Staff seeks approval to extend the Enterprise Zones on Pennsylvania Avenue and Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd/ Montgomery Street for an additional ten years. The incentive program offers a property tax abatement and development fee waivers for qualifying projects that significantly improve vacant or underdeveloped property and/or create jobs in the target corridor. Since their creation ten years ago, both incentive zones have played a vital role in the revitalization and development of these critical corridors. On Pennsylvania Avenue, over 500 affordable housing units have been completed and another 100 are under construction as part of Savannah Gardens. In the Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd./Montgomery Street Enterprise Zone, there has been dramatic private investment in residential and retail space, with more projects currently in the development stage.

The original ten-year period of both Enterprise Zones expired in the past several months, but the state statute allows municipalities to extend the term of zones by an additional ten years, if the corridors still qualify. Despite significant improvement, both corridors still present opportunities for revitalization, additional housing and commercial activity. A thorough staff review following the Georgia Department of Community Affairs guidelines has determined that both corridors still qualify for the program and can therefore be extended through a Council resolution. If approved, the extension of both zones would continue the momentum created in recent years and help bring these target corridors to their full potential.

Approval