Choice Neighborhoods Initiative TRANSFORMATION PLAN UNIVERSITY AREA U.S.Department of Housing and Urban Development HOUSING AUTHORITY

ATLANTA, 09.29.13 Letter from the Interim President and Chief Executive Officer Acknowledgements

Atlanta Housing Authority Board of Commissioners Atlanta University Center Consortium Schools Daniel Halpern, Chair Clark Atlanta University Justine Boyd, Vice-Chair Dr. Carlton E. Brown, President Cecil Phillips Margaret Paulyne Morgan White Morehouse College James Allen, Jr. Dr. John S. Wilson, Jr., President Loretta Young Walker Morehouse School of Medicine Dr. John E. Maupin, Jr., President Atlanta Housing Authority Choice Neighborhoods Team Spelman College Joy W. Fitzgerald, Interim President & Chief Executive Dr. Beverly Tatum, President Officer Trish O’Connell, Vice President – Real Estate Development Atlanta University Center Consortium, Inc. Mike Wilson, Interim Vice President – Real Estate Dr. Sherry Turner, Executive Director & Chief Executive Investments Officer Shean L. Atkins, Vice President – Community Relations Ronald M. Natson, Financial Analysis Director, City of Atlanta Kathleen Miller, Executive Assistant The Honorable Mayor Kasim Reed Melinda Eubank, Sr. Administrative Assistant Duriya Farooqui, Chief Operating Officer Raquel Davis, Administrative Assistant Charles Forde, Financial Analyst Atlanta City Council Adrienne Walker, Grant Writer Councilmember Ivory Lee Young, Jr., Council District 3 Debra Stephens, Sr. Project Manager Councilmember Cleta Winslow, Council District 4 Wm. James Talley, Sr. Project Manager Gwen Weddington, Sr. Project Manager Department of Planning and Community Monica Buchanan, Homeownership Administrator Development Chloe Bright, Communications Coordinator James E. Shelby, Commissioner Terri M. Lee, Deputy Commissioner The Integral Group, LLC, Master Developer Derrick Jordan, Interim Director, Office of Housing Egbert Perry, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer Jay Perlmutter, Management Analyst, Office of Housing Vicki Lundy Wilbon, Executive Vice President of Rodney Milton, Management Analyst, Office of Housing Community Development Jessica Lavandier, Urban Planner, Principal, Office of Eric Pinckney, Vice President of Development Planning Hope Boldon, President of Human Development Cora Kilpatrick, Executive Assistant to Commissioner Amon A. Martin III, Sr. Development Director Shelby

Urban Collage, Planning Coordinator Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs Bob Begle, Principal George Dusenbury, Commissioner John Skach, Senior Associate Paul Taylor, Director, Office of Park Design Niti Gajjar, Senior Urban Designer Marco Ancheita, Urban Designer Department of Watershed Management Jessica Florez, Urban Designer JoAnn J. Macrina, Commissioner Susan Rutherford, Watershed Manager Consultants Bleakly Advisory Group Department of Public Works The Spillers’ Group, Inc. Richard Mendoza, Commissioner Contente Consulting Shelley Peart, Sr. Project Manager Cotena Alexander, Transportation Engineering Manager Atlanta Workforce Development Agency The Atlanta BeltLine Deborah Lum, Executive Director Atlanta Regional Commission Atlanta Community Food Bank Central Atlanta Progress Brian McGowan, President Georgia Pacific Foundation Ernestine Garey, Vice President &Chief Operating Officer Family Medical Center of Georgia (formerly West End Dale Royal, Vice President-Atlanta Emerging Markets, Inc. Medical Center Dawn Luke, Managing Director Housing Finance Georgia Institute of Technology Granvel Tate, Neighborhood Revitalization Manager Georgia Institute of Technology Foundation, Inc. Alan Ferguson, Program Manager Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority Pittsburgh Community Improvement Association Georgia Department of Community Affairs Purpose Built Communities, Inc. Laurel Hart, Division Chief of Affordable Housing Urban League of Greater Atlanta

