Fulton County’s economic development authority has approved an incentive package worth hundreds of millions of dollars for a towering mixed-use megaproject its leaders say could help reshape not only downtown but the Atlanta region. 

The Develop Fulton Board of Directors today OK’d a $223.7-million inducement for the initial phase of Forge Atlanta, a massive, multi-tower proposal with transit connections from a crypto-backed company with no verifiable development experience. 

The tax break will apply to a portion of Forge Atlanta’s first phase, which would be a $756 million total capital investment from an LLC called Forge Asset Management and its majority owner, tech-based Webstar Technology Group. 

Webstar in July went under contract on 10 acres to develop Forge Atlanta where downtown’s underutilized, industrial southernmost blocks meet Castleberry Hill—and where a previous dream of a massive life-sciences campus called Artisan Yards (and later the Forge) went bust in early 2023. The acreage is just south of Atlanta Ventures’ South Downtown district and the former Gulch property where CIM Group’s Centennial Yards has begun transforming a 50-acre section of downtown with new ground-up development. 

Fresh renderings depicting the most ambitious/audacious vision for the Forge site to date accompanied Develop Fulton’s tax incentive announcement today. The Forge is being designed by Nelson Worldwide, the firm behind The Battery Atlanta and Buckhead’s St. Regis Hotel, among other landmarks, project leaders have said. 

Daytime rendering of the high-rise Forge Atlanta proposal between Interstate 20 (bottom) and Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Renderings courtesy of Forge Asset Management

According to Develop Fulton, phase one of the Forge will include roughly 300 hotel rooms with event and meeting space, plus 60,500 square feet of retail and entertainment space. 

Another section of phase one not covered by the tax incentive will see construction of for-sale condominiums totaling more than half a billion dollars ($532 million), which will be subject to standard tax assessments, per Develop Fulton. 

The economic development agency says Forge's initial phase will create 900 full-time jobs downtown, plus 2,100 construction-related and temporary positions. 

Kwanza Hall, Develop Fulton chairman, called the Forge project “a forward-looking, landmark investment in the future of our growing city and thriving region” that will complement “other nearby major developments” in a statement. 

“This multi-phase project will further reimagine this critical corridor, [bringing] additional new life, energy, and economic activity to the area,” Hall continued. 

A revised high-rise vision for multi-phase Forge Atlanta released this week. Renderings courtesy of Forge Asset Management

Closer look at the acreage in question, just north of Interstate 20. Courtesy of SSG Realty Partners

The development team expects to close on the project in the second quarter of 2026, according to Develop Fulton. The agency pointed to Ernst & Young economic models that estimate Forge’s impact will be $7.37 billion overall, boosting annual tax revenues from $14,585 to $1.8 million in the first year after it’s finished, with $25 million in tax revenue expected over the first decade. 

Future phases call for more development of transit-connected residential, office, retail, entertainment, and public spaces. 

Webstar Technology Group, which describes itself as a pioneer in the “tokenization of real estate assets” with a goal of redeveloping “urban and resort landscapes through smart design, community focus, and cutting-edge technology” announced in May it was pursuing the Forge project.  

A recent deep dive by Bisnow Atlanta into Webstar’s practices, including the origins of The Forge and a sibling, $650-million concept north of Atlanta in Commerce called Bear Village, found a number of skeptical observers.  

The 10-acre site where Ted Turner Drive meets Whitehall Street in the broader context of downtown. Courtesy of SSG Realty Partners

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• Poll: Downtown's huge 'Forge' site goes under contract. Will it happen? (Urbanize Atlanta)