ATLANTE, October 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ –The AH Board of Commissioners today authorized Atlanta Housing to negotiate a Developer’s Framework Agreement with a joint venture, Bowen District Developers, for the redevelopment of the 74-acre Bowen Homes site.
The selected development team, which includes McCormackBaron SalazarThe Benoit Group, Coleman and Associates and JG Consulting will also act as the “Housing Implementing Entity” in Atlanta Housing’s application for a $40 million US Department of Housing and Urban Development Choice Neighborhood Grant.
“This is a transformation project for Northwest Atlanta that will bring affordable homes and a vibrant neighborhood back to the community,” said Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens. “I am thrilled that Atlanta Housing has identified a development partner and can now pursue the Choice Neighborhood Catalytic Grant. City of Atlanta is delighted to be associated with the development of this inclusive neighborhood. »
In December 2020, HUD awarded a Prime Neighborhood Planning Grant to AH to create a Neighborhood Transformation Plan (NTP) for the revitalization of the former Bowen Houses and Brookview Heights neighborhood, adjacent Carey Park, and segments of James B. Jackson Parkway and Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway – collectively called the Bowen Choice neighborhood. The BCN is located in NPU-G, Municipal District 9.
“With an experienced development team and a comprehensive plan for investing in affordable housing, neighborhoods and people, Atlanta is once again about to be shortlisted for a Choice Neighborhood Grant,” said Larry Stewart, chairman of the Atlanta Board of Housing Commissioners. “This project will be transformative for Northwest Atlanta and mobilize millions more in investments, jobs and opportunities for Atlanta inhabitants.”
The development team’s plans are in line with goals established in 18 months of consultation with residents of the surrounding community, former residents of Bowen Homes and other stakeholders in the creation of the NTP. The community vision includes increasing connectivity; preserve and enhance the natural environment; prioritize affordability and sustainability; and include and honor the “memory of place”. Specifically, the neighborhood transformation plan envisions over 2,000 rental and ownership units; several acres of improved green space; a green stormwater management system; preservation of the natural environment and an improved street network supporting a mixed-income development with retail and community amenities.
Over the next few months, the Bowen District developer team will work with the Atlanta Housing team and the community to finalize site programming, including the total number of market and affordable housing units planned. The development team won the first recommendation from a diverse eight-member evaluation committee that carefully evaluated two shortlisted proposals following a April 2022 request for proposals. Bowen District Partners was recommended as the best overall value for Atlanta Housing.
Bowen Homes was built in 1962 and razed in 2009. The 74-acre site is in a sparsely populated area of Northwest Atlanta bounded by Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway and James Jackson Parkway.
The development concept will transform the former site of Bowen Homes into a truly interconnected neighborhood. Retail businesses and community amenities surround a new central plaza, which serves as the heart of the neighborhood. A mix of uses provides local residents with the opportunity to open businesses in affordable retail space, entrepreneurship support, and job training opportunities in a community resource center and innovation hub.
The concept plan builds on the ideas generated in the NTP to address the environmental and natural assets of the site. A green pedestrian street and linear stormwater park connect the site from east to west, creating green infrastructure to reduce flooding. THE ANNOUNCEMENT Williams Creek Trail will connect to surrounding residential development and community assets. Atlanta housing and the City of Atlanta will work more with Atlanta Public Schools on the revitalization of the AD Williams School site as part of the redevelopment.
Bowen Homes holds a central place in the history of Northwest Atlantathe public housing, African American art and culture, and the personal stories and lived experiences of the thousands of former residents who made their lives there.
ON ATLANTE LODGING
Led by the President and CEO Eugene Jones, Jr.the Housing Authority of the City of Atlanta, Georgia (AH), is the largest housing authority in Georgia and one of the largest in the country. AH provides and facilitates affordable housing resources for nearly 27,000 low-income households made up of approximately 45,000 people, including AH-owned residential communities, tenant vouchers, supportive housing, and employment opportunities. home ownership. Programs are funded and regulated by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Visit AH at atlantahousing.org or follow us on Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn at @housingatlanta.
SOURCE HOUSING AUTHORITY OF CITY OF ATLANTE; Housing in Atlanta
