About Jonathan Gelber, AICP, Principal
For more than 25 years, I’ve dedicated my career to shaping stronger, more resilient, and more equitable communities. My work sits at the intersection of planning, real estate, public finance, and urban economics—helping public agencies, private developers, and nonprofits turn complex challenges into clear, actionable strategies.
Across all my work, I’m driven by a belief that thoughtful planning and smart investment can create more vibrant, equitable, and economically resilient communities. I bring that commitment to every project and every client partnership.
I specialize in understanding how places grow, change, and thrive. Whether analyzing housing markets, evaluating the fiscal impact of development, structuring Tax Increment Financing districts, or guiding large-scale public investment, my focus is always the same: providing insight that leads to meaningful, lasting improvement in the built environment.
My consulting approach blends rigorous analysis with a deep understanding of policy, development, and community needs. I’ve led major engagements involving housing affordability strategies, redevelopment planning, transit-oriented development, and economic revitalization for cities, counties, transit agencies, and institutional clients across the Southeast and beyond. I’m known for my ability to bring clarity to complex financial and policy questions and to translate data into decisions that move projects forward.
Collaboration is central to my work. Over the years, I’ve partnered with government leaders, developers, community organizations, universities, and industry groups to shape investment strategies, guide public policy, and deliver results that support sustainable economic growth. As a trusted advisor, I strive to combine technical expertise with pragmatic, implementable solutions.
In addition to my consulting practice, I’ve taught graduate-level real estate market analysis at Georgia State University, helping prepare the next generation of real estate and planning professionals. Earlier in my career, I served as a planner for the City of Atlanta and the City of New York, experiences that continue to inform my understanding of public-sector decision-making and the challenges faced by fast-growing urban areas.
Sample Projects
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For over 15 years, I’ve worked with the City of Gainesville, GA, on all aspects of their Tax Allocation District (TAD) program. Gainesville’s staff are among the best in the business at leveraging TADs and related programs to create better places. Over the years, I’ve helped the city establish new TADs, analyze and forecast existing ones, and guide TADs and projects through the application, review, and approval process—sometimes representing the city, other times representing applicants. Notably, Gainesville’s Midtown TAD and the Midland Greenway it funded have catalyzed over $175 million in private investment and were recognized with a 2025 Urban Land Institute Atlanta “Development of Excellence in the Public Realm” award.
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The team at Decide DeKalb, the County’s economic development agency, sought to redevelop the struggling 1960s-era North DeKalb Mall and capture value from the project to support the redevelopment effort while also funding parks, trails, housing, and other redevelopment initiatives in the aging commercial corridors around the mall. I worked with the team and County Leadership to conceptualize, design, draft, implement, and secure approval for a new Tax Allocation District (TAD).
Once the TAD was approved, I helped forecast revenue, establish spending policies and guidelines, and review and negotiate the development team’s funding requests. The 73-acre mall redevelopment, now called Lulah Hills, began construction last year and is on track to become an $850 million, 2.5 million square foot mixed-use development featuring shopping, dining, grocery, entertainment, and over 2,000 affordable housing units.
The TAD will also support the Path Foundation in building trails to connect Lulah Hills to nearby parks, the VA Hospital, Emory University, and the CDC, enhancing connectivity and community access throughout the corridor.
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I developed a tool to help Community Improvement Districts and other organizations quantify their value and opportunities. By combining research, demographics, real estate, and stakeholder input, we create metrics that show how districts drive economic activity, support jobs, and strengthen communities.
These insights give CIDs real leverage: instead of asking the DOT for help, they can cite numbers and facts to boster their request. They can demonstrate, for example, that a single intersection “supports 156 businesses, 2,000 jobs, $1.8 billion in economic activity, and that 1 minute or delay adds up to $1.3 million in lost revenue each year.” Many clients expand their impact studies to include custom modules that support their mission, such as revenue forecasting, redevelopment strategies, and opportunity analyses, helping them prioritize action. I’ve managed more than 20 of these studies, with most clients returning regularly for updates.
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