Years in the making, a facelift and interior conversion for a landmark Sweet Auburn building that once housed Martin Luther King Jr.’s office is moving forward.
Known for its corner neon sign and distinctive façade, the Prince Hall Masonic Lodge on Auburn Avenue is being prepped for a rehab that would broaden its uses, open more affordable spaces for local businesses and nonprofits, and create more of a tourist attraction.
The three-story structure with a basement level stands where Auburn Avenue meets Hilliard Street, lording over the Atlanta Streetcar loop through downtown. The lodge was built in 1937 and, among other notable uses, was once home to the Southern Christian Leadership Conference’s first offices.
The historic Prince Hall Masonic Lodge at Auburn Avenue and Hilliard Street, as seen in 2017. Google Maps
Invest Atlanta
The lodge’s ownership group, Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge, is working to finalize financial commitments by year’s end in hopes of beginning construction in the second quarter of 2024, according to Invest Atlanta, the city’s economic development authority.
As part of that process, owners have asked Invest Atlanta for a $250,000 predevelopment loan sourced from Eastside Tax Allocation District funding that would cover renovation aspects such as engineering and architectural design.
In 2021, the project received $1.5 million in grant funding from the same source. Plans have called for that money to be combined with federal tax credits for historic preservation and private donations to fund what was expected to be a $10.2-million project.
Increasing costs and changes in funding availability have complicated matters since then, according to Invest Atlanta.
Invest Atlanta
Nonetheless, the lodge owners’ plans call for reopening the historic building as a 16,000-square-foot multipurpose space by the first quarter of 2025.
Prince Hall Masons, who still use part of the…
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