Atlanta begins Civic Center renewal with senior housing project
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A rendering of apartment units to be constructed at the Atlanta Civic Center site. Image: Atlanta Housing
Housing officials and development partners broke ground on an affordable housing complex for seniors — the first major step in reviving the Atlanta Civic Center site.
The latest: Atlanta Housing's project will comprise 148 apartments for low-income seniors. The $60 million project is slated for completion by the third quarter of 2027.
What they're saying: Atlanta Housing CEO Terri Lee said Tuesday's groundbreaking honors the site's rich history.
- "But more importantly," she said, "we're moving forward with a redevelopment to honor what was lost and build something worthy in this place."
Flashback: The site was home to the Great Atlanta Fire of 1917.
- The blaze destroyed more than 1,900 buildings and displaced more than 10,000 people, according to Atlanta magazine.
- The neighborhood that rose in its place was Buttermilk Bottom, a majority-Black community in what we now call the Old Fourth Ward.
- Under former Atlanta Mayor Ivan Allen Jr.'s "urban renewal" plan, the community was demolished to make way for the Atlanta Civic Center that opened in 1968.
- The remaining area was renamed Bedford Pine.
- The Civic Center closed in 2015, and Atlanta Housing bought the site from the city in 2017.
Fun fact: SciTrek, the widely popular science museum, opened next to the Civic Center in 1988 and closed in 2004.
Zoom out: The comprehensive plan for the 19.4-acre site includes 1,500 housing units, 38% of which will be affordable, Lee said.
- Along with retail, office, community and cultural spaces, Mayor Andre Dickens said, officials are exploring opening an arts-centered high school.
- Plans also call for a hotel and grocery store, a plaza and a revamp of the existing performing arts center building inside the center.
The big picture: The Civic Center has hosted graduations, concerts, church services and inauguration ceremonies for past mayors and now "becomes part of resurgens, a return of purpose for a place that has carried the story of an entire city," Dickens said.
- "We made a promise to the people of Atlanta to make this a city where everyone can live, grow and retire with dignity, a city of opportunity for all, and we intend to keep it that way," he said.
What we're watching: The project aligns with Dickens' goal to build 20,000 affordable housing units in Atlanta by 2030. The mayor said more than 12,000 units are already built or under construction.