Fresh Loaf

1. Atlantans mourn Frank Mullen (Beloved music photographer succumbs to cancer.)

2. Beltline CEO Terri Montague stepping down from project (A surprising move from the woman who’d been heading one of the largest public-works projects in recent Atlanta history.)

3. Ga. governor candidate John Oxendine loves ‘Confederate gray’ (Twittering candidate gives us a little too much information about his decorating taste.)

4. Beltline’s affordable housing program starts up despite shakeup, economy (Efforts are afoot to make sure us regular people can afford Beltline-proximate property.)

5. Craigslist dropping ‘erotic services’ category (Alt-weeklies rejoice! We’ve beat out Craigslist for smut ads.)

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Atlanta Beltline Inc. President and CEO Terri Montague told CL Tuesday that no cloakroom antics were behind her announcement that she’ll leave the ambitious public-works project on September 1. Simply put, she says: Now’s a good time for her to find another challenge and ensure the $2.8 billion project doesn’t lose momentum.

“This is about a transition in leadership,” Montague said at last night’s Beltline Quarterly Briefing at the Atlanta Public Schools auditorium. “Now is better than later to think about how that looks like, who that person is, and what’s best for the next stage of [the project's development]…In the grand scheme of things, now is a good time to make that change.”

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Atlanta Beltline Inc. President and CEO Terri Montague says she’ll depart the agency tasked with designing the 22-mile loop of parks, trails and transit on Sept. 1.

“It has been my privilege to serve the City and the BeltLine team in this capacity and to help the project achieve its early milestones and momentum over these nearly three years,” Montague said in a press release. “BeltLine implementation has come a very long way in a very short time—thanks in part to the project’s many partners and supporters.”

Montague joined the Beltline in July 2006. ABI says she’ll assist the organization in a consulting capacity until the end of the year to help with her successor’s transition.

More to come. The full press release is after the jump.

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RAIL RALLY Beltline supporters say Amtrak, GDOT's plans jeopardize Beltline

When it comes to the future of public transit in Atlanta, there’s good news and there’s bad news.

The good news: After decades of bowing at the throne of roadbuilders, the Georgia Department of Transportation says it’s finally taking off the kneepads and getting serious about train service that would connect Atlanta to other cities in the Southeast.

The bad news: Thanks to an unexpected tiff between GDOT and city of Atlanta officials, the Beltline — the transformative 22-mile loop of parks, trails and transit that would one day circle the city — might be in jeopardy. That’s because the train service that GDOT is suddenly embracing would have to run on or near the proposed Beltline tracks. What’s more, Piedmont Park, the city’s most iconic greenspace, might have to be severed by a heavy-rail route in order to accommodate GDOT’s vision.

Last week, CL first reported that GDOT — working in tandem with Amtrak — threw a wrench in Beltline officials’ plans for light-rail, trails and additional green space near Piedmont Park. Just as Norfolk Southern, the current owner of the tracks in question, was about to surrender them to the city, GDOT and Amtrak stepped in and halted the proceedings. Those two agencies now say the tracks in dispute are vital to their own vision for commuter rail.

“Simply put, because of GDOT’s boorish behavior and AMTRAK’s willingness to play along, the future of the city of Atlanta is at stake,” Mayor Shirley Franklin wrote in an urgent letter to U.S. Congressman John Lewis to seek his assistance.

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Transit Implementation Board Chairman Eldrin Bell was not about to let that agency’s inaugural meeting today turn into a boxing match between the City of Atlanta and the Georgia Department of Transportation.

Much to the disappointment — or relief? — of those involved, Bell didn’t allow the two sides to argue whether light-rail or heavy-rail should run along several miles of unused railroad tracks near Piedmont Park. GDOT and AMTRAK argue that the tracks are the only viable options if transit advocates want to see commuter rail and a long-planned downtown terminal. Officials for the Beltline, the planned 22-mile loop of parks, trails and transit, say there are alternatives and that commuter rail drastically alters the design that planners, neighborhoods and developers have crafted for the area.

Bell said he’s hesitant to discuss the Beltline’s future unless all the stakeholders were in the room.

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Congratulations, fellow citizen! If things go according to plan, come Friday at 10 a.m. you’ll be a co-owner of 66 acres of prime property in Northeast Atlanta.

