Atlanta Unveils Plan To Fight Gentrification On Westside

ATLANTA, GA -- Atlanta will partner with Westside Future Fund to launch a plan to help homeowners on that side of the city stay in their residences in the wake of rising property values due to redevelopment projects.

The Anti-Displacement Tax Fund Program will cover any property tax increases for qualifying homeowners in the English Avenue, Vine City, Ashview Heights and Atlanta University Center communities.

The new program is designed to help ensure that current homeowners are not displaced due to rising property values as public and private investments are made in these neighborhoods, the city said late last week.

The fund, administered by the Westside Future Fund and sourced from philanthropic donations, will operate as a grant for individuals and will not require participants to pay back any funds received. Residents can apply for the grant program through March 15, 2018. Fund payments will begin in the 2018 tax year.

Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed held a press conference at the home of an English Avenue resident who qualified for the program, and was joined by Department of Planning and Community Development Commissioner Tim Keane, Westside Future Fund Executive Director John Ahmann, Vine City Neighborhood Association President Pastor Dexter Johnson and Atlanta Council members Ivory Lee Young, Jr., Michael Julian Bond and Keisha Lance Bottoms.

Keane was instrumental in helping shape the program by offering best practices from a similar initiative administered in Charleston, South Carolina.

“The city of Atlanta is proud to launch this essential program which will help ensure that long-time residents get to share in the prosperity coming to the Westside, thanks to new infrastructure, new parks, more transit, the Atlanta BeltLine, and a surge in economic development,” Reed said. “This program is another stake in the ground to preserve the character and the history of our transformative Atlanta neighborhoods."

Reed also commended Keane for his leadership as well as the partners who backed the city's vision to revitalize the westside of the city while also serving as a location where "everyone can live and build their dreams."

Keane noted the department is also committed to achieving sustainable growth in the city's neighborhoods on the westside.

“As part of that sustainable growth, we must have programs and policies in place to ensure affordable housing and offer housing incentives and resources to our residents who need them the most," he added. "We hope that the Anti-Displacement Tax Program is one of many initiatives to come.”

The program is one of many strategies initiated by the Westside Community Retention Collaborative, which was created to address Westside resident concerns on displacement and gentrification. The Collaborative is driven by the Department of Planning and Community Development, the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, Atlanta Housing Authority, Invest Atlanta, Atlanta Beltline, Atlanta Habitat for Humanity and the Westside Future Fund. The Collaborative also receives guidance and input from members of the community.

“Our success begins and ends with the residents,” said John Ahmann, executive director of the Westside Future Fund. “When the Westside Future Fund was created, we were clear in our intention to do right by the members of this community. I'm grateful to have a board and a host of supporters who have taken that charge to heart. Their tireless support and generosity allows us to keep our promise, ensuring that the people who have grown up and built their lives here can continue to be a part of it for generations to come.”

Philanthropic support comes from the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, the Chick-fil-A Foundation, the Georgia Power Foundation, Cox Enterprises, Pulte Group, Delta Air Lines, Georgia-Pacific and individual contributor Tommy Holder, chairman and CEO of Holder Construction Company.

The Reed Administration has made it a priority to revitalize Atlanta’s Westside and has worked to bring new public and private resources to support economic and civic development in the area. In 2015, the mayor partnered with Atlanta business leaders to establish the Westside Future Fund. The Fund serves as a catalyst for philanthropic and corporate support to accelerate improvements in the health, education and welfare of current residents, address equity and social justice issues associated with new residential and commercial development, and attract new investment, new jobs and new residents.

Atlanta has also pledged more than $30 million in new infrastructure, greenspace expansion and to fund Martin Luther King Jr. Drive streetscape improvements, which will transform the iconic road into a connected corridor with a Complete Streets approach.

In September 2015, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) awarded the city a $30 million CHOICE Neighborhoods Implementation Grant, which has already enabled the city to leverage additional public and private funds to assist in revitalizing five Westside neighborhoods.

In June 2016, Atlanta received the Promise Zone designation, which allows the city to work strategically with HUD and other federal agencies to boost economic activity and job growth, improve educational opportunities, reduce crime and leverage private investment to improve the quality of life in the “Westside Promise Zone,” comprised of the historic Atlanta University Center neighborhood, Ashview Heights, Vine City, English Avenue and Castleberry Hill.

The communities will also soon welcome the new Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Castleberry Park mixed-use development and a Hard Rock Hotel.

Image via City of Atlanta Government's Facebook page