In 2017, a $6,500,000 NMTC transaction allocated funds to finance the first phase of the development of a business incubator for small businesses in the Pittsburgh neighborhood of Atlanta. Previously a 31-acre industrial site, the vision of this project is to develop an economic catalyst in an area where living-wage jobs and economic opportunities are scarce.
Phase 1 of this development is set to create a commercial village with a wide variety of locally-owned businesses. Creating a business space and maker hub will fuel entrepreneurship and job creation at a grassroots level. The building also is a community space for various neighborhood functions. In addition to the buildings, Phase 1 of this development includes establishing pedestrian-oriented infrastructure to provide easy access to and from the Pittsburgh neighborhood and the future BeltLine. In 2006, the Annie E. Casey Foundation (AECF) acquired a 31-acre industrial brownfield site from UPS with a vision to develop an economic catalyst in an area where living-wage jobs and economic opportunities are scarce.
The property is located in the Pittsburgh neighborhood of Atlanta and enjoys easy access to interstates I-75 and I-85. It is adjacent to the Atlanta BeltLine and close to both the downtown area and Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.
Once the multiple phases of the project are complete, Pittsburgh Yards is anticipated to be a vibrant, living-wage job ecosystem that clusters a range of businesses together, including industrial, office and administrative, artistic and creative enterprises. Columbia Ventures, in a joint venture partnership with Atlanta-based Core Ventures, was brought on board by the Foundation to help bring this vision to life. Phase I of development includes the adaptive reuse of an existing 61,000 sq. ft. structure into a commercial village of small businesses, a multi-purpose green space for youth soccer and community activation, a business-centric container yard along the BeltLine, three adaptable pad-ready sites for future tenants, and the infrastructure to support these components.
This phase is funded by a combination of New Markets Tax Credit Equity and debt from the AECF. It is now completed in the Summer of 2019.