ATLANTA — Atlanta leaders broke ground on what they called a “highly anticipated redevelopment” of the Bowen Homes community, one of Atlanta’s oldest abandoned neighborhoods, on Wednesday.
“16 years ago, Bowen homes was the last of Atlanta’s major housing developments that was demolished. This moment represented the beginning of a new era in Atlanta. Since then, the site has laid vacant, waiting for a new purpose,” said Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens. “The redevelopment of Bowen Homes will help us deliver on our promise to invest in affordable housing to uplift our communities and create opportunities for every Atlanta.”
Terri Lee, the president and CEO of Atlanta Housing, said the site used to be home to more than 650 units.
“We’re not just building units, we’re rebuilding a community, and what I’m excited about is that today is just the beginning. Today we have the opportunity to do a groundbreaking on 151 units with 64% affordability,” said Lee. “But that’s not all. By the time we complete the regeneration of Bowen Homes, we will have over 2,000 units on this site with a 40% affordability. We also will have a mixed use community.”
Andre Dickens said the redevelopment will help to deliver on his goal of creating or preserving 20,000 units of affordable housing by 2030, noting “nearly 6500 units, and another 4700 are already under construction or funded.”
The funding for the Bowen Homes redevelopment comes from a few different parties including “the Choice Neighborhoods Initiative, with the $40 million grant from our partners at HUD awarded to Atlanta Housing and the City of Atlanta in July of 2023. It also is funded by $29.6 million in tax exempt bond financing through our Economic Development Authority, Invest Atlanta.”
According to the mayor, the first phase will cost more than $63 million for the 151 units.
He added 48 of the units will be “deeply affordable, reserved for families earning 30% or less of the area’s median income with an additional 49 units for families earning up to 60% of the area’s median income.”
