Liveable Centers Initiative
The City is also involved with the Livable Centers Initiative (LCI) Program, sponsored by the Atlanta Regional Commission. The primary focus of the program is to encourage mass transit-oriented, pedestrian-friendly mixed-income residential development, as well as mixed-use developments and improve the connectivity at the activity and town center level as an alternative to standard suburban or strip type developments. This program awards $5 million over five years with 3 million already awarded for planning studies. Beginning in 2003, 350 million will be available for project and plan implementation. The City, partnered with other organizations, is developing the following Livable Centers plans and proposed implementation strategies:
2000 Designation
West End Station LCI
Study area incorporates the mixed-use community surrounding the West End MARTA rail Station. The area has many opportunities for redevelopment including the Candler warehouse area. The study determines opportunities for transit oriented development (TOD) and other needs in the area to create a more thriving urban community.
Greenbriar Mall LCI
This existing older suburban mall area offers opportunities to transform auto-oriented centers to more transit and pedestrian friendly environment. The plan will be a model for older suburban strip centers or malls throughout the region to determine needs and incentives for redevelopment.
2001 Studies/Designations
Buckhead LCI
The Buckhead Transportation Management Association (TMA) will seek to bring consensus among various community groups and business organizations in the Buckhead area by assembling previous study information and utilizing a visual preference survey. In addition to focusing on LCI goals, issues of connectivity and housing availability in the study area will receive emphasis.
Downtown Atlanta/Old Fourth Ward LCI
This study area includes the corridors along Decatur and Marietta Streets, Auburn Avenue and Edgewood Avenue, as well as three MARTA stations (King Memorial, Georgia State and Five Points). This activity center study will focus on increasing connectivity among lower income neighborhoods, the Downtown employment center and transit stations. In addition, the study will concentrate on infill development and redevelopment opportunities within the study area.
Midtown LCI
Midtown is a 2 square mile high-density corridor with Peachtree Street at is core. Within a 1-mile radius of Midtown’s core, there are over 58,000 employees and 27,000 residents making it among the most dense activity centers in the region. The Midtown study, referred to as Blueprint Midtown, focused on the area from Piedmont Avenue on the east to I-75 on the west and then on the north and south where I-75/85 crosses Peachtree Street. This plan was adopted in 1997 and met all the criteria set forth in the Livable Centers Initiatives. Rather than fund a repetitive planning study, ARC reviewed the planning process and the results and granted Blueprint Midtown grandfathered status.
2002 Studies
This study area is located at the intersection of Marietta Boulevard and Bolton Road It also includes a larger area to ensure that the connectivity between major users and activities within the area is considered. This activity center includes a variety of industrial, commercial and residential developments. The focus of the study is to encourage the expansion and redevelopment of this area into a mixed-use development node. The major components of this proposed activity center include the Moores Mill shopping center and immediate areas as focal point. Study was completed by November 2002.
Hamilton E. Holmes MARTA Station Area LCI
Hamilton E. Holmes MARTA Station is located in southwest Atlanta. The activity center proper is located along Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive, between Linwood Street and HE Holmes Drive. The plan will be to create a mixed-use nodal development around the station. The station is to become a gateway to the neighborhood and business district. Study was completed by November 2002
2003 Studies
JSA-McGill LCI (Downtown)
Central AtlantaProgress and the Atlanta Downtown Improvement District will conduct this study to focus on the east-west corridor in north Downtown Atlanta that includes the planned improvements to the Jones Avenue, Simpson Street and Alexander Street corridor and the Ralph McGill Boulevard corridor. This vital corridor will experience great change with the planned construction of the Georgia Aquarium and adjacent World of Coca-Cola project. The LCI study will recommend best-practice solutions for integrating existing, proposed and future development into the corridor’s physical and social infrastructure. The study will propose creative solutions for linking this growth with the rest of Downtown Atlanta and the area’s roadway and transit facilities. This study will maximize the potential of the Civic Center MARTA station and transform the surrounding community into a true Transit-Oriented Development. East-west circulation, connectivity and compatibility will also be considered from the I-75/85 Downtown Connector west to the proposed Georgia Aquarium and World of Coca-Cola sites.
Other LCI Initiatives
Peachtree Corridor Workforce Housing Study - In 2002, the ARC/LCI program funded a workforce housing study for Downtown, Midtown and Buckhead spearheaded by sister organizations
Central Atlanta Progress, the Buckhead Action Committee and the Midtown Alliance to address the need for affordable “workforce
housing” along the Peachtree corridor from Downtown, through Midtown to Buckhead. The study made recommendations on the mechanisms
that could be used to effectively build housing affordable to many of the employees in these very dense and high land cost
areas.
SMARTAQ (Strategies for Metropolitan Atlanta ‘s Regional Transportation and Air Quality) also focus on LCI’s to find out how LCI
plans have furthered the land use and transportation planning in the study areas and how LCI funded transportation investments
might be evaluated. West End LCI along with Perimeter Center and the City of Marietta LCI’s are the study areas recommended
to perform a detailed review of expected transportation choices and other impacts.
The Greenbriar community along with Norcross and the City of Marietta has been chosen as a pilot community of the Regional Affordable Homeownership Task Force.
The Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) published its recommendations for the 2004 LCI implementation projects. These recommendations are included in the Draft 2003-2005 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP). Greenbriar LCI is recommended to received $ $2.89 Million and West End LCI is recommended to received $1.60 Million to implement its transportation projects. Final recommendation should be approved by Fall 2002