The Atlanta BeltLine Inc. (ABI) is seeking a qualified consultant to develop a commercial affordability strategy for the corridor around the 22-mile trail, which is continuing to transform the city of Atlanta. The BeltLine wants to ensure that local businesses are supported and thrive as development continues around the trail. The strategy will create ways to reduce displacement of existing and legacy small businesses, provide new access opportunities for entrepreneurs, and make the BeltLine a place where businesses of all kinds can thrive for generations to come. The BeltLine is seeking a firm to aid in developing this multipronged approach.
This strategy will set the stage for the BeltLine’s long-term investment decisions and provide critical data to help drive effective initiatives that protect small, locally owned, minority-owned, and pre-BeltLine era businesses from displacement.
With very few national models to lean on, the BeltLine seeks to lead the way in the commercial affordability movement. “As an evolving project, we see the BeltLine as the perfect place to test out and implement strategies that could create immediate opportunities for local businesses which can then be implemented city-wide and then potentially adopted nationwide,” said Kelvin Collins, the BeltLine’s vice president of economic development.
For qualified consultants interested in submitting a quote and a timeline, the deadline is June 6, 2023 at 3 p.m. Quotes (including scope of services and work samples) should be submitted on Bonfire at: www.beltline.org/procurement.
