Paul touts financial technology firm opening, bond rating at State of the City address

Key Points Candescent a financial services company broadcasted it opened its new Sandy Springs headquarters on Sept which Mayor Rusty touted in his State of the City address Paul stated business leaders investing in Sandy Springs helped the city earn a Aaa bond rating that will save taxpayers millions of dollars in interest payments Sandy Springs Mayor Rusty Paul gave his State of the City address to the Greater Perimeter Chamber on Sept Photo by Bob Pepalis Mayor Rusty Paul stated during his State of the City address on Sept that Candescent a financial services company opened its headquarters in Sandy Springs because of an circumstances that has made the city a financial instrument hub Candescent had disclosed in a news release earlier in the day that the cloud-based provider of digital and unified customer experience solutions for financial services had opened its new headquarters at Concourse Parkway Paul recounted the business leaders attending the Greater Perimeter Chamber s Signature Luncheon held at Sandy Springs City Hall that Candescent adds to the growing number of large financial services businesses relocating to the city He commented the company chose the area because of the fiber optic internet connectivity that s available Business leaders at the luncheon were described that because of their stake they are a large part of the reason the city has an Aaa bond rating Paul noted The Aaa rating netted a percent interest rate on million in bonds sold on Sept The mayor announced that the lower rate would save the taxpayers millions of dollars in interest payments The bond proceeds will fund construction of new fire stations on Roswell Road near Glen Ridge and replace a s-era station at Roberts and Spalding drives It will also fund a critical upgrade to the fire station at Raider Drive across from Riverwood High School We are a teardown city and we ve got a lot that necessities to be replaced Paul noted Related stories Sandy Springs approves tax abatement for Hillcrest advancement Sandy Springs gets AAA rating on revenue bonds for new fire stations Special master finds water surcharge unjustified The mayor reported that s what is happening in residential areas with people buying homes only to tear them down for new construction Chosen of that s good but we re also losing a lot of our housing stock that young families need when they come into this district to live Paul stated Even though Sandy Springs United Methodist Church sold its activity center property for million per acre to make way for Hillcrest a mixed-use evolution affordable housing can t be built on property sold at that high of a price Paul revealed Paul s proposal to spur maturation involves the creation of tax allocation districts TAD He declared he would start with the North End shopping centers that have been targets of the city s redevelopment efforts for years The city created a North End mixed-use zoning district classification in Paul mentioned COVID high interest rates and REIT real estate commitment trust ownership have hindered redevelopment for the past four years He noted a TAD would fund infrastructure like roads stormwater systems and parks giving the city leverage to negotiate with developers Infrastructure projects scheduled include a connecting road at the the north end of Roberts Drive linking it with North River Parkway Paul noted a traffic signal planned at the North River Parkway intersection will make access to Roswell Road easier and safer Two PATH segments in Sandy Springs will be completed by with the third segment finished in summer Paul revealed the Atlanta Regional Commission ARC provided million in funding for the trails project Paul reported the Mount Vernon Highway and Johnson Ferry Road project across Roswell Road from City Springs should be completed in April The project involves widening both roads to give them additional eastbound and westbound lanes A center two-way left-turn lane on each road will transition to a left-turn lane at intersections The project will add -foot-wide multi-use paths on the inside shoulders of Mount Vernon Highway and Johnson Ferry Road and six-foot-wide sidewalks on the outside shoulders Directly after that project is done construction will begin on the Hammond Drive widening project Paul reported the project will expand the road to four lanes from Boylston Drive to Glenridge Drive realigning an intersection adding roundabouts and a new bridge Paul declared Sandy Springs has already spent million to improve and modernize its infrastructure But there s one piece of infrastructure I wish we were investing in but not a penny of commitment has occurred It s the long-term functionality of the water system serving this city Paul noted Residents and later the city have battled the City of Atlanta for years over water rates and system maintenance he declared Atlanta provides water for Sandy Springs and owns the water system A state judge ruled for Sandy Springs in April regarding a percent water rate surcharge that Atlanta had been charging Sandy Springs However Paul explained Sandy Springs demanded the judge to vacate the order after Atlanta executives requested to negotiate The negotiations have not yet begun but Paul believes they will in If the two entities don t reach an agreement both cities will lose all state and federal grants administered by the state The post Paul touts financial hardware firm opening bond rating at State of the City address appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta