ATLANTA — Atlanta's work to address affordable housing with its proposed plan for "rapid rehousing" those without permanent homes is sparking controversy in the Mechanicsville community.
The concerns center around a two-acre property at 405 Cooper Street in southwest Atlanta. Right now, a homeless encampment is taking over the property.
The land is currently owned by Atlanta Public Schools but will be exchanged with the City of Atlanta as part of an agreed-upon land exchange.
Once the city takes over ownership, it's expected they'll begin an aggressive operation to clear out the encampment. On Tuesday evening, during a 'community input' meeting at the Mechanicsville Library, the city explained the process to community members.
Several community members who attended the meeting expressed concerns about rehousing the encampment residents on the same property due to safety concerns.
Atlanta City Councilman Jason Dozier said he understands the concerns of his constituents.
"The encampment that is on the 405 Cooper Street site has been the site of a lot of violence," Councilman Dozier said, adding, "One of the things I heard, even tonight (Tuesday), is we don't want a homeless shelter, well, my understanding is this project is not a homeless shelter, it's an apartment community."
The city offered some renderings of what the complex could look like when it's completed.
Councilman Dozier said he wanted to clarify that this property would not include repurposed shipping containers like the first project of the city's 'Rapid Housing' initiative, known as "The Melody."
"There's an effort to build other housing types around the site to make it nest into the neighborhood much more organically," Councilman Dozier said.
"It's a different paradigm with how we're addressing our unsheltered population," Councilman Dozier said.
Mechanicsville Civic Association President Dr. David Holder is behind a petition to try to stop the project along Cooper Street. Dr. Holder said that while the encampment needs to be cleared, he believes the city should prioritize other projects in their community, many of which he said the city has neglected for decades.
"We need a senior building, an area for our kids to play," Holder said.
As of Tuesday night, he said that they had collected over 200 signatures and planned to continue gathering them from residents and businesses in Mechanicsville. The city plans to hold another community input session to hear more feedback from the community and answer questions.