Riverwalk Bond Hearing Details Announced

The deal that would see the Development Authority of Cobb County issue bonds to purchase seven acres of land in the Cumberland Mall area in order to lease the property tax-free to a developer will go before a Cobb Superior Court judge next week.

If Judge Michael Stoddard validates the deal at the 9:00 a.m. hearing on Tuesday, Dec. 17, the Development Authority of Cobb County will enter into a partnership with Cumberland-based Greenstone Properties to complete the Riverwalk project, a $103 million mixed-use development currently slated to contain 236 condos, 14 three story townhomes, and a ten story office tower which will contain 200,000 sq. ft. of Class A office space.

The deal would see the Development Authority issue bonds to purchase the seven acre site at the intersection of Cumberland Boulevard and Cobb Galleria Parkway.

Greenstone would make lease payments to the Development Authority, who would then use that money to pay off the bonds. In addition to the leasing agreement, Greenstone is asking for a tax abatement that would see the developers pay no property taxes until 2015, and then pay taxes in increments of 10 percent until they assumed the full tax burden in 2025.

The Cobb County School District has expressed concern that the abatement will represent a loss of potential tax revenue for the cash-strapped organization, but does not plan on fighting the deal.

The Marietta Daily Journal spoke to several lawyers and legal experts who suggested that people who wished to express opposition to the bond validation should do so in writing. Criticisms of the deal should also have a legal foundation.

Judge Stoddard's administrative assistant Rhonda Cochran told the MDJ that he may consider delaying his ruling if there is a significant public response against the proposal, but said her office had not received any formal challenges to the bond as of yet.

The Cobb Superior Court building is located at 70 Haynes St. in Marietta Square.