The Invest Atlanta Board approved a Westside Tax Allocation District (TAD) grant up to $2.3 million to the Atlanta Beltline, Inc. (ABI) to complete construction of the Westside BeltLine Connector Trail.

According to Alan Ferguson, senior vice president of Community Development at Invest Atlanta, the grant will serve as a bridge loan to ABI, which typically funds construction efforts that fall outside the Atlanta BeltLine TAD. “Although their fundraising has been successful, it has been hampered by the current economic conditions resulting from COVID-19,” he says. “They are fully committed and believe they’ll meet their fundraising goals, but in the interim, this funding allows construction to continue unimpeded.”

Targeted for completion in February 2021, the Westside BeltLine Connector Trail will be a 14-foot-wide, multi-use trail approximately three miles in length. It begins at the intersection of Joseph E. Boone Boulevard and Northside Drive and ends at the intersection of Marietta Boulevard and Huff Road.