Atlanta BeltLine Inc. recently hired Cincar Consulting Group (C2G) to create an updated plan that will lay out the steps needed to complete the 22-mile multi-use trail loop by 2030.
The updated “strategic implementation plan” is a comprehensive work plan that includes completing trails, transit preparedness, parks, affordable housing, economic development, public art and historic preservation. The first strategic implementation plan was done in 2013.
In the next two years, more than 80% of the BeltLine loop is expected to be completed or under construction with the final 20 percent in design, according to ABI. The new strategic implementation plan “will chart a course” to the BeltLine’s completion by the sunset of its Tax Allocation District at the end of 2030, ABI said.
“Over the last few years, we have accelerated our work across every facet of the project, including funding to advance design and construction, affordable housing, and economic development,” said Clyde Higgs, president and CEO of Atlanta BeltLine, Inc., in a news release announcing the hiring of C2G for the new strategic implementation plan.
“We are excited to bring on C2G as a partner to provide consultation on the remainder of the Atlanta BeltLine projects and programs as the team delivers this legacy mobility project for the city of Atlanta,” Higgs said.
The BeltLine TAD was adopted by the Atlanta City Council in 2005 to last 25 years and is one of the project’s primary funding sources. Last year, the council approved a new “special services district” after it was revealed the Beltline TAD faced a $1 billion shortfall. The BeltLine TAD 2021 report is available here.
C2G has worked for the BeltLine before with project management services. With the strategic implementation plan, the company will work with ABI staff to collaborate with neighborhoods surrounding the Atlanta BeltLine to refine remaining projects, their timing, sequencing and economic scenarios, “with consistent consideration to equity and community benefits,” according to ABI.
The Atlanta BeltLine is a 22-mile multi-use loop running along mostly abandoned railroad tracks around the city’s core. It will eventually connect 45 neighborhoods and is one of the country’s largest urban renewal projects.