The Atlanta Braves and Truist Financial this past week withdrew their application for property tax breaks on a $200 million office tower at The Battery, Cobb County development officials confirmed to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Representatives for the Braves development arm and Truist in April told the Development Authority of Cobb County they would be seeking a 10-year tax abatement to help finance the construction and furnishing of the 250,000-square-foot tower.
The development authority board agreed to consider the financing request, but some board members questioned whether taxpayer assistance was warranted. The Braves and Truist had already announced the project to build a new headquarters for the financial firm’s securities division, and it was not clear how the tax incentives would affect the two companies’ plans.
Nelson Geter, the executive director of the development authority, told the AJC on Friday that no explanation was given when the request was withdrawn. With the tax abatements apparently off the table, Geter said there was no other assistance the DACC could provide on the project.
On a project of this size, the financing package that was initially requested was “the only way we can get engaged,” Geter said.
Representatives for the Braves and Truist could not immediately be reached for comment Saturday.
Today, Truist Securities is headquartered in Buckhead, and company officials told the AJC previously that the 1,000 employees who currently work there would all move to the Cobb office tower when it opens in late 2024.
The financing request drew added scrutiny because when Truist Park was built with $300 million in Cobb taxpayer assistance, Atlanta Braves development officials had promised that they would not seek any tax incentives on the surrounding mixed-used development known as The Battery.
At the April board meeting, Braves development chief Mike Plant told the development authority that the Braves weren’t seeking the tax breaks, Truist was. But the office tower would be built and owned by the Braves at The Battery, then leased to Truist for a 15-year-term.
Project documents name both entities as separate requesters of financing from the development authority.
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