Atlanta mayor touts site that could attract Amazon

Atlanta’s mayor said a colossal development planned for downtown represents a once-in-a-lifetime shot to transform the city.

City council members were given a few more details Tuesday about the potential impact of developing an underused site known as “The Gulch” that could meet Amazon.com’s search criteria for its second headquarters.

“We are talking about thousands of jobs, potentially, that would come into this area, and also the elephant in the room is that very big company that is looking at the city as a place to relocate their headquarters,” Mayor Keisha Lance-bottoms said at Tuesday’s city council meeting.

Documents made public this year revealed that Atlanta’s project could include 18 buildings with 9.3 million square feet of office space — more than three times the space in the Empire State Building. Amazon said it needs up to 8 million square feet of office space.

Atlanta is working with Los Angelesbased development firm CIM Group on the plans. Details of exactly how the project would be financed have yet to be worked out, city officials said Tuesday.

Lance-bottoms sought to assure council members that affordable housing is a top priority in the city’s economic development negotiations, and that current residents will not be forced out if new development brings soaring rents and home prices.

The opportunity presented by The Gulch, she said, “is an opportunity for us to show the entire country how you get affordable housing right.”