Atlanta - The Atlanta City Council recently approved the seven names nominated to the Atlanta Coordinating Responsible Authority (ACoRA) which is the governing body of the Renewal Community (RC).
The appointees are Atlanta City Planning Commissioner Charles Graves, III, Federal Home Loan Bank Executive Vice President Carol A. Jackson, Janice Sikes, Attorney George Howell, and community activists Sule’ Carpenter and M. M. (Peggy) Harper.
The appointees, who will serve one year terms, comprise of a balanced mix of community, city, business and appointments from Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin.
"The approval of these board members by the Atlanta City Council is the first step in moving forward and bring back the life and vitality to the once forgotten neighborhoods," said ANDP President & CEO Hattie B. Dorsey.
The first tasks of the board members will be to market the tax incentives and to reassess and allocate the remaining balance of the former Empowerment Zone’s Title XX funds. The board plans to do this by developing a strategic plan to reallocate the approximately $56 million, which must be committed by December 2004. This will be done utilizing community input in the form of information sessions and community input meetings.
"We are very excited about the opportunities that the Renewal Community offers to Atlanta neighborhoods. Our mission is to use the tax incentives of the Renewal Community and the remaining EZ-Title XX funds to revitalize Atlanta’s affected neighborhoods in partnership with residents, community-based organizations, businesses and government," said George Howell, Interim ACoRA Board Chair.
The Renewal Community designation from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) was established by the 2000 Community Renewal Tax Relief Act and ends January 2010. The RC is targeted to spur economic development and will achieve this through the following tax incentives:
Employee Wage Credit - businesses with employees who live and work within the RC boundaries can receive up to $1500 per new employee per year.
Work Opportunity Credit - a tax incentive of up to $2400 for each new employee who is a veteran, felon, SSI recipient, youth 18-24, summer youth employee and/or Temporary Aid to Needy Families (TANF) recipient.
Capital Gain Exclusion - businesses that earn 50% of gross income from RC, who have at least 35% of employees who live in an RC and 85% of property in a RC.
Increased Section 179 Deduction - a tax incentive for businesses to deduct the cost of property (up to $59,000 the first year) with the value of benefit in taxes.
Environmental Cleanup Deduction - Businesses will be able to deduct costs paid or incurred for cleanup.
Commercial Revitalization Deduction (CRD) - allows a taxpayer who constructs or substantially rehabilitates and qualified building in the RC and who receives an allocation under this plan to choose to treat qualified revitalization expenses (QREs) by either: (1) Deducting half of the QREs in the first year the building is placed in service; or (2) Amortizing all the QREs on a ratable basis over a ten year or 120-month period beginning with the month the building is placed in service.
All of the tax incentives expire in 2009, with the exception of the environmental cleanup deduction, which expires 2004, but is retroactive to 1997.
Prior to approving the board, the Atlanta City Council also approved earlier this year the creation and incorporation of the Atlanta Renewal Community ACoRA as a nonprofit organization to administer the City of Atlanta’s remaining EZ-Title XX funds. These funds will assist community development corporations and other neighborhood-based organizations along with local public and private organizations in facilitating the revitalization of designated RC communities that are distressed and deteriorated.
The Atlanta Neighborhood Development Partnership, Inc. (ANDP) will provide management and operational support to the Atlanta Renewal Community ACoRA Board.
The Renewal Community is a contiguous area that combines 60 of the city’s 78 census tracts and has a population of approximately 195,000 citizens according to 1990 U.S. Census data. The RC reflects an average poverty rate of 37.78%, with nearly 70,000 residents falling below the poverty level. Other issues that plague the RC area are unemployment, teenage pregnancy and high crime rates.
"Through the RC program, our goal is to create sustainable economic development that enables individuals and families to become self-sufficient and to be contributors to the strengthening, building and revitalization of their communities," said Renewal Community Director, Melvin Waldrop.
The RC will build on four broad goals which include expanding employment and investment opportunities, creating safe and livable communities, lifting youth and families out of poverty and providing adequate housing. These goals will be accomplished through the coordinated use of the RC tax incentives and reprogramming of the remaining EZ-Title XX funds.
Additional Media Contact: Shannon M. Carey, 404-522-2637 ext. 48
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