The Atlanta Fulton County Recreation Authority board on Monday announced that Georgia State University and real estate firm Carter had beaten out two rival bidders to purchase Turner Field and the surrounding land. The University presented two plans for the area – one of which, as seen below, would build into a new football stadium, baseball field, (re-purposing Turner Field) student housing, mixed-use retail, as well as academic buildings and green-space. That plan can be seen below, and the source image can be found here.
Image credit of GSU vision concept
A second plan would turn Turner Field into the football stadium while building a similar campus surrounding it.
Negotiations on the sale itself between the Recreation Authority board and Georgia State will begin immediately, as the area will be ready for construction in September of 2016 when the Braves finish their final season in Turner Field. It is too early to speculate on how long construction may take.
The two losing bids came from an organization called Mercury Youth, which hoped to turn the land into an athletic complex, and a mysterious shell company called Rita World which was thought by many to be connected to a casino eyeing the area as a potential building spot with the expectation that gambling would be legalized in Georgia during the 2016 session.
Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed was thrilled by the news, as of course were Georgia State students and alumni, who will get a greener and more spread out academic and athletic area than has previously existed at the urban campus. Neighbors, who wanted the city to wait until a series of economic studies on the area were completed, were less pleased. A revitalized living and working center with built-in public transportation though, should turn those frowns into smiles once more details are revealed and construction is underway later in 2016.
