New Hotel Tax for Arena?

The former GoldKist HQ site could become a sports complex, featuring ALTA-rated tennis courts, soccer, and lacrosse fields.(Good luck getting the soccer fans to respond to "quiet please' from the tennis refs.) That is, if the Mayor of Dunwoody's vision comes to fruition.

Dunwoody Mayor Mike Davis exclusively shared his plan for the GoldKist building at 244 Perimeter Center East with us. He wants to propose raising the Dunwoody hotel tax to 8% and use the extra proceeds (projected to be more than $1M/year) to buy the 262k SF empty office building that sits on more than 15 acres fronting I-285. The city would then raze it to make way for the sports facility that could house up to 20 tennis courts, Mike says: "Every time I drive by that property, I think, 'Boy, it would be good for the city to own it." The site could be ideal to draw big tennis events, Mike says, given its proximity to MARTA, surrounding hotels, retail, and restaurants. (Imagine Roger Federer strolling down the streets of Dunwoody before a match.) "I don't think we consider it an albatross. I think we consider it an opportunity."

Mike spoke with us yesterday morning after participating in a Jones Lang LaSalle panel focused on economic development and outlook at the St. Regis. The former GoldKist HQ (above)--which was vacated by the company last year after its merger with Pilgrim's Pride and placed on the market with Binswanger--is one of the last big blocks of contiguous office space left in Central Perimeter. And as such, it has generated interest from both potential users and investors, some of whom have eyed it as a potential multifamily site.