Atlanta Police Department Special thanks to the former residents of University George Turner, Chief of Police Homes and the entire Choice Neighborhoods Ernest N. Finley, Deputy Chief Community, particularly the leadership of Timothy Quiller, Major Neighborhood Planning Units L and T and the neighborhood associations who have supported the Atlanta Police Foundation initiative from its inception. Stephanie Davis Special thanks to the many AHA staff members Education Partners who volunteered and supported the Choice Atlanta CARES Neighborhoods Initiative, particularly the Distribution Atlanta Promise Neighborhood Alliance team of Olisa Rainey, Fabius Grant, Pamela Grant and Karen Mobley who tirelessly turned out hundreds of • Mary M. Bethune Elementary School presentations, flyers, and marketing material for all the • M. Agnes Jones Elementary School Choice Neighborhoods meetings and events. • Kennedy Middle School – Parents As Partners Academic Center A very special thanks to Renée Lewis Glover for her • Booker T. Washington High School vision and leadership as AHA’s President and CEO, Level Blend 1994-2013. Satcher Health Leadership Institute/Smart and Secure Children United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta

Non-Profit Housing Partners Atlanta Neighborhood Development Partnership Tayani Suma, Director, Housing Development University Community Development Corporation Pete Hayley, Executive Director

Vine City Health and Housing Ministry Greg Hawthorne, Executive Director

Community Partners Annie E. Casey Foundation Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation

UNIVERSITY AREA | CHOICE NEIGHBORHOODS TRANSFORMATION PLAN | ATLANTA HOUSING AUTHORITY

TABLE OF CONTENTS ENVISIONING THE FUTURE 1NEIGHBORHOOD NEIGHBORHOOD 2CONTEXT HOUSING 3PLAN PEOPLE 4PLAN NEIGHBORHOOD 5PLAN IMPLEMENTING 6THE PLAN A LIST OF ACRONYMS B APPENDICES ENVISIONING THE FUTURE 1NEIGHBORHOOD which transformed American society, culture and Introduction politics. By virtue of its location and relationship future

with the AUC, the surrounding residential area is envisioning the More than 5.3 million people and nearly neighborhood inextricably linked to the civil rights movement. 150,000 businesses call Atlanta, Georgia home – While Atlanta flourished in the aftermath of the with a world-class airport, abundant green space, civil rights movement, this neighborhood, once a and numerous entertainment and sports venues. thriving center for African American commerce and Today Atlanta is a vibrant metropolis with a intellectual discourse, has been largely abandoned, reputation for diversity and opportunity that is in visible in vacant storefronts and boarded homes, stark contrast to the racially segregated and divided failed schools, a high crime rate and concentrations city of the past. As home to many great African of poverty. Given its significance to the history and American leaders such as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., achievements of the civil rights movement, the former Mayors and heritage must be secured and preserved. and Congressman , and to a cluster With funding from a 2010 Choice of Historically Black Colleges and Universities Neighborhoods Planning Grant (“CNPG”) , AHA and (“HBCUs”) that played a vital role in the national its master developer, Integral Development, LLC struggle for desegregation and equal opportunity, (“Integral”), worked with the City of Atlanta (“COA”), Atlanta proudly enjoys its reputation as the “cradle the AUCC schools, the former residents of University of the civil rights movement.” Homes, the community, and other stakeholders from West of the central business district, a 2010 – 2013 to develop a Choice Neighborhoods cluster of six HBCU’s are located in an area referred Transformation Plan (“Transformation Plan”) to to as the Atlanta University Center (“AUC”). The revitalize University Homes and the surrounding presence of these education anchor institutions residential area. Built in 1938, University Homes clustered together in a central location is unique. was constructed adjacent to the AUCC schools as Four of these HBCUs are members of the Atlanta the African American counterpart to the white-only University Center Consortium (“AUCC”), which is , the first project comprised of Clark Atlanta University, Morehouse in the country developed in Atlanta in 1936. Due College, Morehouse School of Medicine, and to the severe distress and environmental condition Spelman College. of the property, residents of University Homes were By incubating African American leadership successfully relocated in 2006, and the development and talent, these renowned HBCUs created much was demolished in 2009. of the infrastructure and discourse that gave birth to the civil rights movement of the 1960s,

UNIVERSITY AREA | CHOICE NEIGHBORHOODS TRANSFORMATION PLAN | ATLANTA HOUSING AUTHORITY 1.1 Choice Neighborhood Area

University Choice Neighborhood Target Site AHA Communities Major Parks AUC Schools Maddox Park MARTA Rail and Stops 2 Bus Routes Bike Lanes Neighborhood Schools

ENGLISH AVENUE TYLER ST NW

SIMPSON ST NW JOSEPH E. BOONE BLVD.

