dpATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — The Republican nominee for Georgia governor has unveiled a sweeping economic proposal aimed at restoring historic commercial districts and boosting minority-owned small businesses across six historic neighborhoods in the state, including Atlanta’s iconic Sweet Auburn corridor.
Rick Jackson — who is locked in a tight, nationally watched gubernatorial race against former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms — announced his “Legacy Corridor Initiative” on Wednesday at Selena S. Butler Park in southeast Atlanta.
Under the plan, Jackson pledged to assign a dedicated state coordinator to synchronize Georgia’s 17 Small Business Development Centers. The coordinator would focus directly on helping local entrepreneurs navigate business licensing, secure financing and compete for state contracts.
“We want to make it easier for Georgia businesses to bid, subcontract, and compete for state work,” Jackson said, while also emphasizing plans to heavily promote the State Opportunity Zone Tax Credit.
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A key pillar of Jackson’s pitch is a pledge to restore historic commercial buildings without pricing out current residents and business owners.
To highlight the need for intervention, Jackson pointed to Atlanta’s Sweet Auburn district. Once celebrated as one of the wealthiest African American commercial streets in the world, the historic area was built by Black Georgians and originally boasted its own banks, insurance firms, newspapers, medical offices, pharmacies, restaurants and a theater.
Today, however, approximately half of the commercial stretch sits boarded up, abandoned or vacant. The decline led the National Trust for Historic Preservation to place Auburn Avenue on its list of America’s most endangered historic places in both 1992 and 2012.
Jackson’s initiative is not limited to Atlanta. The proposal targets five other distinct historic commercial areas across Georgia:
- The Golden Blocks (Augusta)
- West Broad Street (Savannah)
- The Liberty District (Columbus)
- The Harlem District (Albany)
- Cotton Avenue (Macon)
The policy rollout comes as a new Georgia poll shows the gubernatorial contest in a statistical tie, mirroring tight races for the Public Service Commission.
For continued coverage of Georgia’s political campaigns and upcoming debate, stay tuned to Atlanta News First.
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