Atlanta to use bonds to buy MLK papers

ATLANTA, July 21 (UPI) -- The Atlanta City Council approved using city bonds to complete the purchase of a collection of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s papers for its rights center.

The collection is the cornerstone of the proposed Center for Civil and Human Rights, tentatively scheduled to open in 2012, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Tuesday.

The city will use part of a $40 million tax allocation bond dedicated to the CCHR to pay down $11.5 million in outstanding loans owed on the collection bought from the King family three years ago for $32 million.

"This is an opportunity to lock up the King papers, which will be relied on as one of the main attractions for the museum," said Councilman Howard Shook, who chairs the finance committee. "We needed to go ahead and take advantage of this opportunity."

The CCHR project will cost an estimated $125 million to complete.