The Atlanta BeltLine Wants to Prevent Displacement of Longtime Residents. Is it Too Late? A program to pay property-tax increases of nearby homeowners is welcome, but "about ten years too late," one advocate says. May 5, 2021, 10am PDT | rkaufman Share Concerns about affordable housing, gentrification and displacement have accompanied the development of the Atlanta BeltLine since its earliest days. The vision for the project — a 22-mile multi-use trail built on an old railway line looping the entire city of Atlanta — was so clear a catalyst for rising real estate value that the original development plan, completed in 2005, included a goal of building 5,600 workforce housing units to mitigate the impacts of gentrification. Now, with more than half the time elapsed before the projected completion date of 2030, the BeltLine is still scrambling to make good on the promise of affordable housing. And some advocates say too much damage has already been done in terms of displacement, runaway home values, and speculative investment.