Posted Sep 10, 2020, 12:53 PM
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Join Date: Apr 2019
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Microsoft planning major initiative on Atlanta's Westside
Quote:
Microsoft Corp. is close to announcing a major expansion by Atlanta’s Bellwood Quarry that could bring jobs, investment and housing to underserved Westside neighborhoods, according to sources familiar with the initiative.
A real estate affiliate of Microsoft is said to be the buyer of Quarry Yards, a pivotal development site on the edge of the Bellwood Quarry that could transform Grove Park, one of the city's poorest neighborhoods, according to multiple sources. The new Microsoft initiative may also be interwoven with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the sources said. The foundation is a philanthropic giant in health care, education and reducing poverty.
The announcement could come days after the 70-acre Quarry Yards sold for almost $127 million to a recently formed real estate company. Quarry Yards was being developed by a group led by former Georgia Tech star and Atlanta Braves player Mark Teixeira.
The $400 million first phase was slated to rise next to the Bellwood Quarry and Westside Park, set to become Atlanta’s largest greenspace.
Microsoft responded to an email from Atlanta Business Chronicle seeking information about the potential expansion, saying the company “has nothing to share here.”
Teixeira also declined comment about Microsoft's potential interest in Quarry Yards. However, earlier this week he said, "It’s the buyer’s desire to stay private. It’s an end user that will be great for the city.”
Quarry Yards and other new developments heightened concerns about the equitable revitalization of Grove Park, a working class Black neighborhood that has seen decades of disinvestment.
The project would have added office space, restaurants and hotel rooms in walking distance of the Bankhead MARTA station. The Atlanta Beltline, one of the country’s largest urban redevelopment efforts, will also one day weave through the area, connecting Westside Park and Proctor Creek Greenway.
Debra Edelson, executive director of the Grove Park Foundation, said residents want the new owner of Quarry Yards to involve the neighborhood in a discussion about its future.
“If they are interested in creating community, they have 70 acres — they can do just about anything they want,” she told the Chronicle. “Could they bring in a supermarket? A pharmacy? A bank? The needs are endless.”
Earlier this year Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms ordered a moratorium on issuing new construction permits near Westside Park, citing the need "to address rapid gentrification occurring in the area."
That moratorium was recently extended, Edelson said.
Earlier this summer, Microsoft announced a 1,500-job expansion in Midtown’s Atlantic Station. Shortly after that announcement, Rachel Sanders, Microsoft’s diversity and inclusion program manager, wrote this about Atlanta:
“Atlanta advances Microsoft’s mission to empower every person and organization on the planet to achieve more. Leaders of the Atlanta expansion aren’t simply investing in office space. They have plans to forge deep and enduring relationships with local HBCUs and to help members of underserved communities build digital skills and prepare for technical careers.”
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