ATLANTA (AP) State officials have let a former Coca-Cola building in downtown Atlanta sit empty after buying it for $1.1 million instead of following through on plans to turn it into a state history museum.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Sunday that the General Assembly has killed funding to start work on building the museum twice since the state bought the property six years ago.
"I think it is at least a couple of years down the road before we can see fit to spend the money for a museum," said House Appropriations Chairman Terry England, R-Auburn. "We've still got some other things we need to do."
The newspaper reports that state funding was also slashed for golf, music and sports halls of fame in Augusta and Macon, but lawmakers found the money to support the Georgia Museum of Agriculture and Historic Village in Tifton about 40 miles east of Albany.
State lawmakers allocate minimal funding to preserve the building, which is near Underground Atlanta and the state Capitol building. The cost of turning the building into a museum jumped from $12.4 million the year the state bought the property to $17.3 million in 2011. The figure is expected to continue growing.
Georgia is one of the few original 13 colonies that doesn't have a state museum.
Saturday
May 11th, 2024
9:09PM