ROCK ST NW VINE CITY ROCK ST NW

BETHUNE ES

WASHINGTON GRIFFIN ST NW DOWNTOWN

SCIPLETER NW

THURMOND ST NW JFK MS NW ST WALNUT ELM ST NW ST ELM

PARK JAMES BRAWLEY P DR NW SPENCER ST NW

MAPLE PL NW PL MAPLE MAGNOLIA ST NW

FOUNDRY ST NW

MAPLE ST NW MAPLE ST FOUNDRY ST NW Vine

Magnolia NW ST GRAVES City Park Washington PLAY LN NW Park Park

JOSEPH BLVD E LOWERY

RHODES ST NW

POSTELL ST NW

CARTER ST NW VINE ST NW

ASHBY 2 2 VINE CITY 2

GRIFFIN NW ST MAPLE ST NW ST MAPLE

MARTIN L KING JR DR TATNALLSW ST SW

ASHBY PL SW WASHINGTON HS 3 MITCHELL ST SW

DRUMMOND ST SW ATLANTA UNIVERSITY

BECKWITH ST SW SW NEWCASTLE ST 68 BECKWITH ST SW CENTER PALMETTO AVE SW FOUNTAIN DR SW

NORTHSIDE DR SW ASHBY GROVE SW STONEWALL ST SW

ASHVIEW WEBSTER ST SW OZONE ST SW ST OZONE

FENWOOD ST SW HEIGHTS SW ST BONAIR VINE ST SW ST VINE

ELM ST SWELM ST

WALNUT ST WALNUT SW MILDRED ST SW MILDRED ST

LAWSHE ST SW ST LAWSHE

MILTON ST SWMILTON

JAMES P BRAWLEY DR SW BRAWLEY JAMES P EUHRLEE ST SW ST EUHRLEE

ROSSER ST SW

1ST ST 1ST SWST BAILEY ST SW 13 ATLANTA STUDENT MOVEMENT BOULEVARD JOYCE ST SW HOLDERNESS ST SW FORMER Cleopas R. MA JONES ES UNIVERSITY Johnson Park FRANK ST SW DORA ST SW WESTVIEW DR SW HOMES

GREENSFERRY AVE SW LEE ST SW ST LEE SPELMAN LN SW CollegeTown HENRY ST SW

DARGAN SWPL SELLS AVE SW CUNNINGHAM PL SW 20 Dean Rusk Park NORCROSS ST SW ROSEHAVEN TER SW Villages at

DEAN RUSK WEST END AVE SW Castleberry Hill HEADSTART

ACADEMY PEEPLES SW ST CHAPEL ST SW

LEE ST SW

67

WEST END 68

71 Attachment 21c 2 0 375’ 750’ 1500’ NORTH Context Map:Map Neighborhood Conditions95 CHOICE81 NEIGHBORHOOD IMPLEMENTATION GRANT Atlanta Housing Authority DATE: September 3, 2013

