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DDA authorizes City Center MOUs and tax-abatement structure as project advances
Summary
The Chamblee DDA voted unanimously Nov. 18 to authorize memorandums of understanding for the City Center project—separate MOUs for commercial and residential portions—with 90% tax savings years 1–10 and reduced savings thereafter, subject to final counsel review.
The Downtown Development Authority on Nov. 18 authorized memorandums of understanding for the City Center project, approving separate MOUs for the retail/commercial and residential portions while reserving the chair's authority to finalize wording with counsel.
Chair (who opened the meeting) said the MOUs "align with the prior agreements with Greystar Vantage" and described the tax incentive structure as a 90% savings for years one through ten and a 70% savings for years 11 through 20, with a 20% payment-in-lieu-of-taxes and a 10% administrative fee. The board voted unanimously to authorize the chair to execute the documents subject to any final changes agreed to in consultation with counsel.
Board members raised procedural concerns about approving MOUs before final counsel review; one member asked whether it was typical to approve abatements before all legal review was complete. The chair said a compressed end-of-year timeline and the DDA's role as a project partner, not a purely regulatory reviewer, had led to the schedule. The board agreed to a special called meeting Monday to keep bond and closing timelines on track.
Next steps: staff will finalize any counsel edits and proceed with the bond validation and closing timetable. The DDA said it expects related bond validation to occur in early December so documents can be validated in court prior to closing.
