Opinion: The Beltline’s accomplishing key milestones

For the Atlanta Beltline, 2022 was one of the most important years in our history. A turning point that sets the stage for huge leaps in 2023 toward completing our shared vision for the most comprehensive economic development project effort ever undertaken in the city of Atlanta.

The Atlanta Beltline is one of the largest, most wide-ranging urban redevelopment programs in the United States.

We’re racing to deliver 22 miles of multi-use trails along a converted former cargo rail line that knits back together intown Atlanta neighborhoods that have been separated by large infrastructure projects like rail lines, freeways and broad avenues. Our deadline is 2030, when the Beltline Tax Allocation District (TAD) will sunset.

Right now, design or construction work is underway in all four quadrants of the Atlanta Beltline, and we expect to have 80 percent of the trails on the 22-mile loop completed or under construction by the end of 2024.

As the season of gratitude is upon us, I want to celebrate these milestones and thank the Atlanta community for all that we’ve achieved so far, and what we’re set to accomplish in 2023 and beyond.

Not only is the trail on its way towards completion, we’re projected to meet, if not exceed, our affordable housing goals and our economic development goals. Along the way, we show Atlanta how this incredible infrastructure project is a force for good in our community.

I thank our Atlanta city leaders - especially Mayor Andre Dickens and our City Council - for their ongoing support. I also thank community leaders, nonprofit, corporate and philanthropic partners, our staff and volunteers for making it possible to celebrate these major milestones.

In the past year, we reached critical milestones and found innovative ways to fill the funding gap needed to complete the trail corridor, invest in affordable housing and create vital community connections.

Every project, big or small, brings us one step closer to building a more socially and economically resilient Atlanta in which all residents, businesses and the broader Beltline community benefit.

For me, the Atlanta Beltline’s goal is to build a “whole community,” one where everyone can find an affordable place to live, get a good job, build a business, access fresh food and go to the doctor, as well as have a great place to run with friends, walk a dog, ride a bike or discover art.

In 2022, here are a few milestones we celebrated:

Investment: Private investment around the corridor topped $8.3 billion of a $10 billion goal. The Atlanta BeltLine has invested $39 million to buy property to create thoughtful and equitable development that spurs affordable housing, job creation and small business growth. In 2021, we tripled our real estate portfolio to 65 acres when we acquired Chappell Road, a 31-acre property in the Bankhead/Historic Westin Heights neighborhood, and Garson Drive, a 3-acre property in Buckhead. Our team is now searching for developers who will ensure long-term affordable housing and provide other community benefits at these locations.
Funding: With an $80 million donation from The Robert W. Woodruff Foundation and a $30 million donation from the James M. Cox Foundation, the Atlanta Beltline Partnership secured the philanthropic fundraising goal needed to complete the main Beltline Corridor.
Affordable housing: We reached 56 percent of our overall goal of 5,600 affordable housing units created or preserved in the TAD by the end of 2030. In fact, we met our 2022 annual goal of 320 housing units in the first four months of the year. Atlanta Beltline Partnership’s Legacy Resident Retention Program helped nearly 100 Beltline residents pay property tax increases to mitigate displacement threats. Inclusionary zoning is also helping create more affordable housing.
Entrepreneurship and commercial affordability: We launched the Atlanta Beltline MarketPlace with custom-built retail containers in two locations on the Beltline to address commercial affordability. Now, six minority business enterprises are in these containers with hopes to grow as they get business coaching from our partner The Village Market.
A top destination: We continue to welcome more than 2 million annual visitors to the Beltline, using it for recreation, transportation and tourism. The Beltline has quickly become one of the city’s top attractions and a key connecting point for our communities. MailChimp is opening a new headquarters on the Eastside Trail and reports that 30 percent of its workforce commutes to work on the Beltline. We celebrated the ribbon cutting of a new segment of the Westside Trail with our long-term partners, PATH Foundation and Atlanta Beltline Partnership and identified the best options for the Northwest Trail with our feasibility study.

A note about transit: Our agency supports MARTA as it works on the details of the transit portion of our vision. MARTA announced progress on the Streetcar East project, which will extend the downtown Atlanta streetcar to Ponce de Leon Avenue along the Eastside Trail. Design and engineering reached 30 percent. Transit along the Beltline is a key part of our vision for a more equitable city.

In 2022, we reached a turning point on affordable housing, on sources of funding and on trail building that sets the stage for the Beltline to achieve our collective goals by 2030. We’re excited for what 2023 holds, with our vision stronger than ever: That the Atlanta Beltline is the catalyst for making Atlanta a global beacon for equitable, inclusive and sustainable city life.

Clyde Higgs is President and CEO of Atlanta Beltline, Inc.