21-3 NEIGHBORHOOD A COMMUNITY OF ASSETS BOUNDARIES NOT DEFICITS

The boundaries for the Choice Neighborhoods As the Transformation Plan will reveal, on the area are Northside Drive (E), Interstate 20 (S), Atlanta surface the condition of this community appears BeltLine/Joseph E. Lowery Boulevard (W) and MLK unpromising and deficient in resources. The Jr. Drive/Joseph E. Boone Boulevard (N). Located demographics of the community are characterized no more than 1.5 miles from Atlanta’s downtown by a declining population that includes a high business district, the CN area is comprised of percentage of residents ill-prepared for the 21st future three residential areas that surround the HBCUs: century economy and lacking access to “living envisioning the Vine City to the north, Atlanta University Center wage” jobs. The neighborhood itself is limited neighborhood neighborhood to the east and south, and Ashview by the presence of marginally performing public Heights to the west. schools, as well as a lack of access to quality food The area is primarily residential and retail services, greenspace and other quality-of- and uniquely joined together by a shared history of life amenities. There has been limited investment in place, where African Americans looking for quality the built environment, which today is characterized housing in a racially divided Atlanta were drawn by by an excess amount of vacant land and vacant/ the prominence of the HBCUs. These boundaries deteriorated housing stock, situated in a declining were chosen intentionally based on their proximity real estate market with considerable crime and to the targeted public housing development and to public safety concerns. include residential areas that share a unique heritage However, as learned through data analysis and and history, so that residents and stakeholders an extensive community engagement process, would be invested in working together to achieve this is not a community of deficiencies. It is a the Transformation Plan goals. Along with community of tremendous assets – in the capacity, University Homes, the area includes three former resiliency and fortitude of its residents, businesses, public housing sites which have been redeveloped and religious institutions; in the HBCUs with their into mixed-income communities by AHA and its students, faculty and staff; in the rich fabric of the private sector partners. Within the boundaries neighborhood’s history and connection with the are two elementary schools and one high school, Civil Rights movement; in the presence of two public which, with the HBCUs, allows for a cradle-to-career transit (MARTA) rail stops within the neighborhood educational continuum within the neighborhood. and linkages with the transit-oriented Atlanta The area is within the boundaries developed as a BeltLine; and in the neighborhood’s location at part of a 2010 Promise Neighborhoods grant from the periphery of the City of Atlanta’s downtown the Department of Education that was awarded business district. Additionally, several large-scale, to the United Way of Greater Atlanta / Morehouse public-private initiatives are planned just outside School of Medicine. This area is known as the the neighborhood, including the new $1B Atlanta Atlanta Promise Neighborhoods Alliance Zone. Falcons’ football stadium, the $4B Multi-Modal It is notable that it is the collective history Passenger Terminal transit hub, and portions of the centered around the HBCU schools and the need $2.8B Atlanta BeltLine. The implementation of the to join together to attract resources that is unique Transformation Plan will ensure that the “University and identifies these three residential areas as one neighborhood” is equitably incorporated into these community. In recognition of this shared history transformational initiatives and not left behind. and alignment of interests, the CN area is referred to as the “University neighborhood” throughout this document.

UNIVERSITY AREA | CHOICE NEIGHBORHOODS TRANSFORMATION PLAN | ATLANTA HOUSING AUTHORITY 1.3 was to first build social capital and connections with PLANNING PROCESS the former residents of University Homes and the AND PARTICIPANTS neighborhood residents and stakeholders in order to develop ongoing and permanent relationships For the past 15 years, a number of neighborhood that would sustain the revitalization strategies and regional planning efforts have been undertaken over time. Over the two-year CNPG period, AHA by the various departments of the City of Atlanta, held 25 community meetings to include six initial Invest Atlanta, the Atlanta regional Commission focus group conversations with residents, students, (“ARC”), neighborhood groups, and the AUC schools. businesses, and social services, 12 community These plans have identified problems and offered meetings/workshops, four meetings with the former solutions, working within a prescribed public residents of University Homes, two community cafés process. The recommendations of all the plans with community leaders, and a healthy living festival have been remarkably similar: develop mixed- for the entire community. Meetings were held at income housing while addressing gentrification a variety of locations in the community to include concerns and recognizing and building upon the three of the public schools, a church, two of the historic character of the neighborhood; provide AUCC schools and other locations. The efforts and job training and access to jobs and transportation; on-going support of a number of organizations and enhance public safety; improve infrastructure groups were instrumental in rallying participation with streetscapes, lighting and sidewalks; and and engagement from the community. This provide access to greenspace, parks and quality includes neighborhood organizations such as Vine retail in the neighborhood. While there has been City Civic Association, Atlanta University Center some implementation of the recommendations, Neighborhood Association, Neighborhood Planning it has been isolated at best, and lacking in a Units L and T, and the CN e-mail group comprised comprehensive redevelopment vision for the of local businesses, residents, stakeholders and area. As part of the dialogue during the Choice past meeting participants. [See Appendix 16: CN Neighborhoods (“CN”) community engagement Community Engagement Process] activities, the residents revealed their distrust in the Not only did the stakeholder outreach involve planning process because “they had been planned a remarkable cross-section of the community to death” with inclusion in over 17 planning that included the City Council representatives for efforts in the last 15 years. They believed that the Districts 3 and 4 and the Atlanta Board of Education recommendations they developed were still valid Vice-Chair and representative for District 2 for and were more interested in implementation. As the Atlanta Public Schools, as well as civic leaders a result, rather than creating a new plan, the CN and dignitaries such as Congressman John Lewis. planning team “listened” and benchmarked the The COA has been a collaborative partner in this Transformation Plan strategies against the existing process, including the Mayor’s Office, Invest Atlanta, planning documents and updated them to reflect Atlanta Police Department and the Departments of challenges, assets and new opportunities. Planning and Community Development, Parks and AHA’s approach to planning through the CNPG Recreation, Watershed Management and Public Works. This involvement of the COA at all levels Neighborhoods Implementation Grant proposal of government ensured that the Transformation submitted in September 2013, and the team Plan was aligned with broader planning efforts and members are vested in the implementation and strategic goals of the City of Atlanta. sustainability of the Transformation Plan as part Other major stakeholders include the ARC, of their ongoing work in the neighborhood, Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, Annie E. Casey whether or not there is a Choice Neighborhoods Foundation, the Atlanta Police Foundation, United Implementation Grant award. [See Appendix 13 Way, Georgia Pacific Foundation, members of for a copy of the Implementation Agreement.] AHA’s Service Provider Network and the Atlanta Housing Implementation Entity

