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Economic development director: downtown grants, supermarket talks and brownfield remediation moving forward
Summary
East Point’s economic-development director briefed council on facade grant awards, the Commons brownfield remediation, supermarket recruitment and film productions; staff said selected facade-award contracts will be sent to recipients and that redevelopment and brownfield work are active.
City economic-development director Melvin Rogers told the council Aug. 11 the department is advancing a set of downtown programs, brownfield remediation and business recruitment initiatives it says are designed to support job creation and renewed investment.
Rogers said the city received 87 applications for a façade grant program and selected 31 awardees; the city has notified awardees of the grant amounts and will send contracts to awardees this week for signature before work begins. He said the program awards funds by ward — a formula was used to ensure distribution across Wards A through D and a special downtown allocation.
Rogers also gave an update on the Downtown Commons brownfield site: the city has completed phase 1–3 assessments, signed a contract with Atlas Technical Consulting to continue remediation work and plans a tank excavation on the remaining parcel. He said the city has used federal brownfield assessment grants and other state programs to fund remediation work on multiple properties, and that which parcels require further cleanup varies by site.
On groceries, Rogers said the city is pursuing supermarket prospects. He said he met with representatives of Nourish & Bloom and expects a follow-up visit; he also said the city has a meeting with Publix property acquisition staff later this month. The director called the supermarket talks “fresh developments” and said they were moving quickly.
Rogers said airport-adjacent industries — logistics, warehousing, hospitality, food services and maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) for aerospace — continue to be demand drivers for East Point because of proximity to Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport. He also recapped film and TV production activity in the city and said East Point has hosted several productions this year and rented municipal facilities and parking for location shoots.
Rogers said the city obtained $348,000 through a REBA grant tied to job creation, and that the city’s development authority and tax-incentive tools help make recruitment competitive. He said implementation of the recently adopted 10-year economic development strategy now begins with a mix of short-term actions and longer-term projects.
Councilmembers asked for a ward-by-ward list of façade awardees and for digital analytics that show foot traffic and vendor participation at city events such as the farmers market and Eats & Beats. Rogers said the department will acquire a Placer.ai subscription for in-house foot-traffic analytics and will provide the ward breakdown and vendor details to council.
