Champion Home

GM plant redevelopment plan collapses in Doraville

An Orlando company’s plans to redevelop the shuttered General Motors plant in Doraville into a thriving retail park fell through Monday night, city officials said.

New Broad Street, a well-known development company, contacted Doraville officials and told them GM had not granted the company an extension on a June 1 deadline to finalize its purchase of the 165-acre site that has been vacant since September 2008.

The county was considering a plan to jumpstart the massive, mixed-use redevelopment by issuing more than $30 million in tax-free bonds, paid back with taxpayer dollars through a property or sales tax increase. The city also could have been on the hook for as much as $10 million – about as much as the city’s yearly budget.

“I think it’s just a bad time right now to be asking jurisdictions for money,” said Luke Howe, assistant to city Mayor Ray Jenkins. “Just like the county, the city is financially strapped.”

The city had been scheduled to meet with New Broad Street to discuss details of the projects financing, but that meeting was canceled, he said. The developer has money invested in the project and intends to continue pursuing it, he said. New Broad Street officials, however, did not immediately return a call for comment.


Comments (1)

Jerry Myer Jackson Jr.
Said this on 7/14/10 At 05:50 pm
This site has many huge issues to overcome ~ Traffic at The GM plant during Shift Change alone was a problem. 285, The Perimiter Hwy that borders this property to the North Can Not Be Moved. Buford Hwy and Peachtree Industrial are jammed 4-6 hours a day now. How will Perimiter Mall be Impacted ? And have I mentioned the Economy ? Begin in Downtown Atlanta ~ Large Office Buildings have Foreclosed ~ Many Vacancies. Buckhead, A Five Square Block of Nothing Going Up. Then BrookHaven, Busted Developer ~ Broken Dreams and as we continue on to The GM Land our CEO Burrell Ellis seeks to Burden the Citizens of DeKalb with 36 Million Dollars of Risky Developement when Not Even The Developer can afford the project. Oh No ! We Think Not ! Let the "Dead Dog" lay a little while longer !

New comments are currently disabled.


Email Newsletter icon, E-mail Newsletter icon, Email List icon, E-mail List icon Sign up for News Alerts