Promise Neighborhood Alliance partners. With future over a 10-year strategic partnership to redevelop As the master developer for Scholars envisioning the neighborhood the “University neighborhood,” the AUCC schools Landing on the site of the former University Homes played a vital part in developing the Transformation and Collegetown at West end on the site of the Plan - with the goal of creating a vibrant college former Harris Homes also located in the “University town community that captures the history and neighborhood”, Integral will serve as the Housing heritage of the neighborhood and its connection Implementation Entity for the revitalization of the with these historic educational anchor institutions. former University Homes. Integral is nationally recognized for its exceptional leadership and transformation plan success in transforming underserved urban partners communities in Atlanta and across the nation. AHA will facilitate the implementation of People Implementation Entity the Transformation Plan in partnership with To implement AHA’s holistic vision of “Healthy the City of Atlanta, Invest Atlanta, Integral, Mixed-Income Communities; Healthy Self-Sufficient the United Way of Greater Atlanta, AUCC Families” that is at the core of its community building schools, Atlanta Neighborhood Development efforts to support excellent family outcomes, AHA Partnership, University Community Development will serve as the People Implementation Entity, Corporation, Vine City Health and Housing working collaboratively with the City of Atlanta’s Ministries, the former residents of University Workforce Development Agency, Urban League Homes, neighborhood residents and a committed of Greater Atlanta, Atlanta Community Food Bank, corps of community partners and stakeholders. Family Health Centers of Georgia Inc. (formerly The principal team members to drive the West End Medical Center), Literacy Action, Satcher implementation of the Transformation Plan have Leadership Institute, AUCC, Inc. (the AUCC schools been identified because of a history of working non-profit arm), and AHA’s Service Provider together to successfully transform neighborhoods, Network. housing and people, as well as their ongoing Principal Education Partner work in the “University neighborhood.” As a show of commitment, each have executed a Choice Working directly with AHA, the United Way Neighborhoods Implementation Agreement of Greater Atlanta (“United Way”) will serve as the between the parties that addresses the parties’ Principal Education Partner. United Way’s vision collaboration, roles and responsibilities, and is to provide opportunities, services and support intention to participate in the implementation that residents need to thrive, regardless of their of the Transformation Plan. The agreement neighborhood or zip code. United Way was the was developed as a part of AHA’s 2013 Choice co-applicant with Morehouse School of Medicine

