Cemetery owners could buy Atlanta's troubled Greenwood graveyard
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The grass is overgrown, and at least one burial plot is severely damaged in part of Greenwood Cemetery. Photo: Kristal Dixon/Axios
A local company that offers funeral services and manages cemeteries across metro Atlanta is considering expanding its portfolio.
Why it matters: Greenwood Cemetery, located off Cascade Road next to the city's John A. White Golf Course, faces significant maintenance issues, spurring calls by community stakeholders for immediate changes.
The latest: A source close to the issue told Axios that Timothy Amoui and Shayda Frost, the owners of Lincoln Memorial Group, are in talks with the Greenwood owners about a possible acquisition.
- Lincoln is also open to a partnership with the city, where it would have access to part of the green space and "enhance Greenwood as an important community and historic asset," the source told Axios.
Context: Amoui and Frost are not new to cemetery preservation. In 2023, they inherited the old Hollywood Cemetery in northwest Atlanta and are restoring the site, the AJC reported last month.
State of play: Justin Cutler, Atlanta's parks and recreation commissioner, told Axios the city learned of Greenwood's issues about a year and a half ago.
- "Our interests are preserving the history, preserving the natural resources, and really, we're just still exploring," Cutler said. "There's a lot to dig in there. There's a significant amount of capital investment that's required, so it's [about] understanding both the cost and the benefit at this time."
- Rough Draft Atlanta first reported this month that Atlanta officials were considering a takeover of the property.
Zoom in: When an Axios reporter visited Tuesday, one person was cutting grass, but overgrown greenery covered part of one section.
- One headstone appeared to be seriously damaged.
- The paved roadway, mostly wide enough for one vehicle to pass through at a time, is riddled with potholes throughout the cemetery.
- The roadway also abruptly ends in some areas without signs in some parts of the cemetery, and it's difficult for drivers to turn around.
Flashback: Greenwood Cemetery dates back more than 100 years, with its first burials occurring in 1907.
- The cemetery's CEO is F. Coll Bowen III, records from the Georgia Secretary of State Office show.
- It's also where Chick-fil-A founder S. Truett Cathy is buried.
- Greenwood also has large sections where Jewish, Chinese and Greek people are buried and is home to the Memorial to the Six Million, which honors the people who were murdered during the Holocaust.
What they're saying: Karen Lansky Edlin, who serves as president of Eternal Life Hemshech, which manages the memorial, told Axios anyone who takes over ownership of the site should have "a real interest in getting it up...to where it should be."
- Edlin's parents were both Holocaust survivors and are buried at the cemetery. She said Eternal Life Hemshech, which dedicated the memorial in April 1965, takes care of the landscaping around the memorial.
The bottom line: David Y. Mitchell, executive director of the Atlanta Preservation Center, said "Greenwood is the metaphor for the much larger picture" of how important historic preservation should be in the city.
- "We should be more aware and thoughtful of these spaces and be more focused on their protection now more than ever."