A team of lawyers from Hunton & Williams gets to bask in a bit of reflected glory: Their client, the city of Atlanta, has won the Council of Development Finance Agencies award for the best bond deal of 2009 for its BeltLine project.
Bond partners Douglass P. Selby of Atlanta and William H. McBride of Raleigh and Washington, along with local litigation partner Matthew J. Calvert, were part of the team working on the BeltLine, which is slated to offer a 22-mile pedestrian-friendly rail system, 1,300 acres of new greenspace, 33 miles of multi-use trails, $20 billion in new economic development and 30,000 new jobs.
The award announcement explained that the BeltLine Tax Allocation District (TAD), Georgia’s version of tax increment financing, will provide the majority of the BeltLine’s $1.3 billion to $1.7 billion funding. In applying for the award, the Atlanta Development Authority and Atlanta BeltLine featured BeltLine TAD bonds issued in December 2009.
“The $78 million in bonds were successfully issued during some of the worst economic conditions in the nation. The Series 2008/2009 bonds are limited obligations of the city of Atlanta, payable solely from pledge revenues, which are composed of tax allocation increments generated within the BeltLine TAD and collected by Fulton County and the city of Atlanta,” the award notice says. “This impressive issuance shows the level of expertise, dedication and commitment from the leaders of Atlanta for supporting this transformational project.”
The award is called the 2010 Practitioner’s Showcase Award: Nation’s Best Bond Deal of 2009.