UNIVERSITY AREA | CHOICE NEIGHBORHOODS TRANSFORMATION PLAN | ATLANTA HOUSING AUTHORITY 1.5 on a 2010 Promise Neighborhoods Planning Grant Anchor Institution Involvement: which encompassed the “University neighborhood”. AUCC Schools as Strategic Partners Under that grant, United Way developed and has been implementing holistic strategies for a The AUCC schools are actively engaged cradle-to-career education pipeline included in with the Choice Neighborhoods (“CN”) initiative the People Plan of this document. United Way will and view it as a “game changer” for their strategic, work in partnership with Atlanta Public Schools, long-term success. The partnership between AHA Georgia Pacific Foundation, the Atlanta Promise and the members of the AUCC is built on a long- Neighborhood Alliance partners, early childhood standing relationship and vision for the area. development centers and daycare providers, This relationship began with the development of parents, students and other vested educational University Homes, spearheaded by Dr. John Hope, partners in executing a results-driven and enriched the first African American President of Morehouse pipeline for children and their families. See College in 1906. The relationship has continued Appendix 10 for the MOU which provides a number and evolved over time to a strategic partnership of the Atlanta Promise Neighborhood Alliance between the current presidents of the AUCC, partners. AHA and Integral. recent efforts of the strategic partnership are evidenced by a joint master plan Neighborhood Implementation Entity and related land swaps for the area developed as The City of Atlanta (“COA”) will serve as part of the HOPE VI revitalization of Harris Homes the Neighborhood Implementation Entity to (now known as Collegetown at West End which is coordinate and align city functions needed for the also located in the Choice Neighborhoods area), neighborhood transformation, such as: planning and Scholars Landing; proposed partnership with and development of parks, green space, and Morehouse School of Medicine to provide health recreational facilities; sustainable infrastructure, and wellness services to residents of future senior sidewalks, corridors and gateways; streetscapes rental phases of Scholars Landing, partnership with and public improvements; transportation access; MSM’s Satcher Leadership Institute’s Smart and neighborhood stabilization; public safety measures; Secure Children Initiative; and, aligning the Choice and deployment of public resources committed Neighborhoods’ education and health strategies and by the COA in support of critical community outcomes with the Atlanta Promise Neighborhood improvements and neighborhood revitalization. The Alliance. As a consequence, the AUCC schools have COA has been actively involved in the development agreed to be Strategic Partners in all aspects of the of the Transformation Plan which is aligned with city Transformation Plan effort, as memorialized in a redevelopment plans and strategies for investment. Collaboration Agreement included in Appendix 12. AHA and the COA will work together to implement In this Agreement, the leadership of the four AUCC neighborhood stabilization efforts related to vacant schools, AHA and Integral laid out specific strategies and foreclosed housing, in partnership with three that would drive significant transformation of the non-profits: Vine City Health and Housing Ministries, area by combining their individual efforts and University Community Development Partnership investments to a scale that would to create a vibrant (“UCDC”) and Atlanta Neighborhood Development and economically sustainable neighborhood of Partnership (“ANDP”), as well as other developers choice, achieving mutually beneficial outcomes that may be procured. and impact and eliminating redundancy. I2

Atlanta Memorial Park

I2

r r Downtown Environs r

University Choice Neighborhoods Target Site 10TH ST. BeltLine Tax Allocation District r r Westside TaxI2 Allocation District r AUC Schools r AHA Communities Major Downtown Projects r NORTHSIDE DR. MARTA Rail and Stops 2 Neighborhood Schools future DONALD LEE HOLLOWELL PKWY MIDTOWN r M A PONCE DE LEON AVE. R envisioning the I2 IE neighborhood r T T NORTH AVE. A I2

S SPRING ST. r T . r 85 r Centennial 75 r Place I2

PARKWAY DR. CENTRAL AVE. PEACHTREE ST. PIEDMONT AVE. r JAMES P BRAWLEY DR. IVAN ALLEN JR. BLVD. JOSEPH E BOONE BLVD. Georgia Center for r Aquarium Civil Rights Museum Georgia World I2 r Congress Center /

JOSEPH E LOWERY BLVD. r / VINE CITY Falcon Stadium I2 Planning Area r Magnolia Park Philips

r NORTHSIDE DR. I2 I2 Arena DOWNTOWN r r I2 I2 MLK National AUBURN AVE. Historic Site MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. DR. r MMPT Study I2 r I2 r Area EDGEWOOD AVE. r Georgia State Auburn University Pointe Grady Memorial I2 Hospital ASHVIEW State Capitol I2 HEIGHTS ATLANTA STUDENT MOVEMENT BLVD. I2 r Historic Oakland Cemetery ATLANTA City Hall MEMORIAL DR. CollegeTown UNIVERSITY r CENTER Capitol Villages at Gateway Castleberry Hill r 20 FULTON ST. 20 r Columbia Mechanicsville rr RALPH DAVID ABERNATHY BLVD. r

GEORGIA AVE. CAPITOL AVE. I2 r r r 75 Heritage Station r Zoo Atlanta r 85

White Park r MCDANIEL ST. METROPOLITAN PKWY.

r HANK AARON DR.

r UNIVERSITYAttachment AREA | CHOICE NEIGHBORHOODS 21b TRANSFORMATION PLAN | ATLANTA HOUSING 0 AUTHORITY 2,500’ 1.7NORTH Oakland City Park r Context Map:Map Downtown Environsr CHOICE NEIGHBORHOOD IMPLEMENTATION GRANT I2 Atlanta Housing Authority DATE: September 3, 2013 r r r r 21-2 Pekerson Park

I2 Conceptual rendering of activity node at Atlanta Student Movement Blvd.