The Atlanta City Council today approved 9-1 the issuance of $64.5 million of Beltline TAD bonds. Councilmember Felicia Moore was the lone vote against the deal.

Atlanta Beltline Inc. Finance Director Richard Lutch says the project will meet the Oct. 31 deadline set by Gwinnett County developer Wayne Mason and settle the $45 million debt Mason is owed for property near Piedmont Park.

Beltline leaders will also use $3.5 million of the bond funds to buy out the remaining stake in the property held by Barry Real Estate and Ben Rainey, its private partners in a joint venture that was created to purchase the land from Mason late last year. Beltline leaders must then must transfer the property to the Atlanta Development Authority. (The land must be owned by a public agency to meet tax-exempt bond regulations.)

After the vote, Tax Allocation District Advisory Committee Chair Eugene Bowens, Sr. said that the citizens’ group — while supportive of the deal — still feels it’s not being involved enough in how funds from the TAD bonds are used. By law, the committee is charged with ensuring those public funds are spent in a “fair and equitable manner.” Numerous times in the past — most notably when Beltline leaders decided to spend a large chunk of funds to pay off the Mason property in affluent Northeast Atlanta — the committee has said they have been kept out of the loop. He said TADAC members were only notified of today’s bond deal at a meeting last night with Beltline leaders.

This development raises many questions, such as what direction the project takes now and where it will focus its energy, how the city plans to act on property that it must rezone if it plans to sell, and how future allocations and deals will be handled. Feel free to chime in below if you have any thoughts.

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If Atlanta City Council gives them the OK, bonds set to be issued this week to pay for Beltline projects will be worth $64.5 million — a much lower amount than the $117 million initially anticipated before bond markets ground to a halt because of Wall Street’s meltdown.

Atlanta Beltline Inc. CEO Terri Montague says more bonds will be issued in mid-2009. The tax-exempt bonds will be split in half and sold to Wachovia and Suntrust with a 6.2 percent interest rate. She says the reason the offering is much smaller is because debts — most notably, the Wayne Mason property in the 22-mile project’s northeast quadrant — must be paid. Additional bonds are planned to be issued in in mid-2009. Montague says the affordable housing component will receive roughly $8.5 8.8 million.

Beltline leaders will also have to buy out Ben Rainey and Barry Real Estate, its private partners in a joint venture that purchased the 66-acre Mason property, to meet regulations established for tax-exempt bonds. Montague says the two partners agreed to settle for $3.5 million — they originally wanted $10 million.

Beltline officials appear before Atlanta City Council at 3:30 p.m. to seek its approval before proceeding with the deal. Should City Council fail to approve the bond offering, the city would lose both the property and $26 million its already paid to the Masons.

Should voters approve Amendment 2 on the General Election ballot, Montague says, the next Beltline TAD bond offering could potentially be much larger.

More updates to come.

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One of the Beltline’s goals is that all Atlantans — regardless of income — will be able to enjoy the 22-mile ring of parks, trails and transit. Last week, the Atlanta Development Authority approved a set of recommendations that could help make that happen.

Andy Schneggenburger, executive director the Atlanta Housing Association of Neighborhood-based Developers and a member of the advisory board that wrote the recommendations, says the authority decided to offer incentives to developers who include community land trusts and energy efficiencies in their projects, as well as those who give city residents, Beltline-area residents and public-service employees first dibs. Developments that offer 10 percent of new housing units at rents affordable to Atlantans making less than $20,760 would win extra points in competing for Beltline grants.

Beltline leaders will vote on the recommendations this week before sending them to City Council.

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Terri Montague looked disappointed.

The CEO of Atlanta Beltline Inc., the nonprofit agency tasked with planning and building the 22-mile project, stood before the Atlanta City Council’s finance committee on Wednesday to present how the group planned to spend an estimated $117 million that was to be generated from the first round of TAD bonds. Councilmember Felicia Moore asked Montague what was the rush — council was about to go on recess and the Beltline has until Oct. 31 to settle an outstanding debt for a key piece of property near Piedmont Park. Moore was planning on tabling the item, she said.

What’s the rush? Well, to put it simply, Beltline leaders are against the slow-moving bureaucracy that is modern-day government. Council returns from its summer sojourn in mid-August and the Beltline has investors coming to scope out the project the following week. Montague said the investors need to have a sense that the city is truly committed to the project. It needs the money.

