ATLANTA GEORGIA “LET’S GO DOWNTOWN” BY: STEPHEN BINGHAM BARBARA BOGNER SUZANNE C. FREUND Atlanta - Page 1 of 22 1. Introduction In order to assist the Downtown Denver Partnership conduct a peer cities analysis, an assessment of Atlanta, Georgia was conducted. The assessment began by identifying the area of Atlanta that is considered to be the official ‘downtown.’ Research was done of both qualitative and quantitative data. Quantitative geographic and demographic material required minimal analysis to primarily ensuring that data was complete, current, and applicable to the study area. Qualitative data required a more inferential approach. This analysis compelled an advanced understanding of available information in order to establish a knowledge of the current ‘feel’ of the urban center. Once the data was analyzed, a profile for the downtown was established. This profile focused on the current conditions, opportunities and constraints, past successes and failures, as well as current plans and policies of downtown Atlanta and related agencies. After analyzing data and developing a profile for Atlanta, a similar study needed to be conducted for Denver. Utilizing information provided by the Downtown Denver Partnership or found through individual research, a profile for Denver was established that could be used to conduct a comparative analysis between the two cities’ urban centers. The comparative analysis began by identifying similarities and differences between Atlanta and Denver. After a detailed comparison had been completed, several issues of interest were identified. The first type of issues were policies or trends existing in Atlanta that Denver could learn from and perhaps implement in an effort to mitigate current or potential future problems. The second types were historical approaches or current problems in Atlanta that had negative externalities impacting the downtown. These issues could be realized by Denver, and then avoided in the future or mitigated in the present in an effort to avoid similar problems. The intent of this research and analysis is that it may serve as a learning tool for the Downtown Denver Partnership. By making these conclusions available, policies and approaches towards issues facing the urban core of Denver may be adjusted according the success and/or failures that resulted from using similar planning methodology in Atlanta. Atlanta - Page 2 of 22 “Atlanta gives Georgia a sense of History and Place” 2. Downtown Definition and Characteristics Boundaries and Location Downtown Atlanta is a 2,560 acre area of land that is located in the center of both the city of Atlanta and Fulton County (Exhibit 1-A). The urbanized area of Fulton County appears to radiate uniformly from the downtown, which sits atop a ridge on the south edge of the Chattahoochee River. This area is bounded on four sides by major arterials—North Avenue on the north, Interstate-20 on the south, Boulevard on the East, and North side Drive on the west (Exhibit 1- B). These boundaries were developed using a combination of historical area inclusion and floor area ratio’s (FARs) over 1.0 (Central Atlanta Progress, 2006). Known as the ‘Big Peach’ and ‘Hotlanta,’ Atlanta is the county seat of Fulton County and the capital of the State of Georgia. Historically, the Urban Core of Atlanta owes its success in part to proximity to railroad lines. At present, the Urban has provided the economic base for sprawling suburbs to develop. In fact, downtown Atlanta is at the center of the nation’s ninth largest metropolitan area of 8,376 square miles (Dewan, 2006). As a consequence, Atlanta has one of the longest average daily commutes and is also one of the most automobile dependant cities in the nation—resulting in horrible traffic an air quality issues (Adkins, 2006). Another consequence of the rapidly developing suburbs is the apparent exodus of residents from the downtown area. While the streets are full of commuters during the workday, the downtown appears vacant during nights and on weekends. Atlanta - Page 3 of 22 Characteristics The official downtown is divided into six neighborhood planning units (NPUs): Lightening, Techwood, Bedford Pine, Butler Street, Grant Park, and the Central Business District (Exhibit 1- C) (GIT, 2006). Grant Park is one of Atlanta’s oldest neighborhoods, and is primarily moderate density residential. With strong Victorian style architecture, Grant Park was one of the few neighborhoods not burned during the Civil War (Atlanta.net, 2006). The Butler Street Neighborhood was traditionally the African-American center of commerce, and is home to the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site. The Butler Street neighborhood is a mix of moderated density residential and commercial and boasts a high number of historical Black churches (Atlanta.net, 2006). On the west edge of downtown, the Lightening district was historically the industrial area of