The Atlanta BeltLine announced Thursday that it has secured $300 million in local, federal, and philanthropic funds to complete the trail by 2030.
The funding will be used for real estate acquisition, design, and construction of the 22-mile paved multi-use trail.
In a statement posted on its website, BeltLine officials said the $300 million mark was crossed less than one year after the Atlanta City Council, approved legislation creating a Special Service District (SSD) to tax commercial properties and apartment complexes along the BeltLine.
Bonds financed by the SSD along with the additional tax will generate a total of $100 million.
“Passage of the SSD and the subsequent funding it has unlocked are critical to keeping the overall BeltLine project on track,” Atlanta BeltLine Inc. (ABI) CEO Clyde Higgs said in the statement. “They provide the financial certainty we need to proceed aggressively with trail implementation and allow us to use TAD funds to advance the full BeltLine vision, including affordable housing, transit, parks, art, and equitable economic development.”
Atlanta BeltLine Partnership (ABP) also secured an $80 million contribution from The Robert W. Woodruff Foundation to help fund the completion of the trail and the Legacy Resident Retention Program, which mitigates displacement by assisting homeowners with property tax increases through 2030.
In November, the City of Atlanta and ABI also received a $16.46 million federal grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation for construction of the Southside Trail.
In accordance with ABI’s equity and inclusion priorities, the passage of the SSD enables up to $45 million in additional affordable housing funds, up to $12 million in additional small business support, and up to $150 million in construction and design funds targeted towards minority-owned contractors.
Completion of the trail corridor is expected to deliver a total economic impact of $10 billion and approximately 50,000 permanent jobs for the City of Atlanta.
Officials said an additional $50 million is needed by 2030 to fully complete the corridor and they would be working to secure the remaining funds from local, federal, and philanthropic resources.