School Board Will Examine Riverwalk Deal Wednesday

The Cobb Board of Education wants to get a better handle on a deal that could see them lose out on thousands, if not millions, of dollars in projected tax revenue generated by a $100 million mixed-use development coming to the Cumberland Mall area.

The Cobb Board of Education will meet to discuss the implications of the Riverwalk development during their 8:30 a.m. meeting on Wednesday, Dec. 11 at the school district's office on Glover Street in Marietta.

As currently planned, Riverwalk will feature 236 condos, 14 three story townhomes, and a ten story office tower which will contain 200,000 sq. ft. of Class A office space.

Greenstone Properties, the Smyrna-based developers behind the Riverwalk project, could be the recipients of a bond and lease agreement with the Development Authority of Cobb County and an additional tax abatement that would relieve them of paying the full value of the site's property tax burden until 2025.

The empty seven acre site at the intersection Cumberland Boulevard and Cobb Galleria Parkway currently generates around $46,000 in tax revenue for the Cobb County School District.

Estimates for the final value of the school district's cut of the property tax revenue after it's developed into Riverwalk currently range in the area of $750,000. Under the terms of the tax abatement, however, the school district would not see the full value of the Riverwalk property taxes for twelve years.

Although Smyrna-Vinings Patch user "Brian" pointed out on Dec. 5 that, "[y]ou aren't losing money if it's money you never had in the first place," the Board of Education still wants to examine the deal and determine if there are any lessons that could be learned from Riverwalk that can be applied to future projects.

Cobb County Schools Superintendent Dr. Michael Hinojosa asked the Cobb County Board of Assessors last week to delay their ruling on the bond deal, wanting to have more time to personally digest the deal and see how it will affect the school district. The board voted to approve the deal last Tuesday.

Hinojosa told the Marietta Daily Journal that the Board of Education won't get in the way of the development's progress but wants to be more involved on future decisions that could affect school district funding.

A Cobb Superior Court judge will have final say on the Riverwalk bond deal on Dec. 18.