Project Spotlight

PCIDs Celebrate 10 Years: A Legacy of Success

Click Here to Watch the 10 Year Celebration Video

On Sept. 29, more than 250 elected and appointed officials including Gov. Sonny Perdue joined the board members and staff of the Perimeter Community Improvement Districts (PCIDs) and other Perimeter business leaders to celebrate a decade of success by the PCIDs. The organizations have not only significantly improved mobility and access into and within the economically important Perimeter market, but also are transforming the area into a vibrant live, work, walk and play urban center.

A groundbreaking was held Sept. 29 with Gov. Perdue for the latest PCIDs led project to reduce traffic congestion and improve safety – the $18 million Hammond Half Diamond Interchange and Bridge.

Construction started in October on this new gateway to Perimeter from Georgia 400. Currently, the Abernathy Road Interchange is the only access point on Georgia 400 into and out of the Perimeter area, which has led to extreme traffic congestion and a high rate of traffic accidents.

A north bound entrance ramp from Hammond Drive to Georgia 400 and a south bound exit ramp will be constructed with $5.5 million in funding provided by the PCIDs. The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) will spend $12.5 million to replace the four-lane Hammond Drive overpass with a higher, nine-lane bridge with north and south bound turn lanes. The partnership between the PCIDs and GDOT accelerated the project by at least five years and partnering with the City of Sandy Springs Development Department allowed the PCIDs to save $500,000 on financing their $5.5 million contribution.

On Sept. 29, the PCIDs also formally dedicating the award-winning Perimeter Center Parkway, which has seen $8.4 million in improvements such as bike lanes, sidewalks, lighting, median landscaping and redesigned intersections with pedestrian crosswalks, signage and handicapped accessible ramps. The parkway was funded through a partnership between the PCIDs, the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority’s Fast Forward Bond Program and the Atlanta Regional Commission’s Livable Centers Initiative. The parkway now provides pedestrian access from a number of office buildings along the parkway to the Dunwoody MARTA station.

Congressional District Georgia Department of Transportation Board Member Robert Brown (left) joins Gov. Sonny Perdue to celebrate transportation improvements projects that have been a partnership of the Perimeter CIDs and the state.

(left to right) DeKalb County CEO Burrell Ellis, Sandy Springs City Attorney and State Legislator Wendell Willard, and Fulton PCID Board member Diane Calloway, attorney and president of Specialized Title Services, Inc., talk about the impact the PCIDs’ public-private partnerships have made on Fulton and DeKalb Counties.

“The PCIDs are working to make Perimeter the best live, work and play environment in Metro Atlanta,” DeKalb PCID Chair and Seven Oaks Principal and CEO Bob Voyles told the crowd gathered along Perimeter Center Parkway for the PCIDs’ 10th anniversary celebration.

On a beautiful, sunny day, Gov. Sonny Perdue and PCIDs President & CEO Yvonne Williams celebrate a decade of transportation improvement successes in Perimeter.

Gov. Sonny Perdue congratulates DeKalb PCID Chair Bob Voyles for being “a true servant of this state and doing great work” on the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority Board and as Chair of the DeKalb PCIDs and a founding father.

Gov. Sonny Perdue gives a thumbs up to the Hammond project as “a real coming together for transportation success” by the Perimeter CIDs and the Georgia Department of Transportation.

DeKalb County Tax Commissioner Claudia Lawson was among the invited guests at the Perimeter CIDs 10th anniversary celebration.

Gov. Perdue presents a proclamation to DeKalb PCID Chair Bob Voyles, one of the founding fathers of the PCIDs, for his leadership during the 10 years of the organization.

PCIDs President and CEO Yvonne Williams presents the organization’s Eagle Champion of Transportation Award to DeKalb PCID Chair Bob Voyles, who played an instrumental role in founding the organization in 1999 as well as the Fulton PCID in 2001 and has served as the DeKalb PCID chair for five years.

Dunwoody Mayor Ken Wright (right) congratulates Bob Voyles on his leadership, vision and hard work on behalf of the Perimeter area.

In honor of his “numerous groundbreaking transportation improvement programs in DeKalb County and the State,” DeKalb County CEO Burrell Ellis presents a proclamation to DeKalb PCID Chair Bob Voyles that signifies Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2009 is Bob Voyles Day in DeKalb County.

Fulton PCID Chair Chuck Altimari, vice president of United Parcel Service, notes that Hammond is “an amazing, fast-track multi-jurisdictional project that will provide Perimeter with another gateway into and out of the market.”

DeKalb PCID Board Secretary Kay Younglove, vice president Colonial Properties Trust, and guest were on hand for the PCIDs’ 10th anniversary celebration.

A variety of organizations that offer commuter alternatives provide informational displays at the PCIDs 10th anniversary celebration.

Perimeter Transportation Coalition Executive Director David Sutherland visits with area business people at the “Legacy of Success” event, which celebrated the achievements of both the PCIDs and the PTC.