couldn’t be changed if MLK Drive is to be left intact.

Hans Utz, Mayor Kasim Reed’s deputy COO, told the committee that concerns about the proposal are premature until after Atlanta has agreed to abandon land to facilitate the stadium. Meanwhile, the city’s control over six parcels of land is said to be the last bit of leverage Atlanta has over the stadium project.

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VIP parking at Falcons stadium to require big changes in MLK Drive

by David Pendered

A planned VIP parking lot at the future Falcons stadium will require a virtual dead end of Martin Luther King Jr. Drive at the stadium, and will affect the road’s ability to become the grand boulevard envisioned by Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed.

[Scroll down the story to see a gallery of photos of the Martin Luther King Jr. Drive corridor.]

The first public discussion of this proposal is scheduled Tuesday morning during the Atlanta City Council’s Utilities Committee.

The Falcons contend fans will benefit from VIP parking and related traffic management plan that will enhance their game-day experience. Others disagree.

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Brazil, a dynamic business partner, site of Reed’s next trade mission

by David Pendered

Brazil is one of Georgia’s leading trade partners, and Mayor Kasim Reed intends to strengthen relations during a trade mission he’s to lead there in April. Reed is just wrapping up his trip to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Metro Atlanta’s connection to Brazil is closer than might be expected, if the only consideration were the 4,600 flight miles or so that separate Atlanta from the capitol, Sao Paulo. An air router showed this distance is about 400 miles more than the mileage between Atlanta and London.

In terms of trade through Georgia’s seaports, Brazil is the state’s eighth largest export market and the 15th largest source of imports, according to the U.S. Census. A UGA study showed in 2012 that more than 156,000 jobs in metro Atlanta are tied to Georgia’s ports.

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DeKalb County’s interim CEO outlines plan to restore pride, performance

by David Pendered

DeKalb County interim CEO Lee May delivered a State of the County Address Thursday in which he promised a bright future while acknowledging his temporary seat in the county’s top office.

May named problems and proposed solutions. He portrayed his office and the Board of Commissioners as working together, rather than feuding. He said DeKalb’s young people will benefit from a new Office of Youth Services and a functioning school superintendent and board of education.

May took the stage around 8 p.m. and introduced his wife and mother of his two, soon to be three, children, Robin May. Quickly, the faith leader reached into the Old Testament to open his address with the biblical figure Nehamiah rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem – a task May likened to the rebuilding of DeKalb after CEO Burrell Ellis was indicted last year on felony charges of public corruption.

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TSPLOST rejection hasn’t dampened demand for GDOT road repair funds

by David Pendered

Metro Atlanta has not forfeited many state funds to maintain local roads, despite the higher local match that results from voter rejection of the transportation sales tax in 2012, according to an analysis of figures in a new state report.

The figures seem to alleviate concerns that routine road maintenance could suffer because of penalties built into the state law that allowed for the transportation sales tax referendum. GDOT expects to release the new report shortly.

The 10-county region has drawn down $30.3 million from the Georgia Department of Transportation. Eight local governments did not meet the filing deadline and tentatively have left a total of $430,203 in GDOT coffers – money that probably will be distributed elsewhere on a needs basis.

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King’s final frontier: Georgia losing war on poverty, GBPI study calls for new policies to mitigate poverty

by David Pendered

A new report shows poverty is expanding in Georgia, a grim reminder of the final frontier Martin Luther King, Jr. had identified before his death.

The Georgia Budget and Policy Institute found that Georgia residents now comprise the sixth poorest population in the nation. Georgia’s poverty rate is at its highest since 1982. Some 1.8 million Georgians live in poverty – more than 19 percent of the state’s population.

King had announced his Poor People’s Campaign five months before his assassination in April 1968. Five weeks after the shooting, the campaign built an encampment on the National Mall in Washington to house demonstrators for six weeks. Robert Kennedy’s funeral procession passed through Resurrection City in a show of respect, according to Stanford University’s King research institute.

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Transit website proposal addresses one component of King legacy

by David Pendered

A bipartisan group has formed to promote state legislation that urges metro Atlanta’s transit agencies to establish a single website that would make it easier for passengers to plan and pay for trips.

State Sen. Brandon Beach (R-Alpharetta) sponsored Senate Resolution 735. Co-signers include Sen. Jason Carter (D-Decatur), Sen. Vincent Fort (D-Atlanta), Sen. Fran Millar (R-Dunwoody), and Sen. Steve Gooch (R-Dahlonega). The Senate Transportation Committee could take it up as early as Wednesday.

The legislation is relevant as the nation pauses to honor the Martin Luther King, Jr. national holiday. By making it easier to plan and pay for a transit trip, the site may enable people to take a job a distance from their home. Jobs were the subject of a poverty initiative King launched shortly before his death.

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Coke invests $2.1 million in Brazil’s social programs after behest of Atlanta human rights advocates

by David Pendered

Coca-Cola Brazil and the Coca-Cola Foundation have agreed to invest $2.1 million in a variety of programs in Brazil that intend to expand opportunities for African-Brazilians.

The investment in Latin America’s largest economy was announced a week before Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed is to co-host a delegation of IT companies from Brazil, on Jan. 21. The mayor is to lead a trade delegation to Brazil in April.

Coke’s investment stems from an effort started in Atlanta by veteran advocate Joe Beasley. In August, Beasley led a call for the company to extend Coke’s social responsibility practices to Afro-descendants in Brazil.

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Georgia’s economy growing, but barely, according to Gov. Deal’s budget proposal for FY 2015

by David Pendered

If any proof is needed that Georgia’s economy hasn’t turned the corner, it’s evident in Gov. Nathan Deal’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2015, which begins July 1.

Deal predicts the state’s revenue will grow by 2.9 percent in FY 2015, compared to the rate of almost 3.6 percent Deal forecast for FY 2014, according to an analysis of figures in Deal’s budget proposal.

In addition, Deal’s FY 2015 budget proposal would borrow just 7 percent more money than proposed in last year’s budget. Still, even with the increase, the amount is 16 percent less than the sum that was proposed in the FY 2007 budget.

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Another historically black university in Georgia faces weak finances, negative credit rating from Moody’s

by David Pendered

Another historically black university in Georgia has been dinged by a credit rating agency that reported the school had just 20 days of cash on hand on June 30, 2013 and now faces a $2 million shortfall.

Fort Valley State University received a negative outlook from Moody’s Investors Services in a rating action dated Dec. 18. The rating came despite Fort Valley’s affiliation with the University System of Georgia, a relation that has helped Fort Valley in the past.

In July 2012, the affiliation helped Fort Valley achieve an investment grade rating of A3 on bonds sold to finance student housing. In December 2013, Moody’s affirmed its previous decision to lower the bond rating from investment grade to Baa1, a medium investment grade with some speculative risk.

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Rights center to ‘take on the unexpected’ issues of the day, such as Sochi workers, African violence

by David Pendered

Metro Atlanta hasn’t paid much attention to two global cases of alleged human rights violations, and yet they are good examples of the flexibility Atlanta’s National Center for Civil and Human Rights intends to bring to the raising of public awareness.

Allegations of abuse of construction workers preparing for the Sochi Winter Olympic Games have grown over the years. Violence in the Central African Republic has escalated just in the past month. The center’s curators would have ample time to prepare a Sochi program and would have to be nimble in the case of the CAR.

The center expects to meet both types of programming challenges, CEO Doug Shipman said Monday.

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Atlanta’s sewers releasing rising amounts of hazards into waterways, city says repairs may cost $40 million

by David Pendered

Fecal bacteria and residual chlorine flow at “problematic” levels from Atlanta’s sewer system into waterways and the repair bill could hit $40 million, according to new legislation to be discussed this week by a committee of the Atlanta City Council.

An additional $11 million expense is looming for sewer-related upgrades planned near Turner Field, according to another new proposal. This project results from Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed’s promise to residents of the Peoplestown neighborhood to improve the area following the 2011 flooding within and around the community.

The two items illustrate the reality that despite Reed’s vow during his Jan. 6 inaugural address to champion from $150 million to $250 million in new spending on roads, sidewalks, parks and other above-ground improvements during his second term, the city’s sewer system continues to demand significant amounts of money and attention.

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