(The following story by David Pendered appeared on The Atlanta Journal-Constitution website on November 16.)
ATLANTA — The Gwinnett County real estate investor who is buying a crucial piece of land along the proposed Belt Line in Atlanta said he is ready to hear development proposals and make quick decisions to get the intown project moving.
“We’ll talk to everybody who’s got an interest,” said Wayne Mason, one of Gwinnett’s most influential power brokers and politicians. “We’ll get it all on the table, see what makes sense and make a decision.”
There’s no shortage of groups with an interest in the proposed Belt Line, especially the 4.6 mile piece Mason is buying from Norfolk Southern for $25 million. He expects to close on the purchase in December.
Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin and other city officials want a transit corridor with pockets of retail, green space and new residences that teachers and office workers can afford. The Trust for Public Land, a well-funded and prominent group, wants a national role model for new urban parks. Many residents along the route just want an easier way to get around their neighborhoods.
But, despite the growing public clamor for the Belt Line concept, Mason’s stretch — from DeKalb Avenue through Piedmont Park to I-85 — is the only piece of the 22-mile rail corridor that is likely to be developed anytime soon.
The Belt Line’s other segments are owned by CSX railroad and two state agencies, all of which have said they’re not interested in selling or providing access to their corridors.
That hurdle hasn’t appeared to derail any momentum. Several groups conducting studies and others seeking public support for the Belt Line will make presentations today during two public meetings at Atlanta City Hall.
Franklin said Mason’s purchase affirms the redevelopment potential of the Belt Line. Franklin and Mason have known each other about five years, mainly through Democratic political activities.
“Wayne Mason is a successful businessman, so his interest in inner city development is a positive,” Franklin said. “The fact that he’s interested in development along the rail line, knowing the city of Atlanta has a keen interest in the Belt Line, that’s just a positive thing and means the area can be redeveloped.”
Tax allocation district
Franklin is so supportive of the Belt Line concept that the city may give it a financial boost and designate it a tax allocation district. The most notable project to receive the benefit is Atlantic Station, the massive redevelopment of a former steel mill west of Midtown.
The designation could permit all the additional property taxes generated by new development along the line to be used to buy land and subsidize development. The biggest bang would come if Fulton County commissioners and the Atlanta school board agree to divert their share of future tax revenues as well.
That support, far from guaranteed, is one of several hurdles facing the project.
“We all know where this could fall apart, and it’s when different quadrants start arguing,” said Stan Harvey, one of the city’s consultants. “This is a political issue and it involves the taxes of three governments.”
The grand vision for a transit ring around the city also could fall apart if only Mason’s piece of the corridor gets developed.
Because of the narrow width of his tract, Mason estimates that only about 15 acres could be developed and the remaining 52 acres could be used for purposes that are yet to be determined.
Some sections of the 22-mile rail corridor are being used for other purposes. CSX is running a freight business that handles 1,400 train cars a day at the Tilford Yard in northwest Atlanta, a site adjacent to the proposed Belt Line. The state’s railroad lines along the Belt Line are either leased to CSX or reserved for future commuter rail service. The commuter routes warrant protection even though funding for commuter rail is nowhere in sight, according to the state Department of Transportation.
Hal Wilson, a top administrator of the Transportation Department’s passenger rail program, is irked that the Belt Line proposal seems to be coming out of the blue at such speed. In his mind, no one seems to be paying attention to the reality of planning an urban utopia in rail corridors that now transport vast tonnage of freight or are reserved for possible passenger trains.
‘Years and years away’
“My frustration with this whole effort is the state’s been working on commuter rail, and now this idea comes along,” Wilson said. “What we want is not incompatible, but no one’s even beginning to address the technical issues. I like all the ‘Rah! Rah!’ about the Belt Line, but it’s years and years away from ever being developed.”
This entire situation puts Mason just where he has put himself during much of his 30-plus years as a real estate investor — a step ahead of the market and the government. Mason snapped up the rail line just as developers were awaiting a green light from the city regarding its support for the Belt Line.
Now companies that want to be part of the first phase of a Belt Line will have to call him. The city must negotiate with him for access for transit and trails. The state will have to reconsider its planned route for Amtrak trains to reach a multimodal station in downtown Atlanta. Its preferred route was the line Mason bought, Wilson said.
Mason said he already has fielded calls from builders on residential and commercial projects they might want to build on his land. He named a few companies, including Novare Group, which almost single-handedly is raising the residential skyline of Peachtree Street.
Mason said development and the formation of transit and parks on his portion of the corridor will be easy. He can act quickly because he does not answer to a board of directors.
“Now they have someone to talk to who can make a decision,” he said.
Mason’s business colleagues said he has the uncanny knack of finding just this kind of niche. One of them is Jim Jacoby, who Mason said changed many negative preconceptions about developing in Atlanta.
Jacoby is the mastermind of Atlantic Station, an award-winning project that is turning an abandoned steel mill just west of Midtown into a cluster of residences, retail and offices. Jacoby pushed Atlantic Station through the economic downturn with help from his main investor and with his own fortune, which he amassed by building for big-box retailers including Wal-Mart.
Jacoby said he developed some strip centers with Mason and is glad Mason is making a big bid in Atlanta.
“Wayne’s one of the visionaries,” Jacoby said. “He’s always shown vision for reusing railroad lines. Wayne also has the financial capacity to take on large projects, and he has the staying power to hold onto it until the development time is right. And it’s nice to deal with someone who can make a decision.”