Politics

Atlanta To Take On $13M Risk In Tyler Perry, Fort McPherson Deal

April 21st, 2015

It appears filmmaker Tyler Perry is poised to buy most of Fort McPherson in Southwest Atlanta. To get the deal done, the Atlanta City Council – on the urging of Mayor Kasim Reed – agreed Monday to put up $13 million in taxpayer funds in the event the deal falls through.

The sprawling, 488-acre Army base has been boarded up and unused since 2011. Mayor Reed has tried to finalize a deal since last summer, when a tentative agreement was reached between Perry, the McPherson Implementing Local Redevelopment Authority, and the Army, which still owns the base.

Reed stood before Council and said this was the city’s last chance.

“This deal is getting ready to fall apart because of the amount of time it’s taken to get done,” Reed said.

It’s a complicated deal. If everything goes as planned, Perry will pay $30 million total to MILRA. The authority will buy the land from the Army for $26 million ─ $13 million upfront and $13 million down the road. Perry will get 330 acres, while MILRA, which is mostly controlled by the city, will retain 140 acres and pocket $4 million.

The deal is structured so Perry will pay MILRA $20 million upon closing, which could happen as early as the end of the month. The rest is to be paid by 2018, after the Army completes an environmental clean-up of 22 acres of contaminated land.

If Perry backs out for any reason during the clean-up phase, or the Army fails to complete the clean-up, Atlanta taxpayers will have to pay $13 million to the Army, but the city would then gain ownership of some of the base. Reed says he’s confident it won’t get to that point.

“This is a terrific deal for the city,” Reed said. “It will put about 330 acres back on the city’s property tax rolls which is a huge financial benefit for the city which justifies having the $13 million letter of credit.”

The Council approved the plan 11-1, with the lone “no” vote from Councilwoman Felicia Moore, who complained more time was needed to vet the deal.

Before the vote, Sen. Vincent Fort, D-Atlanta, blasted Reed and the Council for pushing forward a deal that he said lacked transparency and community input.

“This has all been done in secret since last year, and they’re now ramming it through without consideration for the public. These deals shouldn’t be done in backrooms out of the public view,” Fort said.