ATLANTA — Alison Johnson has called Peoplestown home her entire life. She's seen a lot of development happen around her community, and it's brought a changing landscape and, in some cases, a new way of life.
"It's a place of peace and hope and home," Johnson said. "This is always been a heavily working-class community, very tight-knit community, has always been in the social justice circle."
Johnson and several others in the community worry about new developments in the Peoplestown neighborhood, including the latest projects by Stafford Properties. The $20 million Terminal South project broke ground in February and will sit just steps away from the Beltline and MARTA bus line access. The development aims to transform a couple of abandoned warehouses into 35 new businesses, a majority of which will be run by minority business owners.
Another project is set to revitalize vacant land next door at 1111 Ridge Avenue. Developers are proposing around 350 housing units, 53 of which will be considered affordable housing. However, Johnson said too much gentrification and development may drive up rent and property values. She fears it could also drive away legacy residents from the place they've called home for years.
"We don't need another restaurant or food hall in this community," Johnson said. "What we need are places and symbols of housing and homes where people can plant themselves. When other people come in, we get pushed out. There's no place for us to go. Those jobs are merely service jobs. We can't work those jobs and afford to pay rent."
Melissa Ahrendt is the lead on the 1111 Ridge Avenue development. She promised at least 15% of the housing would be affordable, but it would take millions of dollars to treat the lead-contaminated former coal yard. She said bolstering the overall housing supply in Atlanta would help drive down rent prices even more.
"We have worked diligently for over two years with legacy residents to ensure our retail development brings community benefits and honors the long history of Peoplestown," Ahrendt said. "We are starting a scholarship that will go directly to Peoplestown students and bringing more than 250 jobs to the neighborhood."
The developer received majority votes from both Peoplestown neighborhood organizations but narrowly lost the Neighborhood Planning Unit vote. Johnson felt the process was unfair, and developers were bypassing the democratic process of going about their business.
On Thursday night, Atlanta's zoning review board approved rezoning of the Ridge Avenue property from light industrial to mixed residential, moving the project one step forward. Johnson said she and other residents would do whatever they could to stop any progress on a project that she claims would be development with displacement.
"This doesn't mean our fight ends," Johnson said. "We will continue to fight it until our community gets what it deserves."
Ahrendt said the next step is a vote at Atlanta City Council. She said she would continue to work to find more funding sources to be able to create more affordable housing with these projects.