Another great scoop from Bisnow Atlanta. Jarred Schenke caught up with an aide to Mayor Kasim Reed, who finally offered an explanation for the delayed closing between the City of Atlanta and Jamestown Properties over the City Hall East. Not surprisingly, it has a lot to do with the difficulties involved in retrofitting an historic building:
Jamestown has yet to close on the purchase of the 2M SF former Sears building as the city and the federal government bicker over more than $15M in tax credits. David Bennett, an advisor to Mayor Kasim Reed, tells us that the National Parks [Service] (part of the Department of the Interior) is refusing to grant Jamestown historic preservation tax credits for its proposed redevelopment of City Hall East because of the extent and scope of the proposed changes to the building’s skin. And Jamestown and the city are negotiating with the government on what it can do to obtain those credits. But what exactly Jamestown wants to do is unclear as renderings have not yet been released. Jamestown officials could not be reached for comment as of press time. “I expect that we’re going to work something out,” David says. “It’s just a question of what that’s going to look like.”
[...] to Mayor Kasim Reed reveals the deal hasn’t closed yet because the National Park Service is holding off on approving historic tax credits — revealing the tension between Green Street’s planned energy-efficient retrofit and [...]