These implementing strategies are consistent VISION AND STRATEGIES with the best practices and guiding principles

established under AHA’s successful revitalization The Transformation Plan offers a blueprint Program, which includes seven successful HOPE for the comprehensive revitalization of an area of VI revitalizations1. AHA and its master developers, west Atlanta that covers 1000 acres, 1.56 square along with the City of Atlanta, other public- miles and includes at its center point a targeted sector partners, stakeholders, and residents have public housing development, the former University created sustainable “communities of opportunity” Homes. Through the Choice Neighborhoods by working together to address the interrelated Planning Grant process, a shared vision was problems inherent in distressed communities. developed to create a vibrant and thriving college The Atlanta model of transformation (“Atlanta town community built on the historical relationship Model”) is achieved by combining the experience, between the AUCC schools and the surrounding resources, and investments of tremendous public/ neighborhood, rooted in the unique history of the private partners to transform both communities civil rights movement and its goal of social and and people; by leveraging private capital with economic equality. public “seed” funding to create diverse and The transformed community will enhance healthy mixed-use, mixed-income communities; and celebrate its historic places, incorporating and by utilizing private-sector real estate market wonderful gateways, first-class mixed-use, mixed- principles to generate sustainable investments. income housing, retail and green space, quality These revitalizations have eliminated the vestiges of life infrastructure and economic development, of concentrated poverty, created holistic and cultural and recreational amenities, and high- comprehensive mixed-use, mixed-income performing neighborhood schools, together which communities with a seamless integrated affordable will form a college town second to none. This residential component, and supported families college town community will serve as a great center with necessary resources and services to promote for civic engagement, intellectual discourse and a economic empowerment and self-sufficiency. dynamic laboratory for applied learning and will foster the creation of a world-class cradle-to-career educational pipeline within the community.

1 HOPE VI is the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Developments action plan to transform severally distressed public housing in communities across the country The following represents a summary of the CN Strategy 6. Neighborhood/Housing/People. Implementation grant strategies, that are employed Improve the quality of life for residents by supporting throughout this document: green, sustainable and healthy development via the expansion of park land and greenways, adherence to green building standards, and investment in sustainable urban agriculture and local food TRANSFORMATION production. Addresses the need for a community 12 STRATEGIES identity and to support healthy living for residents via the use of green initiatives and green space, Strategy 1. Neighborhood. Create memorable particularly urban agriculture supporting healthy future places that give the neighborhood identity in mixed- living and job creation. envisioning the use activity centers that provide places where people Strategy 7. Neighborhood/Housing/People. neighborhood can shop, work and gather. Addresses the need to Create a safe environment for residents, workers, create a neighborhood identity and provide access students, business owners and visitors. Addresses to goods and services in the neighborhood. the need to improve public safety, so as to attract businesses, residents, HBCU students, faculty and Strategy 2. Neighborhood. Create an integrated staff, as well as visitors. network of pedestrian, bicycle, vehicular and transit systems that offers safe, accessible and attractive Strategy 8. Neighborhood/People. Create a connections within the neighborhood and to city- strong, diversified neighborhood economy to wide and regional destinations. Addresses the need reduce poverty and build ladders of opportunity to increase connectivity and access, to improve to the middle class. Addresses the need to create the condition of the existing infrastructure, and to jobs and places where residents can spend their support public safety. money, as well as a destination for non-residents to spend their money.

Strategy 3. Neighborhood / Housing. Stabilize the Strategy 9. Neighborhood/People. Harness the neighborhood by removing blight and preserving energy and the economics of the AUCC schools. existing housing in areas traumatized by degraded Addresses the need to capitalize on the AUCC housing stock and foreclosures. Addresses the need anchor institutions as the dominant economic to remove the vacant/abandoned housing stock engine of the area and the need to preserve the existing serviceable Strategy 10. People. Create a world-class housing stock. cradle-to-career educational pipeline program that fosters personal growth and student achievement Strategy 4. Neighborhood / Housing. Create Addresses the need to improve the failed public new, mixed-income housing so as to retain school system and improve the neighborhood’s existing residents and attract new residents to a marketability multicultural and economically diverse community. Strategy 11. Neighborhood/People. Unleash Addresses the need to attract new residents to the the human potential of neighborhood residents. area and increase the economic diversity of the Addresses the limited skills, lack of education neighborhood. and under-employment found in this low-income neighborhood.

