Atlanta Community Builders
Our work in Atlanta is highly targeted. Working with Invest Atlanta since 2017, we have been partners in the Community Builders program, "in response to growing interest from residents on the Westside to learn how to redevelop vacant, abandoned, and blighted commercial and multi-family properties."
Coaching a cohort
Our work in Atlanta is a Boot Camp on overdrive. We've done extensive one-on-one coaching with a cohort of 15 from the Vine City and English Avenue neighborhoods selected by competitive application. Thanks to Invest Atlanta, qualifying graduates of the program can apply for financial resources to help make their projects a reality. There is a strong focus on providing affordable housing and space for local business.
Of this cohort, about five projects are likely to proceed with the support of our team and Invest Atlanta, and an additional four will receive continued coaching after the program. Among those moving strongly in the right direction there are multi-family residential projects, a commercial project, and some important renovation and addition work to single family homes.
Since each of these small developers is a resident of Vine City or English Avenue, we are building capacity in the right people to invest in Westside. By coaching them as a cohort, we have fostered a team of neighbors working together to build something valuable.
A chance to remove obstacles
This work has also evolved into an opportunity to help the City understand where there are regulatory barriers to small development, especially in the Westside where it could make a world of difference.
We knew when we engaged Invest Atlanta in this work that zoning would be an impediment to the projects of our cohort. However, it was necessary to go through the process of designing these projects anyway so that the City could understand how and why zoning is an impediment to the development they want. This is not just a learning experience though - our cohort means business. Together we are drafting development proposals that they can take to the City and to the bank.
As we coach our cohort to the finish line with their projects, our team is working with the City to rezone each parcel in question. This is the short term fix. In the long term, we're helping the City identify code that needs to be changed at a municipal or neighborhood scale to avoid these obstacles going forward. Our Atlanta cohort is trailblazing for many small developers to come.