By Associated Press - Wednesday, May 7, 2014

ATLANTA (AP) - Georgia State University would buy Turner Field and nearby parking lots after the Atlanta Braves move to Cobb County, under a proposal announced Wednesday.

The redevelopment proposal aims to turn the area south of downtown Atlanta that Turner Field occupies into the university’s south campus.

The proposal includes a 30,000-seat football stadium, other athletic facilities, student housing, classrooms and green space, GSU President Mark Becker told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (https://bit.ly/1kNrBM9). Private development companies Carter and Columbia Residential are also proposing a multimillion mixed-use space, expected to include hotels, housing and more in a surrounding 80-acre area.

Aside from housing and retail, developers say the project would also add jobs in the area. It’s unclear how the development would be financed, but raising student fees isn’t expected to factor into the process, Becker said.

Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed said in April that several developers - including Georgia State University - were interested in the property, and that the city would preserve Hank Aaron’s home run monument regardless of how the property is redeveloped.

Carter President Scott Taylor said the company would also preserve the cauldron from the 1996 summer Olympics.

Georgia State and the development companies announced the proposal in hopes of getting feedback and guidance from residents of the surrounding neighborhoods.

The newspaper reports that the Braves’ lease at Turner Field expires Dec. 31, 2016. The school and development companies would break ground by January 2017 if they’re able to buy the property, Becker said.

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