Strategy 5. Neighborhood. Preserve and Strategy 12. Neighborhood/People. Sustainability celebrate the neighborhood’s history and heritage. through community engagement and participation. Addresses the need for a community identity and Addresses the limited skills, lack of education a destination for visitors, supporting economic and under-employment found in this low-income development. neighborhood.

UNIVERSITY AREA | CHOICE NEIGHBORHOODS TRANSFORMATION PLAN | ATLANTA HOUSING AUTHORITY 1.9 THE “UNIVERSITY NEIGHBORHOOD” TRANSFORMATION PLAN The implementing strategies for this Transformation Plan are organized around the three core goals of HUD’s Choice Neighborhoods Program: NEIGHBORHOOD- HOUSING- PEOPLE- Create the conditions necessary for public Replace distressed public Improve educational and private investment in distressed and assisted housing with outcomes and neighborhoods to offer the kinds of high-quality mixed-income intergenerational mobility amenities and assets, including safety, housing that is well- for youth with services and good schools, and commercial activity, that managed and responsive to supports delivered directly are important to families’ choices about the needs of the surrounding their community; neighborhood to youth and their families.

Using the three core goals noted above, the Transformation Plan is organized in six chapters as follows: ENVISIONING THE PEOPLE 1 FUTURE NEIGHBORHOOD 4 PLAN This section provides an overview of the This section provides the implementation process and offers a vision for neighborhood strategies related to provision of human transformation. development services and opportunities that will be made available to residents of the area, with a special focus on the residents of the revitalized NEIGHBORHOOD 2 CONTEXT public housing community. AHA will serve as This section details the quantitative data the People Implementation Entity, working gathered through analysis and the qualitative collaboratively with partners as noted earlier in information gathered throughout the community this section. Strategies will focus on the provision engagement process to provide a snapshot of of services related to workforce development, the neighborhood conditions to include housing, adult education and literacy, health and wellness, people and neighborhood. This information set the and neighborhood capacity building. Working baseline for the Transformation Plan and served as directly with AHA, United Way will facilitate the the basis from which to develop 12 implementing development of a world-class cradle-to-career strategies. education pipeline. NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSING 5 PLAN 3 PLAN The City of Atlanta (“COA”) will serve as the This section provides the implementation Neighborhood Implementation Entity to coordinate strategies related to revitalization of the targeted activities related to planning and development public housing site, University Homes, by the of parks, green space, and recreational facilities; Housing Implementation Entity, Integral. Details are sustainable infrastructure, sidewalks, corridors and provided regarding the new planned community, gateways; streetscapes and public improvements; Scholars Landing, that will include the creation transportation access; neighborhood stabilization; of a vibrant activity center along Atlanta Student and public safety measures. Invest Atlanta will Movement Boulevard (the primary thoroughfare support the private sector in driving economic intersecting the development), with 34,000 SF of development initiatives. neighborhood-serving retail and community space, IMPLEMENTING 580 new mixed-income rental and for-sale homes, 6 THE PLAN adjacent to Clark Atlanta University’s proposed new The Transformation Plan concludes with details performing arts center. of the sustainability of the plan, governance and on-going resident and community engagement. WHAT’S NEXT funding. Absent that award, the work will continue, albeit incrementally. The implementation of the Transformation Plan will Implementation of the “University require the ongoing work of a number of partners Neighborhood” Transformation Plan will create who are actively engaged in working in the area the conditions necessary for public and private and have already committed resources, as well as investment that will re-knit the social and cultural the inclusion of new partners and resources. The fabric of the “University neighborhood,” recognizing COA has identified the area for redevelopment its heritage and significance in the civil rights and is aligning resources to support this. There movement. With the AUCC schools firmly engaged are number of projects located in adjacent areas with a collaborative vision for healthy living and future that will impact the future of the University area. sustainability, targeted investments in the built envisioning the In September 2013, as part of AHA’s submission environment and people to promote economic neighborhood of a Choice Neighborhoods Implementation Grant stability, an educational system that opens doors to application to HUD, in-kind pledges and financial a brighter future, and a commitment to economic, leverage were committed that leveraged over social, and environmental well-being, this 21st $220M in redevelopment funding for the housing, century college town community will truly become people and neighborhood - predicated on an award a choice place for families and others to live, work, of Choice Neighborhoods Implementation Grant play, attend school and own a business.

UNIVERSITY AREA | CHOICE NEIGHBORHOODS TRANSFORMATION PLAN | ATLANTA HOUSING AUTHORITY 1.11