City officials are taking the first steps toward transforming vacant land and a notoriously blighted section of southeast Atlanta into nodes of new housing.
Mayor Andre Dickens and Atlanta Urban Development Corporation officials released a Request for Qualifications on Thursday seeking development partners for Thomasville Heights acreage, where a large public housing complex was razed more than a decade ago.
The crumbling, now-shuttered Forest Cove apartment complex—the subject of media scrutiny for years, where nearly 200 residents were relocated—is across the street.
Phase one of Dickens’ and AUD’s vision involves a 7.86-acre parcel that fronts McDonough Boulevard, between Welch Street and Moreland Avenue. Part of it is located across the street from Starlight Drive-In Theatre, at the southern edge of the Custer/McDonough/Guice neighborhood.
Overview of the nearly 8 acres in question, just west of Moreland Avenue in southeast Atlanta. Google Maps
Google Maps
AUD’s plans generally call for the land to be redeveloped into both townhomes and single-family houses, with a mix of rentals and for-sale options all meant to cater to families.
According to the RFQ, both affordable and market-rate housing will be built at Thomasville Heights.
Dickens said the goal is to reestablish Thomasville Heights, which was originally developed as low-income housing in the late 1960s and ’70s, as a “vibrant, flourishing area of our city,” per an announcement. New housing will create opportunities for former Forest Cove residents to return to the neighborhood—but in a secure, safe environment this time, the mayor said.
The redevelopment of Thomasville Heights is considered a multiphase, neighborhood revitalization project that will take multiple years to complete.
Other partners in the initiative include Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta, Atlanta Housing, MARTA, Invest Atlanta, Atlanta Public Schools, Focused…
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