Atlanta. Although many of the industrial sites have been redeveloped into stadiums and centers (Phillips Arena, The Georgia Dome), some light industrial uses still exist. The neighborhood of Techwood is a Historic District that was historically federally funded residential. While few historic buildings remain, Techwood has kept the residential use, although the density has increased with several large multifamily units being built in recent years (Techwood Homes, 2006). Bedford-Pine was one of the first neighborhoods to provide rebuilt residential housing. Established in the 1970s, this community has grown to encompass a varied selection of apartments, condos and single-family homes, as well as a commercial center. Bedford-Pine is sometimes referred to as SoNo (Georgia Real Estate, 2006). Atlanta’s CBD is very dense and vertical. With buildings reaching over 1000 feet in height, this office and commercial center of the South has had several additions to the skyline in recent decades. There is a pleasant mix of both historic and newer architectural styles in this area. Atlanta - Page 4 of 22 The Butler Street neighborhood is of particular concern to Atlanta planners. Traditionally the first public housing project in the United State, this community still suffers from externalities stemming from both ineffective public housing practices and a low-income population base. The district was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1976 and has been the focus of constant rehabilitation efforts since 1994. The primary approach to this rehabilitation has been Tax Allocation Districts (TADs), whose effectiveness has yet to be seen. Zoning CBD—The vast majority of the CBD is zoned C4-Central Area Commercial Residential (Exhibit 1-D). This zone accommodates high intensity uses and high density development. The maximum FAR is a staggering 80. There is not height limitation applied to structures, unless they are adjacent to a different zone, whereby they can only be 35 feet higher than the maximum for that zone. For office space, one parking space is required for every 600ft² of space. Any use can be accommodated that is not industrial or warehousing in nature. Lightening—The majority of the lightening district is zoned C4-Central Area Commercial Residential, which is discussed in the above CBD section. The rest of the neighborhood is zoned either I1-Light Industry, or I2-Heavy Industry. The most intensive zone, I2, accommodates heavy manufacturing. The max FAR in this area is 2.0, and requires a 40 foot front setback. Techwood—Other than C4, the only other zone in the Techwood neighborhood is RG-General Residential. This type of zone is broad in the type of residences that are allowed. Ranging from single family homes to multifamily apartments, the FAR and parking requirements depend on building size type. However, there is no building height restriction, and lots must be at least 50 feet wide on the street and 50 feet deep. Bedford Pine, Butler Street, Grant Park—These three neighborhoods have a large number of zones that range from Single Family Residential to Light Commercial. All of these zones allow for moderate density development with a large number of uses, but do not restrict height. (City of Atlanta Ordinance of Codes, 2006) Atlanta - Page 5 of 22 Population The City of Atlanta overlaps portions of the counties of Fulton and Dekalb. In 1990, the US Census reported that the City had lost 17% of its population. However, since 1990 the City of Atlanta’s population has been steadily increasing according to the Bureau of Census. As of April 1, 2000 population was 416,474 persons with the downtown region at 38,785. As shown below the make up of the downtown populous are still predominately of low income and black. However, according to the 2005 Census sampling the white population has increased from 33.2% in 2000 to 36.2% in 2005, whereas the African American population has decreased from 61.4% to 58.6%. The presence of other races since 1990 has been minimal with a change of less then 1% over the past 10 years. However, that seems to be changing. (US Census 2005, CDP, Demographics) The most striking aspect is when the downtown demographics are mapped. The Martin Luther King Jr. Drive/Memorial Drive that runs from the east to west then north-northwest seems to be the demarcation separating the predominate black population to the west, southwest region and the white population just outside of the downtown area to the northeast of the city. Also, when looking at other demographics such as income, head of household and renter vs. owner you can see that although the northeast of the city fairs a bit better, they are still very low in comparison to the rest of Atlanta and the national average. The Downtown region has median income of about $4,000 to $29,000 annually, High school graduates average about 36.2 to 63.3 percent, and renter-occupied homes at 66 to 83%.