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A Beltline advisory committee charged with ensuring the 22-mile project sticks to its vision of connecting Atlanta in an equitable manner told Beltline leaders the project should not spend a large chunk of its first allocation of funds on a vital piece of property that runs along Piedmont Park.

In a polite-yet-firm letter addressed to Atlanta Beltline Inc. CEO Terri Montague, Eugene Bowens, Sr., chair of the independent advisory committee, said the group could not agree with what’s looking to be a necessary move — use more than half estimated $122 million that will become available later in the year to pay off loans and debt for the land.

“TADAC is deeply concerned that using such a large portion of the bond proceeds in this way and for the Northeast quadrant alone is not equitable or appropriate and that other key BeltLine projects will be limited or deferred altogether,” Bowens says. “While TADAC acknowledges ABI’s need to be responsive to the dynamic and often unanticipated demands of the market, TADAC’s understanding of and limited involvement in the decision-making leading up to the transaction, together with the other concerns that are raised in this letter, prevent us from supporting the transaction (and its subsequent refinancing).”

The committee advises Beltline leaders to try to alter the financing deal, reduce funding for the northeast section of the Beltline that encompasses the property, and dedicate future sales of land to other parts of the Beltline.

The property is owned by Gwinnett County developer Wayne Mason and his son, Keith. ABI and Barry Real Estate entered a joint agreement to purchase the land after a prior deal with the father and son ended in the two walking away frustrated by the city.

The issue strikes at the core of the Beltline — using an ambitious project to not only connect all 45 neighborhoods along it, but also attempt to right past wrongs and revitalize areas of the city that have long languished in blight and watched progress blossom elsewhere. It also raises the question currently being debated by Beltline leaders, activists and the city as to what “equity” really means.

Beltline CEO Terri Montague was asked last night how she felt about the letter. She said she had only just received it and was not prepared to comment.

Full letter is pasted after the jump.

For background on the Mason property, click here. A May article explored how this issue would be a touchy one.

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Atlanta Beltline Inc. CEO Terri Montague informed project advocates in a Friday e-mail that several key officials have resigned from the group charged with bringing the 22-mile loop of trails, park and transit to life. Several new members have joined the team, as well.

Learned from the e-mail:

• Tina Arbes, ABI’s Chief Operating Officer, has resigned. She’s overseen all activities related to Beltline foundational planning and the initiation of park and trail development. Arbes will remain on staff for up to six months as ABI searches for a new COO, but will remain in her position through August 31.

• Roland Young, the Beltline Citizen Participation Advocate, resigned on May 9. He’ll continue in his role until May 31. Rukiya Eaddy, a recent addition to the Citizen Participation Team — and who shared responsibility with Young for staffing the Beltline advisory committees and initiating public interaction about the project, will pick up some of the responsibilities until the team hires his replacement.

• If you’ve taken one of the Beltline tours, you’re familiar with Heather Hussey Coker — she was the young lady who led the shuttle-bus trips around the project every Friday and Saturday morning. She joins the team for the summer and will support ABI’s citizen engagement and policy efforts.

• Matthew Dickison, a planner who was ubiquitous at master-planning meetings, resigned from his position as senior urban planner with the City’s Bureau of Planning, effective May 30th. Dickison was the lead project manager for the Boulevard Crossing and Heritage Communities in South Atlanta — the Grant Park and Southwest Atlanta areas, essentially. Jonathan Lewis and James Alexander, respectively, will assume Matthew’s master planning responsibilities for those locations. Beltline officials start the search for Dickison’s replacement in June.

• Lee Harrop joined ABI as the program management office (PMO) Manager. In this capacity, he’ll develop and manage project tracking and issue identification processes and resources for all Beltline projects. The PMO serves as ‘data central’ project tracking for the individual Beltline sub-projects, Montague says in her e-mail. Harrop will also help coordinate among ABI, city departments and other project partners.

• Suzette Brading is a contract consultant who is helping the project team fill the open positions of design director, citizen participation advocate, director of government relations, communications manager, project manager and other key positions. Project supporters have been rallying for a design director to ensure the Beltline is a complete vision with a natural flow — he or she will be responsible for crafting art out of infrastructure. In other spheres, the “director of government relations” position usually translates to “lobbyist.”

(Graphic courtesy of City of Atlanta)

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