ATLANTA – A $5 billion megaproject promises to bring hotels, entertainment and apartments to downtown Atlanta. Centennial Yards is part of a massive redevelopment of what is commonly called the ravine. That’s the 50-acre stretch of land between the Five Points MARTA station and Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The only thing it won’t include is affordable housing. The developer will not include below-market units in a new high-rise they are building right now. Instead, CIM Group opted to pay a multimillion-dollar fee rather than reserve apartments for low-income Atlantans.

Centennial Yards will feature a 304-unit high-rise apartment building called The Mitchell. “Centennial Yards is connected to at least two MARTA stations within walking distance,” said City Council Member Jason Dozier (District-4). “I absolutely want there to be affordable housing units in that development.”

However, the councilman won’t understand that, at least not in Mitchell. CIM Group has chosen not to reserve any units for affordable housing. “I think it’s an unfortunate decision,” Dozier said.

Initially, CIM agreed to reserve 20 percent of the building for subsidized rents as part of a multimillion-dollar incentive package. But the developer alleged the change of course to the slowdown in the real estate market. Instead, CIM contributed $8.5 million to a fund to build affordable housing on the West Side. “I am hopeful that the in-place fee they are paying will help other families, even if they are not in the Centennial Yards development, have the opportunity for affordable living in the city,” Dozier said.

CIM declined to speak on camera with FOX 5. But in a statement, the company said it made the decision “at a time when we are seeing a significant slowdown in real estate investment and development.”

Matt Garbett, co-founder of the advocacy group ThreadATL, says he wanted the city to hold the developer to its commitment to affordable housing in Centennial Yards. “The city missed an opportunity,” Garbett said. “They could have said ‘you’re going to do it instead, but you still have to mandate, maybe not 20 percent affordable housing, you can do 10 percent.'”

Dozier says he wants to make sure city leaders hold developers more responsible for building affordable housing in the future.

The building will open next year.