New Civil Rights Museum in Downtown to Create 700 Construction-related Jobs

Cascade residents should be pleased to hear that the financing is in place for Phase I of the construction of a National Civil Rights Museum here in downtown Atlanta, just blocks from Martin Luther King Drive.

Earlier this month, PNC Bank and Invest Atlanta announced $24 million in financing to fund Phase I construction of the National Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta's Downtown.

This first phase of the project is expected to create 700 jobs related to the center's construction.

The center is to be built Downtown near the World of Coca-Cola and the Georgia Aquarium at Pemberton Place.

“Financing for this project has taken more than five years to pull together, and we could not have completed funding prior to construction without the financial support of PNC and other public and private partners,” Doug Shipman, the center’s CEO, said in a statement.

“PNC’s investment will help build a world-class destination for future generations to explore the historic struggle for global civil and human rights.”

The planned center received an $11 million New Markets Tax Credit allocation from PNC to fund its first phase, which will include 42,000 square feet of exhibit and special event space.

Invest Atlanta, the city's chief economic development arm, allocated an additional $13 million in tax credits in the project.

Construction began this month and the center is expected to finished and opened in May 2014.

Courtesy of Immovable Media, see the attached YouTube video depicting the pre-construction site.