ATLANTA — One of Atlanta's oldest abandoned neighborhoods will receive federal funding to be revitalized.
City officials announced on Tuesday that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded a $40 million grant for the Bowen Choice Neighborhood program.
“Bowen Choice Neighborhood will be transformative for Northwest Atlanta, bringing affordable homes and a vibrant neighborhood back to the community,” said Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens in a news release.
The project is focused on the Bowen Homes neighborhood and surrounding areas, which also include the neighborhoods of Carey Park and a portion of Almond Park, along with the neighborhood-related segments of the Donald Lee Hollowell and James Jackson Parkways.
It was one of the largest projects in Atlanta's history but was torn down due to blight and crime. The area was abandoned for 13 years before the announcement. The Bowen Housing Development was built in the 1960s and demolished in 2009.
Former residents are celebrating the project after city officials received federal funding for the community.
Duwon Robinson was a longtime resident who called the neighborhood home just like thousands of other metro Atlanta residents.
"When I was born, it was a family environment and then drugs took over like most places in America," said Robinson.
The former resident added that crime was so bad in the neighborhood that he could not recognize it.
"Bowen Homes had gotten to a point where it was filled with violence, and I, too, was torn. I just lost a best friend the year before - killed (in) gun violence," said Robinson.
According to city officials, the grant will help revitalize the 74-acre Bowen Homes neighborhood and its surrounding areas and hopefully restore it to its former glory.
“Housing means dignity, safety, and security, and that is why I’m proud to join Sen. Ossoff in announcing this significant investment in Atlanta’s Bowen Homes community,” said Sen. Rev. Raphael Warnock.
The project will aim to build over 2,000 rental and ownership units in the formerly abandoned area to address affordable housing issues. The total project is expected to cost between $500 million and $700 million, which will be paid for with a mixture of private and public funds.
Officials added that they will work with developers to have a community resource center that will offer job-training opportunities and more.
"This is a real concrete effort to wanna keep people in the community and bring those who are pushed out back," said Courtney English, the senior advisor to the mayor.
English added that the city wants to create a neighborhood for mixed-income individuals
"When we do that we have found we are able to attract the kind of amenities that people want like grocery stores," he said.
Robinson is excited to see the renewal of the place he called home.
"Being able to come back to the places you grew up at, being able to have some affordable housing and being able to see a quality of living is very nice," the former resident said.
The new housing grant will come from the HUD's Choice Neighborhood program, which helps revitalize communities by building more mixed-income housing developments, making physical neighborhood upgrades and offering comprehensive social services in the area, according to the city's press release.
Officials said the revitalized community will include a third for affordable housing a third for market rate and a third for single family.
Construction for the project could take years.